Quick Answer A default occurs when a player is disqualified from a match for violating the Rules of Tennis or the tournament’s Code of Conduct. Unlike a retirement, a default is not caused by injury or illness. Common reasons for a default include: When a player is defaulted, the opponentContinue Reading
Quick Answer A retirement occurs when a player starts a match but is unable to finish it. If a player retires: Retirements usually occur because of injury or illness, although other circumstances can occasionally force a player to stop playing. Embed from Getty Images What Is a Retirement? A retirementContinue Reading
Quick answer For beginners, tennis can seem hard to understand. But it’s really not. Tennis is played by hitting the ball over a net and into the opponent’s court. A point begins with a serve and continues until one player fails to make a legal return, with points building games,Continue Reading
A tennis set is won by the first player to reach six games, provided they lead by at least two games. If the score reaches 6–6, a tiebreak is usually played to decide the set. A tennis set is essentially the middle layer of the sport’s scoring system. If pointsContinue Reading
Tennis uses 15, 30, 40 scoring because it likely evolved from historical French court systems, possibly based on clock-face quarters. Over time, the system simplified into the format used today. While the exact origin is debated, the structure has remained because it creates natural tension in each game. Let’s exploreContinue Reading
A break of serve happens when the player returning serve wins the game. This is often a significant moment in a match, because serving is usually a big advantage in tennis. Why is Serving Such an Advantage? When a player is serving, they are able to choose how the pointContinue Reading
Tennis scoring is a beautiful thing, but can be hard when first learning the sport. The tiebreak is a vital time in a tennis match. But what is it, and how does it work? It is used to decide a set when players reach 6–6 in games, and it isContinue Reading
Advantage simply means a player is one point away from winning a game after deuce. You will hear: This tells you who won the most recent point after deuce. What happens next? After advantage: There is no middle ground. It is either game-winning or reset. Why is advantage so important?Continue Reading
Tennis scoring can be hard when first starting out. It can be even harder when you hear a word that is neither a number, nor a word you hear in many other situations. In tennis, there are sets, games, and points. When both players reach 40–40 in a game, theContinue Reading
Tennis scoring looks strange the first time you see it. Fifteen, thirty, forty. Love. Deuce. Advantage. Tiebreaks. It doesn’t behave like any normal sport, and yet once you understand the structure behind it, it becomes one of the most logical scoring systems in sport. At its core, tennis is simple:Continue Reading
