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FifthSet

GlossaryScoring

Ace

A serve that lands in the service box and is not touched by the receiver, winning the point outright.

Alsoaces, service ace

Published

An ace is a serve that lands in the correct service box and is not touched by the receiver. The point is over with a single stroke. A serve the receiver gets a racket on, even a frame that flies into the stands, is not an ace but a service winner, though broadcasters sometimes blur the two.

When you see it

Ace counts appear in the on-screen statistics and in every match report, because they say something about the server's day. A run of aces at 30-40 or deuce is how a player saves a break point without a rally, and a set decided by a tiebreak is often a set in which nobody could read the other's serve. An ace on a second serve is rarer and riskier, since the alternative is a double fault. A serve that clips the net cord and lands in is a let, not an ace, and is replayed.

Rule basis

The ITF Rules of Tennis define the service and what makes it a fault (Rules 16 to 19) but do not use the word "ace"; it is a statistical term. The ATP Official Rulebook has the chair umpire mark an ace on the scorecard with an "A" (Chapter VII, 7.24, Scoring of Match).

Related terms

  • Double fault · Two service faults in a row on the same point; the server loses the point without a rally.
  • Let · A call that stops the point and has it replayed; most often a serve that touches the net and still lands in the service box.
  • Break point · A point the returner can win to take the game from the server, at 30-40, 15-40, 0-40 or advantage to the receiver.
  • Deuce · The score at 40-40, when both players have won three points in a game; from there a player needs two points in a row to win the game.

Mentioned in

Sources

Material claims in this article are supported by the following sources.

  1. 01Wikipedia · Glossary of tennis terms (break, break point, hold, let)retrieved
  2. 02ATP Tour · 2026 ATP Official Rulebook, Chapter VII: The Competitionretrieved
  3. 03International Tennis Federation · ITF Rules of Tennis 2026 (Rules 5-7 scoring, 10 change of ends, 16-24 service and loss of point, Appendix VI alternative scoring methods)retrieved