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FifthSet

GlossaryScoring

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.

Also40-40, forty-all, advantage, ad in, ad out

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In depthHow tennis scoring works: points, games, sets and tiebreaks

Deuce is the score at 40-40, when each player has won three points in a game. From deuce the game cannot be won with one point: the player who takes the next point has the advantage ("ad in" if it is the server, "ad out" if it is the receiver) and must win the following point too. If not, the score returns to deuce and the game continues until someone wins two points in a row.

When you see it

Deuce games are where matches stretch. A game can return to deuce any number of times, which is why a single service game can last ten minutes and why the game count alone does not tell you how long a set took. Every "ad out" is a break point for the receiver. Some doubles formats use "no-ad" scoring, in which the point at deuce decides the game; you will not see that in singles on the main tours.

Rule basis

Rule 5 of the ITF Rules of Tennis: if each player has won three points the score is "Deuce"; after deuce the score is "Advantage" for the player who wins the next point, and a player needs to win two consecutive points immediately after deuce to win the game.

Related terms

  • Love · Tennis's word for zero; a score of love means no points in the game, and a love set is one won 6-0.
  • 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.
  • Tiebreak · The game played at 6-6 in a set to decide it; the first player to seven points with a two-point margin wins the set 7-6.

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Sources

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

  1. 01International 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
  2. 02Wikipedia · Glossary of tennis terms (break, break point, hold, let)retrieved