Tennis Score - Announcing The Score

Announcing The Score

If there is no judge to announce the score of a match, there is a specific protocol for stating the score. During a game, the server has the responsibility to announce the game score before he serves. He does this by announcing his score first. If, for example, the server loses the first three points of his service game, he would say, "Love, 40." This convention is used consistently. After a set is complete, the server, before serving for the first game of the next set, announces the set scores so far completed in the match, stating his scores first. If he has won the first two sets and is beginning the third, he would say, "Two, love, new set." If he had lost the first two sets, he would say, "Love, two, new set." Finally, after the completion of the match, either player, when asked the score, announces his scores first.

As an example, consider a match between Andy Murray and Rafael Nadal. Murray wins the first two sets 6–4 and 7–6(7–5); Nadal wins the next two sets 6–0 and 6–3, and Murray wins the final set 11–9.

At the end of each set, the umpire would announce the winner of each set:

Game, first set, Murray.

Game, second set, Murray.

Game, third set, Nadal.

Game, fourth set, Nadal.

At the completion of the match, the result would be announced as:

Game, set, match, (Andy) Murray, three sets to two, six-four, seven-six, love-six, three-six, eleven-nine.

The result would be written as:

Andy Murray defeated Rafael Nadal 6–4, 7–6(7–5), 0–6, 3–6, 11–9

The score is always written and announced in respect to the winner of the match. The score of the tiebreak is not included in announcing the final result; it is simply said "seven–six" regardless of the outcome of the tiebreak.