Tennis tiebreaks: seven points, ten points and deciding sets
Six games all used to mean a long wait. Now almost every set ends in a tiebreak, but not every tiebreak is the same length, and the deciding set often has its own rule.
Published · Updated
Tennis scoring has layers: points make games, games make sets, sets make a match. A tiebreak is a special game used to finish a set that would otherwise go on indefinitely.
The standard seven-point tiebreak
At six games all, players switch to counting points one by one: 1, 2, 3 rather than 15, 30, 40. The first to seven points with a lead of two wins the tiebreak and the set 7-6. If it reaches 6-6, play continues until someone leads by two, so you can see a tiebreak finish 12-10.
The serve rotates differently in a tiebreak. The player due to serve takes one point, then each player serves two points in turn. Ends change every six points.
The ten-point match tiebreak
Some events replace the whole deciding set with a single longer tiebreak. It is first to ten, and a two-point lead is still required. On a scoresheet it is usually written as a set score of 1-0 with the points in brackets, or simply as the points, such as 10-7.
Tour events differ on this point, so check the format note for each tournament before reading a third-set score.
How we write set scores
- A completed set: 6-4.
- A set decided by a seven-point tiebreak: 7-6.
- A match tiebreak in place of a third set: 10-7, shown in the third set column.
- A live set: the current games, with the player serving marked and the current game score beside it.
Reading a live tennis row
A live row on our scoreboard shows sets won first, then the games of each set. The set in progress is highlighted, and the game score, for example 30-15, appears to the right. The small marker shows who is serving.