Scoring a set

A set consists of a sequence of games played with service alternating between games, ending when the count of games won meets certain criteria. The players also swap ends of the court after each odd-numbered game. The score of games within a set is counted in the ordinary manner, except that a score of zero games is read as "love". The score is written using digits separated by a dash. The score is announced by the umpire or server at the start of each game.

In doubles, service alternates between the teams. One player serves for an entire service game, with that player's partner serving for the entirety of the team's next service game. In addition, players of the receiving team receive the serve on alternating points.

Traditionally, the set is won by the first player to have won at least six games and at least two games more than his or her opponent. More commonly, when the score is tied at 6-6 (each player having won six games), a special tiebreaker game is played. The winner of the tiebreak wins the set by a score of 7-6. The tiebreaker is very often not employed for the final set of a match, so that the deciding set must be played until one player or team has won two more games than the opponent.

In a tiebreaker game, points are counted using ordinary numbering, with zero read as "zero", and the game is won by the first player to have won at least seven points and at least two points more than his or her opponent. In the tie-breaker game, the first point is served by the player who would have served the next service game, had service games continued as normal. That player serves a single point from the deuce court. The opponent then serves the next two points starting from the ad court. Service alternates after every two points, and players/teams change sides of the court after every six points.