A match in tennis encompasses all of the scoring aspects of tennis. A match is made up of games and sets, the latter of which makes up games. Before getting into more detail about what exactly a tennis match is, we need to cover some background information about the sport.
The objective of tennis is to score points by hitting the ball over a net in the middle of a two-sided court. You score points by having the ball bounce in-bounds on your opponent's side of the court twice, or by having your opponent strike the ball out of bounds.
In tennis, you must score 4 points to win a round. However, the scoring system is a bit more complicated than just '4 points'. Here is how scoring works in Tennis:
| General Terminology | Tennis Terminology |
|---|---|
| 0 points | Love |
| 1 point | 15 |
| 2 points | 30 |
| 3 points | 40 |
| Score is Tied | All |
| Score is tied at 40 | Deuce |
When the score is tied at Deuce, a player must win two points in a row to win the round. If the score is not at Deuce, the first to 5 points wins (since there is no official number score that comes after 40).
There are three parts to a Tennis game: game, set, and match. In Tennis, you want to score points (as mentioned above) to win a game. After you have won enough games, you win the set. After you've won enough sets, you win the match, which is the main objective.
A game is pretty easy to understand as it's what you commonly see. First player to 5 points wins, or first to score to consecutive points at Deuce wins.
A set is a bit more complicated. There are two kinds of sets, which are made up of individual games. An advantage set is a set in which a player must win 6 games. To win an advantage set, a player must win by at least two games. In a tiebreak set, players win by winning 6 games. If the score reaches 5-5, the players play two more games. If the score remains tied at 6-6, a tiebreaker game will determine the winner. And finally addressing the question at hand, a match is made up of multiple sets, usually 3.
