New to tennis? Start here. Scoring, the draw, the grass surface, and what all those terms mean — explained in plain English before a ball is served.
Tennis has the most unusual scoring system in sport — here's how it works from first point to championship.
Points in tennis are scored as: Love (0) → 15 → 30 → 40 → Game. You need four points to win a game — but with one catch. If both players reach 40–40 (called "deuce"), you need to win two consecutive points to take the game. The first point after deuce gives you "advantage" — win the next point and you win the game; lose it and you return to deuce.
The term "love" for zero likely derives from the French word "l'oeuf" (egg), representing the round shape of a zero. The 15/30/40 system is believed to derive from a clock face — though the original 45 was shortened to 40 to make "deuce" easier to call.
Win 6 games to win a set — with a catch. If it reaches 6–6, a tiebreak is played (the first to 7 points, winning by 2). At Wimbledon, the men's Singles final set used to be played without a tiebreak until one player led by 2 games — this produced the famous 70–68 final-set epic between Isner and Mahut in 2010. A final-set tiebreak is now used at all Wimbledon matches (first to 10 points).
Men's Matches: Best of 5 sets — you need to win 3 sets to win the match.
Women's Matches: Best of 3 sets — you need to win 2 sets.
If the scoreboard shows Sinner 6–4, 6–7, 3–2 (40–15) it means: Sinner won the first set 6–4, lost the second set 6–7 (in a tiebreak), and in the ongoing third set leads 3–2 in games, and is currently leading the current game 40–15. One more point and Sinner wins the game to go 4–2 up in the third set.
Tennis alternates who serves each game. On grass, that service hold matters enormously.
The server stands behind the baseline and must hit the ball into the diagonally opposite service box. They get two attempts. A fault on the first serve means a second serve is coming; a fault on the second serve is a double fault, giving the point to the opponent.
The server alternates between sides each point within a game — first from the right (deuce court), then from the left (ad court). Service alternates between players each game.
In professional tennis, the server has a significant advantage — the first serve is the most powerful offensive shot in the game, and players who can consistently place it at 120 mph give their opponents almost no time to respond. "Holding serve" — winning the game when you're serving — is expected. "Breaking serve" — winning a game when your opponent is serving — is the dramatic moment that shifts matches.
At Wimbledon on grass, this dynamic is amplified. The ball stays low after bouncing, giving returners even less time. First-serve percentages spike at Wimbledon compared to clay. Players who rely on big serves can dominate the first week when the courts are fastest.
First serves are hit with maximum pace — the goal is to win the point outright, or put the opponent so far back that the server controls the rally. First-serve percentages in professional tennis range from 55% to 75%. Above 70% is excellent; below 55% is a liability.
Second serves must be more conservative to avoid double faults, but a predictable second serve will be attacked aggressively by a good returner. The ability to hit a "kick serve" — one that spins and bounces high to the opponent's backhand — is a crucial skill at professional level. On grass, where the ball stays low, the kick serve can bounce higher than the surface normally produces, creating unusual difficulty for returners.
An ace is a serve that the returner cannot touch — it lands in the correct box and passes the returner's racquet untouched. Aces are the most decisive single shot in the game: they end points instantly, require no exchange, and drain the opponent's energy. Some grass court specialists at Wimbledon historically served 30–40 aces per match. The top servers in the modern game typically reach 10–20 per match at Wimbledon.
The three Grand Slam surfaces produce three completely different tournaments. Wimbledon's grass is the fastest and most distinctive.
The All England Club's grass courts are composed of perennial ryegrass, cut to exactly 8mm. The specific composition and maintenance regime produce a surface that is harder and faster than most other grass courts. The ball bounces low — often below knee height on the first bounce — and moves through quickly, giving players split seconds to respond.
The courts change character during the tournament. In Week 1, the grass is lush and plays at maximum speed. By Week 2, the high-traffic baseline areas develop brown, worn patches where the grass has been compressed and broken down. On these worn sections, the bounce becomes slightly more irregular — a factor that experienced players account for in positioning and shot selection.
The standard baseline rally game that dominates clay and hard courts is less effective on grass. Players who rely on time — who want long exchanges to construct points from the back — find themselves under pressure from fast, low balls they cannot loop with topspin. The adjustment for clay-court players coming to Wimbledon is substantial; for grass-court naturals, it feels like a different sport entirely.
The serve-and-volley tactic — serving and immediately rushing to the net to finish the point with a volley — was the dominant style at Wimbledon for much of the 20th century. Modern string technology and player fitness have reduced its prevalence, but top players still use selective net approaches to keep opponents guessing. At Wimbledon, a well-timed approach to the net can end a rally before it begins.
128 players. One champion. Seven wins. Here's how the tournament is structured.
Both the Gentlemen's Singles and Ladies' Singles start with 128 players. It's a single-elimination tournament: lose once and you're out. Seven wins are required to become champion — through the first round, second round, third round, fourth round, quarterfinals, semifinals, and the final.
The draw is released the Friday before the tournament begins (June 26 in 2026). Players find out their first-round opponent and can see, in principle, the path they would need to travel to reach the final. The bracket determines everything: a favourable draw that keeps the top seeds apart until late is a significant structural advantage.
The top 32 players in each singles draw are "seeded" — placed at specific positions in the draw to prevent the best players from meeting each other in the early rounds. Seed 1 and Seed 2 are placed on opposite halves of the draw, so they can only meet in the final. Seeds 3 and 4 are placed at opposite ends of the two halves, so at most they can meet in the semifinals.
Wimbledon's seedings are set by the All England Club itself — they use the ATP and WTA rankings but apply their own weighting that gives additional credit for grass court performance and recent results on grass. This means a player ranked 15th in the world but with a strong grass court record might be seeded higher at Wimbledon than they would be at other Slams.
Not all 128 players get in on ranking alone. The All England Club awards a small number of wildcards to players who might not have earned a direct entry through ranking but who the tournament committee wishes to include — often British players, or returning players recovering from injury. These wildcards are allocated discretionally.
The final 16 spots in each draw are filled by Qualifiers — players who compete in a separate three-round qualifying tournament at Roehampton the week before Wimbledon begins. These players effectively earn their way into the main draw through merit. Qualifiers occasionally go deep into Wimbledon; the grass court suits their style and the advantage of familiarity with the courts' current condition is real.
When the draw is released, analysts and fans immediately identify potential "quarter" winners — the first projected semifinalists — and study each section for favourable or unfavourable paths. A top seed who draws several big servers in the early rounds faces a very different tournament than one who starts against lower-ranked clay court players.
The draw is deliberately kept unpredictable through a random process — but the seedings themselves are deterministic. Understanding the seedings tells you who will be on which side of the draw and what a potential final would look like.
Five things that will make every rally more interesting once you know what they mean.
On grass, returning a big first serve is one of the hardest shots in sport. Watch how far back the returner stands — a player who backs up 6 feet behind the baseline is showing respect for the serve. When a returner steps in aggressively close to the baseline, it signals they are reading the serve well and plan to attack. A good return is often more decisive than any other shot in the match.
When a player hits a deep, low ball that puts the opponent in a defensive position, they sometimes follow it to the net. The approach shot sets up the volley — a punch or angle aimed away from the opponent. On grass, a net rusher has a significant advantage: the ball stays low, volleys are harder to defend, and the angled winner has more court to aim at. Watch how often top players choose to come in.
A break point is when the returner has the chance to win the game. This is the highest-pressure moment in any set — the server must hold to preserve the structure of the set, the returner must convert to gain the advantage. Watch how each player's body language changes on a break point. Some players lock in; others tighten up. The mental side of professional tennis is on full display in these moments.
A tiebreak is played at 6–6 in any set. It's first to 7 points, winning by 2. Points are scored 1, 2, 3… and the serve switches every two points (with a single point to start). Mini-breaks — winning a point on the opponent's serve — are the equivalent of break points in a regular game. Tiebreaks are won and lost on two or three key moments, and the player with the bigger serve and nerves has a clear structural advantage.
Not all missed shots are equal. An "unforced error" is a mistake made without pressure — a routine forehand hit into the net when the opponent was behind the baseline. A "forced error" is a missed shot made because the opponent put you in a difficult position. The ratio matters: a player making lots of unforced errors is nervous, spraying shots. Lots of forced errors means their opponent is constructing points effectively.
Tennis is deeply psychological. A player who wins three or four consecutive points suddenly looks different — quicker, more decisive. Their opponent begins to hesitate. Watch what happens immediately after a break of serve: the player who just broke often plays the next game on pure adrenaline. The player who just lost serve must immediately re-focus to hold their own game and stay in the set. This transition is one of the most interesting tactical moments in the sport.