Okay, so yesterday, I got into this whole tennis scoring thing, and let me tell you, it’s a bit of a rabbit hole. I started because a buddy of mine and I were watching a match, and the score hit “deuce.” Now, I thought I knew the basics of tennis, but I couldn’t for the life of me remember what came next.
So, I grabbed my phone and did a quick search. Turns out, the internet’s full of this stuff, but it’s all written like some kind of ancient code. Lots of “server” this and “returner” that. I just wanted a straight answer.
Anyway, I started digging around, and I found out that after deuce, you have something called “advantage.” It’s basically like sudden death but not quite. The first article I read was all formal and stiff. It kept talking about the player winning the “deuce point” and then the “Ad point” and something about “holding” serve. Honestly, I had to read it like five times, and I’m still not sure I fully got it.
Then I found another page that made things a bit clearer. It used the word “ADOUT,” which apparently means the person receiving the serve has the advantage. That made a bit more sense. If that person wins the next point, they win the game. Simple enough, right?
But then, things got murky again. Another site talked about how players need to win two points in a row after deuce. So, if you get the advantage and then lose the next point, you’re back to deuce. It’s like this endless loop of almost winning.
I even stumbled upon this crossword puzzle answer thing. It said “ADIN” was the answer to “point after deuce.” So now I’m thinking, “Wait, is it ADOUT or ADIN?” My head was spinning at this point.
Finally, I found a piece that explained it in a way that even I could understand. It just said that the point after deuce is a “key moment” because it gives someone the edge. That’s it. No fancy terms, no confusing jargon. Just plain and simple.
Here’s the deal as I understood it:
- Deuce means the score is tied at 40-40.
- After deuce, the next point is the advantage.
- If the person with the advantage wins the next point, they win the game.
- If they lose, it’s back to deuce.
- You need to win two points in a row after deuce to win the game.
So, yeah, that was my little adventure into the world of tennis scoring. It’s definitely more complicated than I thought, but I think I’ve got a decent handle on it now. Now, I can watch tennis with my friend, who is a hardcore tennis player. It was so annoyed that a new player could not remember these basic rules.
