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SESK: Stuff Everyone Should Know · sesk.info/tennis-server-score-first

When calling the score in a tennis game, whose score is said first?

The server's score is always called first.

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  1. The player who is winning
  2. The receiver's
  3. The server's ✔

Why: The Rules of Tennis say a game is scored with the server's score called first. So 30 to 15 means the server is ahead.

Huh, didn't know that: Because the server changes every game, the same score can flip around: 15 to 40 in one game might be 40 to 15 the next.

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Why are waiters so good at tennis? They really know how to serve.
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References

Answer: The server's. The Rules of Tennis say a game is scored with the server's score called first. So 30 to 15 means the server is ahead.

  1. ITF 2026 Rules of Tennis, Rule 5 Score in a Game www.itftennis.com/media/7221/2026-rules-of-tennis-english.pdf
    A standard game is scored as follows with the server’s score being called first:
    Checked 2026-10-12.

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