Call the server’s score first
If the serving pair has won two points and the receiving pair one, call 30–15. A pair that wins four points with the required margin wins the game. At three points each, the score is deuce rather than 40–40 in the advantage sequence.
Three formats at deuce
The 2026 FIP rulebook lists these distinct options. Ask which one applies before play.
- Advantage: win two consecutive points from deuce. If advantage is lost, return to deuce.
- Star Point: after two advantage cycles return to a third deuce, then play a deciding Star Point. The receiving pair chooses the receiving side.
- Golden Point: play one deciding point at deuce. The receiving pair chooses the side; mixed-match receiving requirements also apply.
From games to a set
In the standard format, six games wins a set with a two-game margin. From 5–5 you can win 7–5; at 6–6 play a tie-break. A standard tie-break goes to seven points, with a two-point margin. At 6–6 in that tie-break, play continues: 7–6 is not enough.
A worked example
Your pair leads 5–4 in games, then wins the next game: the set ends 6–4. If you lose that game, the set is 5–5, not finished. Win the next two for 7–5. If the pairs split them, it is 6–6 and a tie-break follows.
Short sessions can use other endings
The rulebook also permits alternative set and deciding-match tie-break formats when established in advance. A ten-point match tie-break is not the same thing as a normal seven-point set tie-break. Follow the event or session format rather than improvising midway.
Follow one game from the server’s side
Imagine you are serving. Your pair wins a point: 15–0. The opponents win the next: 15–15. Your pair then wins two: 40–15. If they win the next point it becomes 40–30; if they win again it is deuce. Under advantage scoring, your next point gives advantage to you, not the game. Lose the following point and you are back at deuce. Win it instead and the game ends. Continue calling the server’s score first even if that pair is behind.
A Star Point example
Under Star Point, the first deuce can still end with two consecutive points to one pair. If an advantage is cancelled, reach deuce two and play another advantage cycle. If that advantage is also cancelled, the third deuce leads to the deciding Star Point. Do not play a Golden Point at the first deuce just because the game has a deciding-point option. The receiving pair chooses a side for the Star Point, keeps its established receiving positions and follows the mixed-match condition when applicable.
Serve order inside a tie-break
Use ordinary numbers rather than 15, 30 and 40. The player next due to serve starts with one point from the right. The next server takes two points, starting from the left; subsequent servers each take two, maintaining the service order. Change ends after every six points. Seven points wins only with a two-point margin, so a 7–6 lead is not a completed tie-break. The next set starts with the pair that did not begin serving in the tie-break.
Keep points, games and sets separate
A normal match needs two sets won, not two games. A tie-break won ends a set recorded 7–6, while the tie-break’s own point score is a separate number. A previously agreed deciding-match super tie-break can replace the last set and is played to ten with a two-point margin. Do not record that as a normal ten-game set. In a social booking, establish whether you will use full sets, a short format or an agreed finish when court time ends.