No-Ad Scoring (Deciding Point)

Under traditional scoring, a game tied at 40-40 goes to deuce. That requires a player to win two points in a row (advantage, then game) to close it out. This can extend a single game considerably if players keep trading the advantage. No-ad scoring removes that extension entirely. At 40-40, one deciding point is played, and whoever wins it wins the game. There is no advantage and no requirement to win by two. This format is common in college tennis, many club and league formats, and doubles play in several tours. That is largely because it keeps match length more predictable.

The deciding point under no-ad scoring usually gives the returning team or player a choice of which side to receive serve from. They can pick the deuce or ad court. That adds a small tactical wrinkle not present in traditional scoring. The entire game can hinge on a single point rather than a multi-point deuce battle. So no-ad scoring tends to reward players who perform well under isolated high-pressure points. It can also slightly favor big servers, since there's no cumulative grinding-down effect across repeated deuce points.