How does scoring work in the Australian Open?

One of the four Grand Slam tournaments, the Australian Open, will be starting from January 12, 2025, to January 26, 2025. Annually organised at Melbourne Park, the Australian Open is played on hardcourts, and games are hosted at Rod Laver, John Cain, and Margaret Court. This 113th edition of the tournament will have 64 teams participating in doubles and 128 players contending in singles.

This prestigious tournament has increased its game session to 58 in 2025, with 15 sessions at John Cain, 16 at Margaret Court and 27 at Rod Laver. The 10-times Australian Open winner Novak Djokovic is making a comeback with his new coach, Andy Murray. Former World No. 1 Simona Halep is entering the tournament as the wildcard player since her suspension in 2022. Other prominent players to watch out for include defending champions Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka, with Carlos Alcaraz and Iga Swiatek.

Australian Open scoring system

Every single men’s game is in a five-set format, with the winner winning the three sets. Women’s singles and doubles, qualifying, men’s doubles and wheelchair categories involve the best three-set formats, with the winner winning the two sets. The same scoring works in the case of the junior singles and quad categories. (via the official AUS Open website)

In case the scores of the players are tied at 5-5, then the first person to reach 7 games will win the set. The tiebreaker will be played when the set is tied at 6-6. In 2019, the Australian Open became the first grand slam tournament to introduce a 10-point tiebreak in the final set. In mixed doubles, junior doubles, and wheelchair doubles, a ten-point tiebreak was used in place of the third set.