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You disagree about the score. How is it settled?
Agree on the points you both remember, replay the one you cannot, and call the score before every serve.
Your pair says 30-15, theirs says 15-30, and nobody wrote anything down. There is no referee. What is the fair way to settle it?
Agree on the points you both remember, replay the one you cannot, and call the score before every serve.
Why
Score disputes have a simple convention: count back the points both pairs agree on, and where a single point is genuinely disputed, replay it. In a refereed match the referee's scorecard decides. The cure is the habit that stops the problem: the server calls the score aloud before each serve, loud enough for all four players to hear. If nobody objects when the score is called, that score stands, and there is nothing left to argue about later.
What this means at your level
Beginner
Call the score before every serve, every time, loudly. It feels formal for a week and then it is just what you do.
Intermediate
When you receive, listen to the call. If you disagree, say so before the serve, never after the point.
Advanced
A pair that mis-calls the score in its own favour twice is not confused. Write the games down on your phone at each change of ends and say so.
Common questions
Your pair says 30-15, theirs says 15-30, and nobody wrote anything down. There is no referee. What is the fair way to settle it?
Agree what you both remember, replay the disputed point. Agree on the points you both remember, replay the one you cannot, and call the score before every serve. Score disputes have a simple convention: count back the points both pairs agree on, and where a single point is genuinely disputed, replay it. In a refereed match the referee's scorecard decides. The cure is the habit that stops the problem: the server calls the score aloud before each serve, loud enough for all four players to hear. If nobody objects when the score is called, that score stands, and there is nothing left to argue about later.
Why not the server's call stands, as it does for the score?
The server calls the score, which is exactly why this should not happen, but there is no rule that the server's memory wins an argument.
What should a beginner do here?
Call the score before every serve, every time, loudly. It feels formal for a week and then it is just what you do.
How does this change for an advanced player?
A pair that mis-calls the score in its own favour twice is not confused. Write the games down on your phone at each change of ends and say so.
What do the rules say?
In a match without a referee, disputed points should be resolved by agreement; where a point cannot be agreed, it is replayed. The server should announce the score before each point.
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