Preserve the earlier fault
The 2026 ITF Rules of Tennis reproduced in USTA’s Friend at Court state that a service let does not cancel a previous fault. Under the ordinary let procedure, a let on the second serve therefore leaves a second serve to play. Approved no-let alternatives need separate identification.
At 30–30, a server misses the first serve. The second clips the net and otherwise lands correctly, producing a service let. The score remains 30–30, but the service status has not returned to a fresh first attempt.
Two records prevent the common mix-up
Keep score and service status separately: 30–30 in one record, first fault already used in the other. A let can leave the first unchanged while preserving the second. If a later second serve faults, the earlier first fault remains part of the point’s history.
A graphic briefly showing only the score may hide that history. The practical question is which serve was being replayed, not how many seconds the interruption lasted. This original point sequence explains the ordinary rule without treating every competition’s approved alternative format as identical.
Questions answered
Does an unchanged score mean two new serves?
No.
Which earlier event should remain in the record?
The first-service fault.
Sources & further reading
Official references for the subjects discussed. Service terms and device software can change.