In tennis, does anybody know why the scoring goes 15 to 30 to 40 etc? | Notes and Queries (2024)

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In tennis, does anybody know why the scoring goes 15 to 30 to 40 etc? | Notes and Queries? ›

Tennis scores were shown in the middle ages on two clock faces which went from 0 to 60. On each score the pointer moved round a quarter from 0 to 15, 30, 45 and a win on 60. Somehow the forty five got truncated to forty when the clock faces dropped out of use.

History. The origins of the 15, 30, and 40 scores are believed to be medieval French. The earliest reference is in a ballad by Charles D'Orleans in 1435 which refers to quarante cinq ("forty-five"), which gave rise to modern 40. In 1522, there is a sentence in Latin, "we are winning 30, we are winning 45".

Given that tennis had its origins in France during the Middle Ages, it is likely that the scoring system was based on an old French counting system. In French, a quinzaine is a quantity of 15, in the same way that a dozen is a quantity of 12. The French word for 15 is quinze (nothing to do with quince fruit).

For the unfamiliar, tennis starts with both players at zero, called love: “Love-all.” One person scores: 15 to love. The server's score is said first, the receiver's second. The other now scores, and they're tied at “15-all.” The next point is 30, then 40, and the following point wins that game.

For consistency in the rhythm and sound of score call-outs. Fifteen, thirty, and forty are all two-syllable call-outs.

The origins of 'love' as a score lie in the figure zero's resemblance to an egg. In sport, it's common to refer to a nil or nought score as a duck or goose egg, and the French word for egg is l'oeuf - the pronunciation of which isn't too far removed from the English 'love'.

This term also goes back to a French origin. At that score a player will need to take two more points in a row to win the game. In French, it was said that it was "à deux de jeu" or "two [points] for the game". Again, over time the French became corrupted leading to the current term: deuce.

In tennis, love represents a score of zero. This use has existed since the late 1800s, and it's not certain how it came to be. The most likely theory is that those with zero points were still playing for the "love of the game" despite their losing score.

To win the bet on the over 22.5 games, you will need for at least 23 games to take place. A result of 7-6 6-4, for example, is enough to win that bet. Regarding the under 22.5 games, that will be a winning bet if the match ends with less than 23 games played.

When the score reaches deuce, one player or team will need to win at least two points in a row to win the game. When the server wins the deuce point, it is called Ad-In, but when they lose the deuce point, it is called Ad-Out.

How to score tennis for dummies? ›

In order to win a game, players must with four points. The name of these four points is love (zero), 15, 30, 40, and game. If the game is tied at 40-40 (also known as deuce), the game continues until one player wins by a two-point lead. There are six games in a set and two or three sets in a match.

Tennis scores were shown in the middle ages on two clock faces which went from 0 to 60. On each score the pointer moved round a quarter from 0 to 15, 30, 45 and a win on 60. Somehow the forty five got truncated to forty when the clock faces dropped out of use.

WHAT IS A DEUCE? The only time this is different is when both you and your opponent have won three points each and the score is 40-40. This is called deuce. When the score reaches deuce, one player or team will need to win at least two points in a row to win the game.

Scoring in Tennis

The points progress from love to 15, 30, and 40, which are relatively equivalent to 0,1, 2, and 3 in points per game. For example, if the player serving wins the first point of a game, then the score is "15 - love" or "fifteen (to) love" in their favor.

Depending on the competition it is very well possible to have a match last forever. Tennis itself has no rules about a time limit. See the longest match ever played, which took 11 hours in total. Matches without a tie break in the last set are prone to take longest.

Players often find themselves tied at 40 points each - called a 'deuce' - meaning one has to score twice consecutively to win a game (advantage, game).