Why is Tennis Scored the Way it is? (Tennis Scoring History)

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Elizabeth Wilson, in the book, “Love Game”, wrote: “I don’t think anyone really knows how it started or why it developed the way it did”.

However, we’ve done our own research on this fascinating topic and have found there are some really interesting theories as to why tennis is scored the way it is. We’ll discuss all the different theories on the origin of tennis scoring, then, you can make your mind up on whether they sound likely to have caused such a weird and wonderful tennis scoring system!

Firstly, we appreciate not all of you reading this article may be tennis players, so here’s a quick tennis scoring crash course.

The Tennis Scoring System

A tennis game starts with both players locked in at 0-0. The zero effect (whether one person is at zero, or both) is also called “Love”.

When one player wins a point, they move up to 15-0 (“15-Love” – as spoken by the umpire, with the server’s score always being stated first).

If the player ahead wins the next point, they would be at 30-0 (“30-Love”). However, if the opposing player won this next point, the score would go, 15-15 (“15-All”).

The next point available after 30, is 40 (not 45 like you might be expecting! More on this later.)

The next point after 40 wins the game.

If there is a tie and 40-40, this is always called “Deuce”. From this, a player must win two points in a row to win the game. Going up one point from Deuce is called “Advantage”, then winning another point from here would win the game.

If a player got to Advantage, then lost the next point, the score would reset back to Deuce, until one player took the game.

There’s been some epic Deuce battles in Wimbledon Finals over the years – a quick YouTube search could keep you entertained all day. This exciting footage makes us really glad tennis is scored the way it is, even if it is a bit weird!

Once a game has been won, 6 games must be won by two clear games, ie. 6-4, for a player to take the set.

Depending on whether a match is the best of 5 (first to 3 sets) or the best of 3 (first to 2 sets) will determine when a player goes on the match. The number of sets required to win is obviously always pre-determined before the match, but varies depending on the particular competition venue, level and gender.

There are a few more intricacies than this, like tiebreaks, and what happens in the final set at Wimbledon if players are locked in at 2-2 set all, but this provides a very good overall picture, should you have been in the dark about how tennis is scored the way it is before reading the above!

Now that’s all clear, let’s move on to some of the theories about why tennis is scored the way it is.

The Clock Face

This is probably one of the most convincing arguments out there.

It is believed that tennis scores in the very early days were shown on two clock faces. As each person scored, the clock face was moved around 25% or 15 minutes, from 15 to 30, then 45, and finally the win on 60.

Some of you will probably be shouting at your computer or phones right now, saying tennis is scored as 40, not 45!

And you’d be right!

However, critics believe that the verbal declaration of “45” was shortened to “40” when clock faces stopped being used.

This is interesting as we naturally do this, even in today’s game. For instance, you won’t have to hang around long at your local tennis club to hear people saying, “thirties”, instead of “30-all”.

Another common expression is, “van” instead of “advantage”, or even “2” (referring to the first and second serves still remaining) instead of “Let-First Service”, as you will hear umpires say on television.

For these reasons, I, personally find it completely believable that dropping the “5” from “45” happened at some point in history.

Tennis Scoring History – When was the Scoring System Developed?

Historians agree that the traditional scoring system that’s still in use today dates right back to the early beginnings of tennis.

In a tennis match between Henry V and French Dauphin, as written in poetry, a few years after the 1415 Agincourt Battle, there are many references to 15, 30 and 45.

In the 1520s, Erasmus wrote “we’ve got 30, we’ve got 40”, when referring to a dialogue between two tennis players.

What About Love?

Okay, so firstly I haven’t taken to giving out dating advice. I’ll leave that to our resident ladies man, Will!

Another element that causes people to ask “why is tennis scored so weird” is because each player starts the game at love.

Again, there isn’t any hard evidence to suggest why love is used to refer to the state of “zero”.

However, one suggestion is that it refers to the French term, l’oeuf, meaning, egg; the shape of the egg being the same shape as a zero.

Although a possibility, the counter argument is that the early day players never wrote their scores down, so the visual, zero shape was not needed.

Frequently Asked Questions: Why is Tennis Scored the Way it Is?

• Why is the tennis scoring system the way it is? Tennis dates back hundreds of years, and it’s gone through many changes over that time. We don’t actually know exactly how the tennis scoring system came about, but some people believe it came about to mirror the clock face. Unfortunately, we don’t know exactly why tennis is scored so weirdly.
• Why is it 40 instead of 45 in tennis? It’s believed the numbers 15,30, and 45 came from using the clock as a scoreboard. Each point was worth 15, and once a player reached the hour (60 minutes) it represented a game. However, they didn’t want a game to be won by a single point, thus introducing deuce and advantage, but, this didn’t work with the 45, because once a player won their 4th point they automatically ticked over the hour. To allow for the advantage, 45 was changed to 40.
• Why do they call it love in tennis? The origins of love and why tennis is scored the way it is aren’t well known. However, some people theorize that it comes from the French word for egg: “l’oeuf”. An egg is the same shape as a 0, so it’s used to signify a player not having any points on the board.
• What is a bagel in tennis? A bagel refers to the number 0. This would mean a bagel is a 6-0 set and a double bagel is a match that finishes 6-0, 6-0. You might also hear this referred to as a donut.

Our Thoughts: Why is Tennis Scored the Way it Is?

We hope this article has provided you with some interesting food for thought on the tennis scoring systems! Although it’s impossible to make any conclusive comments on why tennis is scored the way it is, we feel that the clock face argument does provide a very convincing argument.

Why?

How many different metric systems are out there that fit the bill?

Not many with the 25% percent marks hitting the tennis metrics in such a similar way.

Additionally, the shortening of “45” to “40” does actually make a lot of sense. As we touched upon earlier, tennis club members will be fully aware of how often this truncating effect happens when calling the score.

Expressions such as, “Van-In” instead of “Advantage-{insert:Player’s Surname}” and  then just silence when a game is won, instead of saying “game”, as an umpire would say.

Upon reflection, I actually don’t think I’ve ever played a match where I or my opponent has declared “game”. I don’t plan to either! Calling out that I’d just won wouldn’t make me too popular!

Often, people are even too lazy to call any score out at all and just rely on keeping track of it in the heads, or even worse, expecting the opponent to keep it for them!

You can imagine the fireworks that happen on court when two players engaged in heated debate and disagreement over the score. Most of the time it’s their own fault, though!

Tennis players at all levels, just love saying the minimum they can get away with on court. It’s hardly surprising though – just playing the game is physically and mentally exhausting enough to begin with!

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