What Are The Origins Of The Tennis Scoring System

Tennis is one of the world’s most loved and well-known sports thanks to it’s easy to follow nature and exciting watchability for both avid and casual viewers.

But why is it’s scoring system quite random and different to other sports? Well, we’re here to tell you why and clear the confusion out for you so you can be a pro at scoring – and give the umpire a run for their money!

Why is tennis scored the way it is?

There are several rules to tennis, some of which are simpler to understand than others.

At the beginning of a match, both players start at zero (0-0) - surprise surprise! This is known as “love all”.

The player to win the first point in a game gets 15 points, taking the score to 15-0 (fifteen-love), the second point scored takes them to 30 and the third to 40 points – one point after this will win the player the game.

However, when both players have 40 points (40-40), the score is referred to as “deuce”. When a player wins a point after deuce, it’s their “advantage” (AD-40). If the player with the “advantage” score then wins the next point (and has therefore won two points after deuce), they have won the game. If they lose the point, the score goes back to deuce (40-40) and they play until someone has won two points.

Six games must be won in order to win a set in tennis, but the player must win by two games to claim the set. For example, the score must be 6-4, 7-5 etc. When the score in games is 6-6 (six games all), a tie-break then occurs to determine the winner of the set.

Professional tennis scoring revolves around a best-of-three or best-of-five sets in order to claim the match victory.

Why is tennis scored as 15, 30, 40?

It may seem unusual that this is the scoring method for tennis – why isn’t it just 1, 2, 3 or 4 points to win a game?

The sport dates back to the medieval times, in France, where the game was known as “jeu de paume”. The court was 45 feet long on each side of the net, and when a player scored, they would proceed to move forward by 15 feet. After this, when another point was scored, they could move forward 15 more feet taking them to 30 feet, and after that could only move forward 10 feet ( a total of 40 feet) to ensure they weren’t too close to the net. This is where the scoring of 15, 30, 40 came into play!

Now that that makes more sense, why is “love” used for zero? Do the players just love the game that much? It actually came from the phrase “playing for love” which means “without stakes being wagered, for nothing” – so essentially, yes they do love the game!
Or, if you’d rather believe this origin, some say it came from the French term for “the egg” which is l’oeuf because an egg is the same shape as a zero.

Deuce – now this one comes from the French term “deux du jeu” meaning “two to win”, reflected in the need for a player to win two consecutive points from the point of deuce (40-40) to win the game.

Tie-breaks are a fantastically tense moment in a tennis match, giving players and spectators excitement and nerves as the close score leaves no room to relax – anyone could take the win!

Players can win the tie-break by winning a minimum of seven points, where the score begins at zero and each point won goes up by a single point (one, two, three, four etc.) rather than 15, 30, 40. To win the tie-break though, two clear points must be achieved. When getting ready to serve at the beginning of a tie-break, it’s the player who would serve after 6-6 to serve first, then the opposition serves for two points, and each player after that serves for two.

The Clock Theory

One theory for the origins of the tennis scoring is that a clock face was used as a scoreboard. The seconds hand of the clock was moved one quarter clockwise to 15, then to 30 and 45. Once a rotation was complete, it counted for one game won. Over time, 45 changed to 40 to make deuce set at 50 when a player received an advantage. However, this is a theory, and many have said this can’t have worked as the game was played before clocks with minute hands were even created!

Time to hit the courts

Now you’re ready to get court side (or pick up a racket and get playing a game) and understand everything there is to know about scoring in tennis. Do you now need to brush up on some more tennis knowledge? Why not take a read of our key tennis terms you should know to now sound like a pro!

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