15, 30, 40, Love…: That’s why counting is so funny in tennis

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Tennis is not really a complicated game. Two (or four) players face each other and must play the ball over the net. But counting 15, 30, 40 raises questions. Questions that even the professionals cannot answer. When the ATP Tour asked players like Francis Tiafoe (ATP 10), Diego Schwartzman (ATP 98) or Reilly Opelka (ATP 635) in a social media video in the winter of 2021 about the meaning behind it, the professionals gave only bewildered answers back.

So why is it counted that way? There have been two legends around the counting method for a long time.

When tennis was still played with the hands in the 14th century and was called “Jeu de Paume” (translated: game with the palms of the hands), amounts of money were bet on points. A “Gros Tournois” was placed at each point. A coin worth 15 deniers, the currency of the time. It was not counted with points, but with amounts of money. That 45 became 40 would have something to do with the pronunciation. It is said that it was simply more convenient for the referee to say “quarante” (40) instead of “quarante cinq” (45). 15, 30, 40 was born.

This variant also goes back to the «Jeu ​​de Paume». At the time, the field was divided into lines, each spaced 15 inches apart. Whoever could score a point was allowed to advance one line and 15 inches. However, because the 45 inch line was too close to the net, it became the 40 inch line. 15, 30, 40 was born.

If a player has no points in his account yet, this is not called 0, but “Love”. This phrase probably comes from the English language and the proverb “to do something for love” which means “to do something for free”. (byl)

Source : Blick