What is love, baby don’t hurt me. (That’s going to be stuck in your head for the rest of the day). People always get so confused why people say “Love” in tennis. When you find out what it means for the first time, you’re like really.
Let’s start off by saying that the scoring system in tennis is wild. It goes from 0 – 15 – 30 – 40 and you have to win each game by two points and each set by two games… I didn’t invent the scoring but I will say that I love it! Even if you lost every point for the first hour and you are down Love(0)-6 Love(0)-5 Love(0)-40 you can still win the match!
You know we love our conspiracy theory here at TAKiN Sports, so where did the term “Love” come from in Tennis. The Oxford English Dictionary suggests that the term might be rooted in the colloquial phrase “for love,” meaning “without stakes being wagered.” This theory reflects the sport’s long history of etiquette and sportsmanship. Another favorite theory of “Love” arose from the French word for “egg,” l’oeuf, because a zero on a scoreboard looks like an egg.
What Are Some Examples Of Love In Tennis Scoring?
Player 1 is playing against player 2. Player 1 is serving and remember in tennis you always say your score first. (Player 1 is about to crush player 2 btw)
- Player 1 wins the first point: 15-love
- Player 1 wins the second point: 30-love
- Player 1 wins the third point: 40-love
- Player 1 wins the fourth point: you win the game
It is now Player 2’s turn to serve the ball. (Player 2 continues to get crushed!)
- Player 1 wins the first point: love-15
- Player 1 wins the second point: love-30
- Player 1 wins the third point: Love-40
- Player 2 wins three points in a row (OMG!): 40 – All : AKA “Deuce”
- Player 2 wins the seventh point: Ad In
- Player 1 wins the eighth point: Deuce
- Player 1 wins the ninth point: Ad Out
- Player 1 wins the next point: Game, Set, Match
What is Love All (or Love Love)
When starting a new game, the score is technically love-all or zero to zero. However, players do not report the score of the current game when a new game starts. Instead, the player serving will say the score in games for the current set.
As a result, players never use the score of love-all. The only relevant time to even consider using that score would be prior the first point of a match starts which again is unnecessary.