Answer:
In the beginning, both rackets and tennis scoring were used for lawn tennis. With rackets scoring, a game comprised 15 aces, which could be won only by the server who remained 'Hand in' until the loss of a rally. Tennis scoring was adopted for the first Wimbledon Championships in 1877 and became the standard.
The origins are not fully known. Some of the reason behind this particular format are:
- The origin of the use of 'Love' for zero is possibly derived from the French word for the egg (l'œuf) because an egg looks like the number zero. It was done as most people in medieval times didn't understand the concept of zero. 'Love' is also said to derive from 'L'heure' or 'The hour' in French. Another possibility of the origin comes from the Dutch 'Iets voor lof doen', which means to do something for nothing. The word 'Lof' (nothing) has changed over time to 'Love'.
- Originally the scores were 15, 30, and 45. These represented the fifteen minute intervals on a clock. People were better able to understand how close a player was to winning a game this way. Also, a different way of scoring games than sets was convenient to avoid confusion in times when instant scoring was not available. 45 was later changed to 40, probably because it is easier to say. Deuce was probably developed as a quick way for saying the two players are even.
- 15, 30, and 40 scores are believed to be of medieval French origin. It is possible that a clock face was used on court, with a quarter move of the hand to indicate a score of 15, 30, and 45. When the hand moved to 60, the game was over. However, it was realized that the game could then be won by luck, and so the idea of 'Deuce' was introduced. In order to make the score still within the 60 ticks on the clock face, the 45 was changed to 40. Therefore, if both players have 40, the first player to score receives ten and that moves the clock to 50. If the player scores a second time before the opponent is able to score, they are awarded another ten and the clock moves to 60. The 60 signifies the end of the game. However, if a player fails to score twice in a row, then the clock would move back to 40 to establish another 'Deuce'.
- Another theory is that the scoring nomenclature came from the French 'Game jeu de paume' (a precursor to tennis that substituted the racquet for a hand). 'Jeu de paume' was very popular before the French revolution, with more than 1,000 courts in Paris alone. The traditional court was 90 ft in total with 45 ft on each side. When the server scored, he/she moved forward 15 ft. If he/she scored again, he/she would move another 15 ft. If he/she scored a third time, he/she could only move 10 ft closer.
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