# Tennis scoring question **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [June 23, 2009, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tennis-scoring-question/500712 "2009-06-23T13:50:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![chowder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/977dab/32.png) [@chowder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chowder)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2009, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tennis-scoring-question/500712/1 "2009-06-23T13:50:55Z")
15/30/40? Why not just 1, 2, 3. And why “love” for nil. And why “deuce” ??? ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2009, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tennis-scoring-question/500712/2 "2009-06-23T13:52:54Z")
Cecil speaks: [Why is tennis scoring so weird? - The Straight Dope](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/272/why-is-tennis-scoring-so-weird) That explains the origins, and they’ve stayed because of tradition. ---
**Author:** ![chowder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/977dab/32.png) [@chowder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chowder)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2009, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tennis-scoring-question/500712/3 "2009-06-23T15:23:32Z")
Well he explains everything apart from the duece. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2009, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tennis-scoring-question/500712/4 "2009-06-23T15:26:58Z")
Uh, just google it. It took five seconds. “DEUCE comes from ‘à deux le jeu’, meaning “to both is the game” (that is, the two players have equal scores).” ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2009, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tennis-scoring-question/500712/5 "2009-06-23T15:27:12Z")
I assume it’s because, at deuce, each player needs to score two more points to win the game. The same thing is true at 30-all, but nobody likes to talk about that. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![chowder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/977dab/32.png) [@chowder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chowder)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2009, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tennis-scoring-question/500712/6 "2009-06-23T15:47:03Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > Uh, just google it. It took five seconds. > > “DEUCE comes from ‘à deux le jeu’, meaning “to both is the game” (that is, the two players have equal scores).” Oh I’m far to lazy to bother with all that Googling stuff;) “New Balls?” ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2009, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tennis-scoring-question/500712/7 "2009-06-23T16:00:38Z")
> [@chowder](#): > > Oh I’m far to lazy to bother with all that Googling stuff;) > > “New Balls?” In professional matches, the balls are replaced every nine games because they get worn out. The umpire calls for the change. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2009, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tennis-scoring-question/500712/8 "2009-06-23T16:01:35Z")
> [@chowder](#): > > And why “love” for nil. Just pausing to note here that, for Americans, “love” isn’t any weirder than “nil.” ---
**Author:** ![RedFury](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ec9cab/32.png) [@RedFury](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RedFury)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2009, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tennis-scoring-question/500712/9 "2009-06-23T17:52:23Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > I assume it’s because, at deuce, each player needs to score two more points to win the game. The same thing is true at 30-all, but nobody likes to talk about that. 😛 IMHO “deuce” connotes a game that has gone over the requisite four points necessary for a service hold and/or break. Thus at 30-all you are still on course for a ‘normal’ 4-point hold – or a not so normal 4 point break. ETA: I guess in non-tennis terms one could say a “deuce” implies an “overtime” in a game. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2009, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tennis-scoring-question/500712/10 "2009-06-23T20:26:00Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > Just pausing to note here that, for Americans, “love” isn’t any weirder than “nil.” Well, it’s a bit weirder. We don’t say Nil very often to indicate zero points in a game, but I still think of nil meaning zero. Then again, my Mother is British and she may have said this as I grew up. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2009, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tennis-scoring-question/500712/11 "2009-06-25T21:25:01Z")
> [@chowder](#): > > Why not just 1, 2, 3. Some of the older debenture holders would be bound to get shirty. ---
**Author:** ![chowder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/977dab/32.png) [@chowder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chowder)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2009, 6:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tennis-scoring-question/500712/12 "2009-06-26T06:59:20Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > Some of the older debenture holders would be bound to get shirty. You cannot be serious:p ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2009, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tennis-scoring-question/500712/13 "2009-06-26T18:36:03Z")
It always seemed to me that when the score in tennis is 30-40, it is essentially “Advantage player 2.” ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2009, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tennis-scoring-question/500712/14 "2009-06-26T19:09:20Z")
> [@control-z](#): > > It always seemed to me that when the score in tennis is 30-40, it is essentially “Advantage player 2.” Yes, but they don’t say that because it is unnecessary. When the players tie 40-40, they will need to indicate who is in the after the following point, which they do by saying “advantage”. No need to say it when it wasn’t tied. ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2009, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tennis-scoring-question/500712/15 "2009-06-26T22:12:12Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > Yes, but they don’t say that because it is unnecessary. When the players tie 40-40, they will need to indicate who is in the after the following point, which they do by saying “advantage”. No need to say it when it wasn’t tied. True, except that’s putting the cart before the horse. They could just as easily say “deuce” at 30 - 30, and call 30 - 40 or 40 - 30 ad points, knowing that the reason for this is that the game originally scored to 40 - 40 before running out of numerical values. Then simply say that 15 - 15 can’t be “deuce” because you need three points to win. ---
**Author:** ![chowder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/977dab/32.png) [@chowder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chowder)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2009, 6:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tennis-scoring-question/500712/16 "2009-06-28T06:53:21Z")
Sometimes when a player received balls from the ballboy/girl they look at the balls and then discard one of them, why? A tennis ball is a tennis ball is a tennis ball and seeing as how they’ve all been in play for the same length of time there’s going to be no difference in the wear of them ---
**Author:** ![Covered\_In\_Bees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7ab992/32.png) [@Covered\_In\_Bees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Covered_In_Bees)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2009, 7:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tennis-scoring-question/500712/17 "2009-06-28T07:15:13Z")
There is no possible way for all the balls to be completely evenly worn. When a player is looking at a ball, they are looking for ones that are least worn, with as much of it’s fuzz still left as possible. I think. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![DKW](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dkw/32/3118_2.png) [@DKW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DKW)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2009, 9:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tennis-scoring-question/500712/18 "2009-06-28T09:39:14Z")
Chowder, there’s one thing you have to understand. Tennis isn’t a real sport. Real sports don’t base the entire scoring system around flowery, arty concepts or make up funny names for point totals. Real sports don’t use hideously loaded terms like “love” or “advantage”. Real sports don’t pick 'n choose which events go best 3 of 5. And real sports _don’t keep absolutely nonsensical rules_. (Seriously, serve hits net and lands out of box = fault, serve hits net and lands in box = _do-over??_ Who the hell came up with that, Bud Selig?)\* Think about it. Why is that shrieking, bloviating, clown John McEnroe possibly the most popular player in America _ever?_ Because he was the only thing America found entertaining about tennis! He took the genuflecting, country-club tennis mindset by the throat and said all the things we wish we could say. (Of course, it helped tremendously that he was one of the best players of his generation, so we didn’t have the stigma of backing a no-talent little brat.) You follow a sports as rooted in weird tradition as tennis, you just need to accept certain things. - Let’s not forget about the crowd having to be _silent_ while the point is being played. Every. Single. Point. Yep, definitely a hard sell here… ---
**Author:** ![chowder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/977dab/32.png) [@chowder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chowder)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2009, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tennis-scoring-question/500712/19 "2009-06-28T12:14:46Z")
\*\*DKW \*\*I’m not a fan of tennis in the slightest. Unfortunately it being Wimbledon and all that, there’s bugger all else sport on TV at the moment. I’m not counting that Confed. Cup malarkey as being real football, I mean USA in the final 😃 You gotta be shitting me New balls? ---
**Author:** ![Kiber](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kiber/32/317_2.png) [@Kiber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kiber)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2009, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tennis-scoring-question/500712/20 "2009-06-29T18:48:40Z")
Well - to be fair - in baseball, a ball that has been hit ONCE is taken out of play. Compare that to the punishment a fuzzy little tennis ball gets over 9 games. And you want to talk about quiet - let’s talk about golf. Golfers hit a ball that is just sitting there doing nothing - yet they need silence? Meanwhile, an Andy Roddick serve is coming at your head at 140 mph - tell me what other sport has 140 mph balls heading towards you. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tennis-scoring-question/500712.md?page=2)