If you are playing a game of tennis since last few years, you must be knowing the actual meaning of “Love” in Tennis.

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• What Are The Terms In Tennis
• Tennis Scoring Terminology
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But if you are a beginner level player and have just started practicing the game, then you must be confused about the term which is often used throughout tennis gameplay.

Ace: Serve where the tennis ball lands inside the service box and is not touched by the receiver; thus, a shot that is both a serve and a winner is an ace. Aces are usually powerful and generally land on or near one of the corners at the back of the service box. Initially, the term was used to indicate the scoring of a point. No-ad scoring Opposite of regular scoring; first to 4 points wins, play sudden death at 3-3 p poach In doubles, to hit a ball (usually with a volley) that would normally be hit by another q qualies Qualifying rounds of any tournament, feeds into the main draw r regular scoring Same as conventional scoring, i.e. 15, 30, 40, duece, ad.

That term is “Love”. In this article, I will thoroughly explain you everything you wanted to know about the term “Love” in the game of tennis.

Love Definition in Tennis

You obviously know the real meaning of Love which means a strong affection about the person or a thing.

But in tennis, its meaning is different. The word “Tennis” itself has originated from the French word “Tenetz” meaning “Hold”.

Even another tennis term “Deuce” has come from the French word “a Deux Le Jeu”.

If you search for any alternate meaning of “Love” in an Oxford Dictionary, then you will realize it has not any other meanings other than “Love” itself.

Read more about dictionary references for the term “Love” in tennis at Dictionary.com.

Then we must wonder how the heck the term “Love” comes in tennis?

Its ironic that zero score in tennis is associated with the term “Love”.

I often wonder how a zero score is attached with love and any player can still play with zero score on the court.

Maybe it is an affection or “Love” about the game which keeps the player to continue his/her game till the end.

You can also watch the following funny explanation video which tells you why “Love” is perfect fit for Tennis Scoring System.

Origin of Love in Tennis

How To Explain Tennis Scoring

Most Etymologists say that the origin or history of the term Love comes from the French word for an egg which is “l’ouef”.

Here, we can say that an egg is associated with number zero.

And in tennis, the score zero is called as Love.

This is a close resemblance to the term “Duck” which is used in the game of Cricket.

Whenever a player in the cricket gets out on a zero score, the term “Duck” is used for that player.

How Zero Scoring in Tennis Called as Love?

Tennis scoring is actually based on quarter hours of a clock face.

The score numbers involved in this scoring system are 0, 15, 30, 40 and 60.

The score 40 was not there initially. Instead, there was 45 but it got truncated to 40 later on.

If you do not get any points in the tennis match while your opponent wins that particular set, then score zero is displayed on the clock face.

This zero is displayed in oval egg shape. And as earlier discussed, this oval egg is known as “L’ouef” in French.

So, if you get “no points” then you get zero which synonymizes with French term “Love”.

If you are already aware about the tennis scoring system, then you must have known to win a single set, you need to win at least 6 games.

Here, the term “game” is referred to reaching the last score i.e. 60.

In order to win a single game, you need score 4 sequence match points.

This 4 sequence match points consists of 0, 15, 30, 40, and 60. The “0” is referred as Love and 1 is related to 15, 2 is related to 30, 3 is to 40 and 4 is to 60 which is a game point.

When match referee announces the score during the match, he/she provides the score for the server first and then for his/her opponent.

If your serve gets first point and your opponent has none, then the match score is displayed as “Fifteen-Love”.

This means, as a server you have obtained 15 points for a successful serve and your opponent has got zero score.

Ironically, we can also say that the player who has not scored any points yet, he stays and plays till the end due to his/her pure love for the game.

To play for the sake of love is what matters in the end.

So, Love can also be exemplified and can be connected to the score of zero in tennis in this way.

This also indicates a fact that love means nothing for a tennis player which also means a score of zero for the player in the tennis.

What is Love-Love in Tennis?

“Love-Love” or “Love All” is also the term which is used during the game.

This purely means that both the tennis players are yet to obtain any scores.

And both of them have got zero points.

“40-Love” is another example that can be mentioned to understand Love scoring system in tennis.

This score simply means the server has got 3 match points (score of 40 means 3 match points.).

And the opponent has got zero points (Love equals zero score).

In terms of winning the set, the score can be displayed as 6-0. This is called as “Six to Love”.

It simply means you need in total six games to win one single set.

So, if a player has won 6 games and the opponent has not won any, then it can be termed as “Six to Love”.

How Love is Used in Tennis Scoring System?

Love simply means zero score in tennis.

But it has multiple meanings at different stages of the game.

A server, whoever is serving first in the game has been given first preference for the score to mention.

This means that if he gets first point on his serving, then he gets score of 15.

Then match score is displayed as 15-0. This is also called as “15-All”.

If the player gets two points and the opponent gets none, then the score is displayed as “30-0” i.e. “30-All” or it is also called as “30-Love”.

Similarly, the tennis scoring system is often mentioned as follows.

There are in total five sequence points in the tennis game.

1. 0 – Love (Zero Score)
2. 1 – 15 (A Single Point)
3. 2 – 30 (Two Points)
4. 3 – 40 (Three Points)
5. 4 – 60 or Game Point

The game scoring starts from zero point which is called as “Love”.

Then as the player wins the first point, he is awarded score of 15, then 30 and so on.

Finally, when the player gets fourth (or fifth) point in the game, he gets the game point or the score of 60.

At this stage, the player wins that particular game.

In this way, you need minimum 6 games in order to win 1 single set in the game.

If you win 6 games in a row and the opponent wins none then the scoreboard is displayed as “6-0” or “6-Love”.

There are 3 other terms that are used in the tennis scoring which are “deuce”, “ad in” and “ad out”.

Deuce is basically used when both the players reach the score of 40 at any given time in the game.

Volleyball Scoring Terminology

After that whoever player wins his/her serve point, he gets the score of “Ad in” or “Advantage in”.

On the other side, if that player loses on his/her serve, then he/she gets the score of “Ad out” or “Advantage Out”.

“All” term is used when both the players get the same score.

E.g. if a Player A gets the score of 30 and Player B also gets the same score of 30, then the score is displayed as “30-All”.

Now, here is a very interesting thing about “Love”.

If you make the scores first and your opponent fails to make any, then those scores can be displayed as “15-Love”, “30-Love”, “40-Love”, etc.

On the other side, if your opponent wins every score in a game, then it can be displayed in reversed such as “Love-15”, “Love-30”, “Love-40”, etc.

Plus, if you play and win first 2 games and your opponent fails to win any, then the scoreboard is displayed as “2-0” or “2-Love”.

Similarly, if your opponent wins first 2 games and you win none, then the score is displayed as “0-2” or “0-Love”.

Conclusion

So, all in all, we have learned quite a lot about the term “Love” in tennis.

It is basically equivalent to the score of zero in the game.

We learned what was its origin and its dictionary definition.

Then we also came to know why zero score is called love in tennis.

After that we learned why and how “love-love” term is used in tennis.
In the end, we delved deep into the actual implementation of the term “Love” in the game of tennis.

I hope you have understood the term very well by now and you can quite confidently use this term whenever you are playing or watching tennis next time.

References:

Tennis is a sport with a long history and a global following, but that doesn’t mean that tennis terms are immediately understood by everyone. The sport does, after all, have a diverse and varied lexicon which can seem baffling to a casual observer.

We’ve designed this post exactly for that casual observer who may go to a tournament largely for the tennis hospitality, but who doesn’t want their limited tennis knowledge to be exposed.

The Basics

When getting started explaining tennis terminology, it’s best to begin with the basics. The following are some of the most straightforward tennis terms, which apply to all contests at all levels of the game.

Point – The smallest unit of scoring in tennis. A point lasts from a successful serve to when the ball next goes out of play.

Game – A game consists of a sequence of points during which the same player continues to serve. Games are usually won when a player wins four points, except when the game reaches deuce (see main scoring section below).

Set – The next unit of tennis scoring above a game. A player wins a set when they have won six games and are at least two games clear of their opponent. If a set reaches 6-6, it is usually decided by a tiebreak (see tiebreak in the scoring section below).

Match – Match is the term used to describe an entire tennis contest. Matches are usually played as best of five or three sets and the call ‘game, set and match’ is made when a player is victorious.

Service – In each game, one player has the service. That means they start each point by tossing the ball into the air and then hitting it to their opponent. Service passes from one player to the other after each completed game.

Rally – The name given to the collection of shots which make up a point. A rally always begins with a serve and ends when one player wins the point.

The Court

Now that we’ve covered the most basic tennis terminology, it makes sense to turn our attention to where the game is played. The following batch of tennis terms will ensure that you can find your way around any tennis court.

Ad Court – The name given to the left-hand side of the forecourt for each player.

Baseline – The two-inch-wide line which marks the very end of a tennis court. Each baseline is 39 feet from the net.

Backcourt – The area of the court between the service line and the baseline.

Centre Mark – A small mark at the centre of the baseline, parallel to the line dividing the ad court and the deuce court.

Deuce Court – The right-hand side of the forecourt for each player.

Forecourt – The area between the service line and the net, which is divided vertically between the ad court and the deuce court. A legal serve must bounce in the forecourt.

What Are The Terms In Tennis

Service Line – The line 21 feet from the net which divides the forecourt from the backcourt.

Tramlines – 4ft 6” channels at each side of a tennis court. The tramlines form part of the court for doubles play but are out in singles play.

Tennis Scoring

‘How is tennis scored?’ and ‘what does love mean in tennis?’ are two of the questions most commonly asked about the sport. This next section, devoted to explaining the tennis scoring system, should provide the answers along with a host of other – hopefully useful – information.

Ace – A legal serve which the returner does not manage to get their racquet to. An ace always results in the server winning a point.

Advantage – A player’s score is given as ‘advantage’ or ‘ad’ when they win the next point after a game goes to deuce (see below). It means they will win the game if they win the following point.

Break Point – A break point is a point which will lead to a player winning a game against their opponent’s serve, if they win it.

Deuce – Tennis scoring advances in the following sequence; 0-0, 15-0, 15-15, 30-15, 30-30, 40-30, deuce, advantage and game. Deuce, therefore, is the name given to a score of 40-40 in any game.

Double Fault – When a serving player commits two consecutive service faults, awarding a point to their opponent.

Fault – A fault is the name given to an illegal serve. This is usually a serve into the net or one which bounces outside of the required forecourt area.

Foot Fault – A serve which is illegal because the server has stepped over the baseline or across the centre mark before striking the ball.

Let – A point which is ordered to be replayed with no change to a match’s score. Lets are usually called when a serve strikes the net but still bounces in the legal area of the forecourt.

Love – A term used in tennis instead of the word ‘nil’ or ‘zero’. It is used to describe a lack of score in either points, games or sets. i.e. a game score of 30-0 is given as ‘30 love’ and a set score of 6-0 is given as ‘six love’.

Straight Sets – The name given to a win in a tennis match without losing a set. 2-0 or 3-0 scorelines, therefore, are straight sets wins in best of three and best of five set matches respectively.

Tiebreak – A tiebreak is a method of deciding a set when the game score reaches 6-6. Players contest a first to seven point game, with the serve changing over after the first point and then every two points. To win a tiebreak, a player must be two clear points ahead of their opponent.

Tennis Jargon & Slang

As is the case with most sports, basic tennis terminology is also supplemented by some more unusual and colloquial jargon. The following are some of the most common and useful examples of that tennis jargon.

Bagel – The tongue-in-cheek name given to the score of 6-0 in a set, due to zero being shaped like a bagel. Losing a match 6-0, 6-0 or 6-0, 6-0, 6-0 is known as getting a double or a treble bagel.

Career Slam – The name given to the achievement of a player winning each of the four Grand Slam tournaments at least once at some point during their career.

Golden Slam – Winning a Golden Slam means to win all four Grand Slam tournaments and an Olympic gold medal in the same season.

Grand Slam – The name given to the four most prestigious tennis tournaments in the world. They are the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open.

Open Era – A term used to describe the era of tennis post 1968, when tournaments were opened up to professional as well as amateur players.

Tennis Scoring Terminology

The above does not include all of the tennis terms you’re likely to hear when watching a tournament, but it does represent a good selection of the most important. The next time you’re lucky enough to enjoy some tennis hospitality, then, you’ll at least have the tennis scoring system down pat and be able to hold a fair conversation with even the most ardent fan.

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Keith Prowse are specialists in tennis hospitality and offer a wide range of packages for you to choose from if you did want to test your new-found knowledge. We’re official hospitality providers for Wimbledon, Queens and other world-renowned events, and have hospitality options to suit all tastes.

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