No one knows exactly how the tennis scoring system came about, but it may have started in France in medieval times. People think the system may be based on the movement of the hand of a clock at one end of the court: on winning a point, the hand would be moved 15 minutes or a quarter round the clock. Next comes 30, half the clock, and so on. As a player had to win four points to win the game, the first round the clock face won. The score 40 may be used instead of 45 because in French quarante (40) is easier to say than quarante – cinq (45). When both sides reach 40 the score is deuce. This comes from the French quarante a deux, or 40 to both, or simply from deux, two, as players must gain two points to win. “Love”, the zero score, may come from the French l’oeuf, meaning egg, as the symbol for zero is egg – shaped.
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