What “Love” Means in Tennis
If you have watched tennis on television, perhaps it has intrigued you as to why the word “love” is used when calling the score instead of just zero. It seems silly doesn’t it?
If you’re a new tennis player, it might take some adjusting to calling the score “15-love” instead of “15-0”. Tennis has become associated with “love” from a commercial level to memes online. “Love means nothing in tennis”. “Don’t date a tennis player, because they don’t care about love.” Just a few of the “hits”. This seemingly peculiar word choice in tennis actually has some hidden meaning.
What does Love Mean in Tennis?
Before getting into the history of “love” in tennis, let’s clarify what it means in a match. Essentially, it means nothing. Zero. When scoring a game, the points for a player go from love to 15, 30, and 40 (before deuce and advantage). The losing player’s score will be referred to as “love” by the scorekeeper.
To review, at the start of a match, when you or your opponent go to serve, the score is love-love, which means zero-zero. The second point, for whoever is winning, will be called 15-love or love-15.
Nothing more specific is documented, whether it was in a certain location or certain famous match–all we know is that “love” was first used in the latter half of the 19th century.
Fake Theories About “Love” Origins
Since no one knows the real origin of “love” in tennis, many theories try to make sense of its meaning. One theory is that a player who has nothing, or is scoreless, stays on and plays for the love of the game. So, when the score is called 40-love, (40-nothing), it implies that the losing player might not be doing well in the specific game, but they love to play and that is good enough.
This theory is connected to a historic expression. “For love” meant a game or competition that had no monetary value–it wasn’t for money. This would be the modern equivalent of “for fun”. So, according to this theory, “love” in a tennis match pays homage to this expression.
Another theory goes back to the Flemish word for honor, or “lof”. Similar to the previous theory, this one suggests that the losing player is there for their honor. From “lof” arrived “love”, according to this theory.
A different theory suggests that it dates back to the number zero’s resemblance to an egg. In sports, it was common to say a score of zero was like a duck or goose egg. How is this a connection? Well, the French word for egg is “l’oeuf”, so the suggestion is that “love” emerged from zero’s comparison to an egg.
The truth is that we will never know why tennis and “love” are connected. All of these theories could be promising, but no one knows the truth.
Despite not knowing where love comes from, this word is forever connected to tennis. As a tennis player, even when you have no points, try and imagine that you are still playing for the love of the game!
