Why is it 15, 30, 40 in tennis, rather than 1, 2, 3?

Question

Why is it 15, 30, 40 in tennis, rather than 1, 2, 3?

Answer 1

The origins are not fully known, but one common explanation was that when the game was first being played back in medieval times, a clock face was used on court. The clock hand would move a quarter for each point. When the hand moved to sixty, the game was over. Therefore, the scoring would be love, 15, 30, 45, and 60 instead of the traditional 0, 1, 2, 3, and 4. Whoever scored 60 (4 points) first would win the game. However, instead of using “zero” the word “love” was used. Since, the word “love” comes from the French word l’oeuf, meaning egg which symbolizes nothing, it is assumed that “love” was used because it is represents zero. Another explanation for the use of the word “love” is because the egg looks like a zero. Eventually, the 45 was shortened to 40, and people quit saying 60 altogether. Interestingly, while the English mispronounced l’oeuf as love, the French eventually changed back to using zero, while the English kept “love”. The term “love” also implies that someone who plays and scores zero points must truly love the game.

Answer 2

because it has to do with the evolution of fish.....

Answer 3

Tennis is an English adaptation to the French "Jeu de Paume" played with the bare hand during middle age.

People use to bet a lot. The French equivalent to the Penny was called the "denier" and 15 deniers equaled one sou. 20 sous equaled one livre (a Pound).

So it was common to count by quarter of 60 for money (deniers) and time (minutes). This was used in the "Jeu de Paume". But the 45 was shortened to 40.

Tennis (which comes from the French word "tennez" meaning "Be ready"/"here you are") inherited of these rules.