Ancient Arithmetic: The Possible Origins Of The Tennis Scoring System

September 3, 2020 12:14 PM

The Willis Faber Book Of Tennis & Rackets by Lord Aberdare (I had to purchase this one; it is not in the public domain) is an authoritative book on the subject. Aberdare shows documentary evidence that 15/30/45 were used as far back as the Middle Ages. Heiner Gillmeister quotes an early 15th Century Middle English poem about the Battle of Agincourt, which uses a game of tennis as a metaphor for the battle and quotes the scores XV, XXX and XLV. A poem by Charles d'Orleans, dated in the 1430s, also mentions 45 in the context of tennis. Erasmus's Colloquies of 1552 mention the scoring of a love game as Quindecim, Trigenta, Quadraginta quinque.

Part one of a four-part series on tennis history by Ian Louis Harris. The other three parts are:

• Horrible Histories: The Primordial, Honourable & Ignoble Arts Of Tennis Handicapping
• Odds Oddities: 18th & 19th Century Tennis Handicaps & Traditions - Some Stranger Than Others
• Scoring Synchronicity: How Real Tennis Scoring Was Adopted For Lawn Tennis Scoring - Then Lawn Tennis Handicapping Methods Wormed Their Way Into Real Tennis

posted by smcg (9 comments total)

That should be Lord Aberdare with another 'r': Harris spells it correctly further into the (very interesting) article.
posted by misteraitch at 1:08 PM on September 3, 2020 [1 favorite]

I’ve often wondered about the origins of the scoring system but never guessed it would be so fascinating.

Regardless of its origins, it’s certainly useful since it keeps the game and set scores in different ranges, eliminating a source of error entirely.
posted by sjswitzer at 1:24 PM on September 3, 2020 [2 favorites]

This was a super interesting read, thanks! Looking forwards to reading the other three parts.
posted by jzed at 1:45 PM on September 3, 2020

I skimmed through the first and last links but didn't see an explanation for why it goes 15, 30, 40 instead of 15, 30, 45. I did note a mention of 40 being shorthand for 45 but is that the actual reason?
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 2:49 PM on September 3, 2020

I did note a mention of 40 being shorthand for 45 but is that the actual reason?

That’s what I gathered from the article. 40 bugs me to no end, but 45 is three syllables while the others are two, and there’s something about how calling 45 would disrupt the rhythm. Of course that’s just English, in French it would be two syllables to the one syllable of the other two; either way 45 stands out.

I find the shorthand argument plausible, though he didn’t defend it to my satisfaction either. But hey, he only has the evidence he has.
posted by sjswitzer at 3:35 PM on September 3, 2020

If that is the case I'd almost prefer them to say 40 but still write 45.
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 4:37 PM on September 3, 2020

I haven't read the linked pieces yet, though I had in the past tried to research the eccentric scoring system.

I've always been fascinated by the French language, but have trouble learning it. However, tennis fandom since childhood at least taught me how to say quinze, trente and quarante. (And it's funny that 40-All in English is the French-derived deuce, but of course, in French, it's another word, egalite).
posted by NorthernLite at 10:21 PM on September 3, 2020

Thanks misteraitch, the author emailed me (I didn't know them before; they were just responding to the interest in their articles) to say they've corrected that now, so I've also flagged that to see if a mod can update the post.
posted by smcg at 12:54 AM on September 4, 2020

Yeah quarant is technically two syllables but in practice more like a syllable and a half. But anyway, it does seem likely to me that people got tired of the awkward cadence-ruining five/cinq coda and, realizing it wasn’t necessary, just started eliding it. Eliding unnecessary things is basically the soul of the French language after all.
posted by sjswitzer at 4:57 PM on September 4, 2020