An Attorney licensed in Washington, DC, and an active member of the DC Bar, Binta Robinson enjoys leading a healthy, physically active lifestyle outside of work. Binta Robinson’s interests include biking and playing basketball, though she also is seeking to improve her tennis game.
Keeping score in tennis can be difficult for newcomers, not only because of a seemingly arbitrary point system that goes 15, 30, 40 instead of one, two, three, but also due to informal terms more experienced players might use over the course of a match. “Love,” for example, is a tennis term that means “zero.” It can be used to describe the set score, as in “three serving love,” or the game score, such as “40, love.” Similarly, “love all” is often said at the start of a match, set, or game. The origins of the expression are unclear, though one belief involves the French word “l’oeuf,” which translates to “egg,” which is similar in shape to a zero.
Circular-shaped foods are, in fact, a popular aspect of tennis slang. A bagel, sometimes referred to as a donut, is a set that ends 6-0, with the zero representing the pastry in question. Matches that end with a 6-0, 6-0 scoreline are known as double bagels. The expression can be used as both a noun and verb, as in “Roger Federer double-bageled Gaston Gaudio at the 2005 Tennis Masters Cup.”
In some cases, players use informal expressions to shorten official scoring terminology. For example, a game tied at deuce may shift between advantage for the server and advantage for the receiver several times. In professional matches, the umpire announces the score as such, stating, “Advantage [the corresponding player’s surname].”
In recreational settings, it is more common for the server to simply announce “Ad in” when they have advantage and “Ad out” when the opponent has a breakpoint.
2. Introduction
An Attorney licensed in Washington, DC, and an active member of
the DC Bar, Binta Robinson enjoys leading a healthy, physically active
lifestyle outside of work. Binta Robinson’s interests include biking
and playing basketball, though she also is seeking to improve her
tennis game.
3. Keeping score in tennis can be difficult for newcomers, not only
because of a seemingly arbitrary point system that goes 15, 30, 40
instead of one, two, three, but also due to informal terms more
experienced players might use over the course of a match. “Love,”
for example, is a tennis term that means “zero.” It can be used to
describe the set score, as in “three serving love,” or the game score,
such as “40, love.” Similarly, “love all” is often said at the start of a
match, set, or game. The origins of the expression are unclear,
though one belief involves the French word “l’oeuf,” which translates
to “egg,” which is similar in shape to a zero.
4. Circular-shaped foods are, in fact, a popular aspect of tennis slang.
A bagel, sometimes referred to as a donut, is a set that ends 6-0,
with the zero representing the pastry in question. Matches that end
with a 6-0, 6-0 scoreline are known as double bagels. The
expression can be used as both a noun and verb, as in “Roger
Federer double-bageled Gaston Gaudio at the 2005 Tennis Masters
Cup.”
5. In some cases, players use informal expressions to shorten official
scoring terminology. For example, a game tied at deuce may shift
between advantage for the server and advantage for the receiver
several times. In professional matches, the umpire announces the
score as such, stating, “Advantage [the corresponding player’s
surname].”
In recreational settings, it is more common for the server to simply
announce “Ad in” when they have advantage and “Ad out” when
the opponent has a breakpoint.
