With the oldest tennis tournament in the world well under way, its French connections could explain some of today’s most popular tennis related phrases, strawberries and cream at the ready…
The games roots belong with northern France in the 12th century, back then the ball was struck with the palm of the hand hence the name jeu de paume (game of the palm). It was not until the 16th century that rackets came into use, and the game began to be called "tennis”, the more popular tennis became, the more it also evolved.
Tennis- Historians believe that when returning a ball over the net, the French players shouted, “Tenez,” which translated, means, “Take that!” the English did the same, only “tenez” became “tennis.”
Racket- Some think it refers to the stretching of strings deriving from the Dutch and German racken, meaning “to stretch”. There are also two Romance words, rachette and rasquetta, and an Arabic term rahat al-yad, all meaning “the palm of the hand”.
Deuce- Originating from the phrase à deux le jeu, has sparked debate due to its open interpretation. It can either mean the two players have equal scores and therefore an equal chance of winning the game, or it can translate into each player needing two consecutive points to win the game.
Love – There are many theories of why love means zero in tennis, one being that the word is rooted in the colloquial phrase “for love,” perhaps tying in with the etiquette around the game or even referring to players ‘playing for love’. Another popular theory is that love sounds similar to the French word l’oeuf, meaning egg, where the shape resembles that of the zero on the scoreboard.
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