By Richard Pagliaro | Wednesday, April 1, 2026
Photo credits: Andre Agassi Instagram
Love means nothing in tennis scoring, but passion is the primary purpose for tennis players.
Merriam Webster suggests tennis’ unique scoring system is a product of passion: That tennis players play for the “love” of the game.
In tennis, ‘love’ represents a score of zero.
This use has existed since the late 1800s, and it’s not certain how it came to be.
The most likely theory is that those with zero points were still playing for the “love of the game” despite their losing score. https://t.co/YbVI1JqdbJ
— Merriam-Webster (@MerriamWebster) February 13, 2026
Merriam-Webster also fried a long-held theory that “love” in the sport’s scoring comes from a French tradition.
Or “L’oeuf” in French = egg = 0 ?
— Maybe (@BreizhLondon) February 13, 2026
The problem is the lack of evidence of ‘l’œuf’ being used in French to mean “zero.”
The French use ‘zéro’ to mean “zero” or “naught,” and ‘un œuf’ (“an egg”) and ‘les œufs’ (“the eggs”) for the food.
So, this theory seems cooked.
— Merriam-Webster (@MerriamWebster) February 13, 2026