You are certainly one of those who, come summer, roam the tennis courts in fierce matches. We would almost forget that the way of counting is not really natural. It has a priori no logic thatone point counts 15, two points counts 30 and three points counts 40. But as often, nothing is due to chance.
All this is due au major britannique Walter Clubton Weikfield, who invented modern tennis in 1874 by drawing inspiration from the tennis court. This French sport was all the rage since the end of the Middle Ages. It is played with a ball, a large 60-foot rectangle and a net in the middle of the field. According to the rules of the game, the player who scores a point advances on a line located at 15 feet, then at 30 feet, and finally at 40 feet.
Major Weikfield simply took over the rules of tennis, even if it makes absolutely no sense. Regarding the name “tennis”, it is also inspired by this game. In tennis, before each engagement, the server shouted “tenez”, which in old French, resembled “tennis”.
