Tennis
For the grown-up beside a child who loves tennis.
The child's own door is Tennis on Spark & Anvil.
Three numbers to notice
- The score in a game: love (nothing), 15, 30, 40, then the game.
- Deuce: at 40-40 a player needs two points in a row to win the game.
- A set: first to six games, two games ahead, with a tiebreak at six-all in most events.
On the way home, ask: “Which game today felt closest?”
Ask because you are curious, and let any answer stand. Print this page for a half-page card.
A short course for you
A little history, and what nobody knows
Fifteen, thirty, forty
Counting a tennis game as 15, 30 and 40 goes back to medieval France. One story says the score moved a quarter of the way round a clock face, and that 45 was later cut to 40.
Where the numbers really came from is not known; the clock story is a guess.
The same idea at every age
- Ages 3–5My Turn, Your Turn
- Ages 6–8Call the Score
- Ages 9–14From Points to Games
- Ages 15–18Nested Races
Your child will meet this idea again at every age. The tools and courses here are the part for you.