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American Morning

What Is History Behind Scoring System for Tennis?

Aired September 07, 2001 - 10:37   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAULA HAHN: My name is Paula Hahn. I'm from Arkadelphia, Arkansas. And I want to ask CNN, what is the history behind the scoring system for tennis?

BUD COLLINS, NBC TENNIS COMMENTATOR/"BOSTON GLOBE" COLUMNIST: The history is pretty murky. People ask 15, 30, 40, game -- where did that come from? Nobody really knows, but the easiest explanation was that they took the face of a clock -- 15, 30, but why 40? Shouldn't it be 45? Sure it should, and game. But those things have been lost. The game goes back to the middle ages and perhaps even before. It's a game that is still played called court tennis, which is the forerunner of the game we think of as tennis. But tennis terms are really a mystery. Nobody has authenticated any of them.

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