U.S. wins first gold on Day 1 of the Summer Games in swimming relay

To win a game, a player needs to win four points before their opponent does. Having no points in a game is referred to as “love.” One point is “15,” winning a second point gets you to “30” and a third point is “40.” Winning a fourth point means you win the game.

Why the scoring system came to be is a mystery, but it is meant to represent the quarters of a clock face (15, 30, 45 with game at 60), but ‘forty-five’ was deemed to be too long to say, so was truncated to 40. Among the possible explanations for the non-romantic use of “love” is that it’s a loan word from l’oeuf, French for egg.

If a game is level at 40-40, the score is referred to as “deuce.” To win a game from deuce, a player needs to win at least two points in a row. Winning a point at deuce gives a player ‘advantage’ — if they win that point, they win the game. If the player with advantage loses the point, the score returns to deuce.

The doubles events follow the same rules. The only exception is that if the match is level at one set all, a tiebreak is played in place of a third set.

The tennis tournament is a straight knockout bracket. The winners of each semifinal play for gold and silver, and the losers play for bronze.