Curious Minute
Jul 21
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Curious Minute answer

In tennis, what is it called when a server wins a game without the opponent scoring a single point?

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The answer

A love game

The answer was A love game. Here's the why, the decoys, and the source trail.


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Why it's right

A 'love game' occurs when the server wins all four points in a game without the opponent scoring. In tennis, 'love' means zero, so the server wins at love — 40-0. The term likely comes from the French word 'l'oeuf,' meaning egg, because a zero resembles an egg.


Source trail

This answer is checked against Wikipedia — Tennis scoring system.



About the choices

A good trivia question makes the wrong answers feel close. Here is the clean read on the set.

  • A shutout - a decoy; it may live near the same topic, but it does not answer this exact clue.
  • A love game - correct answer.
  • A golden set - a decoy; it may live near the same topic, but it does not answer this exact clue.
  • A bagel - a decoy; it may live near the same topic, but it does not answer this exact clue.

What to remember

A love game is the one to remember. A 'love game' occurs when the server wins all four points in a game without the opponent scoring. A 'golden set' — winning an entire set 6-0 without losing a single point — is so rare that it has happened only a handful of times in professional tennis history.


How readers answered
A0%
B67%
C17%
D17%

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Sources: Wikipedia — Tennis scoring system