Women's tennis: Why only three sets?

[Russ M.]

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In this day of gender equity and Title IX, why in the world are women's tennis matches still best of three sets? Does anyone really believe that they lack the stamina to continue? Disregard the fact that nobody's watching anyway.

And another nit-picky note: Why is 30-30 never called deuce when it plays exactly the same as deuce i.e. you need to win two points in a row to win. 40-30 should be called advantage server since the server will win the set with the next point. Yet, for some reason they only use the term deuce when the score ties at 40-40. More evidence that I should be in charge of everything.

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whats with the 15, 30, 40 in the first place?
why not 1,2,3?

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i know deuce comes from deux, as in two, meaning you have to get two more points to win.

also, love comes from l'oeuf, as in egg, shaped like a zero.

i have never been able to find a single agreed upon explanation for the 15, 30, 40 thing.

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tennis_scoring

[Russ M.]

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I mentioned this in the other thread, but I think men play 3 sets in all competitions other than the grand slams. Someone more knowledgeable than me should chime in here.

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Some Masters Series events play a best-of-5 in the final, but other than that, there are no tourneys that play all matches best-of-5.