Tennis Terms Explained

Posted on4/4/2022by admin

A tennis match is composed of points, games, and sets. A set consists of a number of games (a minimum of six), which in turn each consist of points. A set is won by the first side to win 6 games, with a margin of at least 2 games over the other side (e.g. By Martin HughesOwner and Editor. These are all common table tennis terms, and if you're serious about playing the game, you'll need to understand all the terminology that your opponents are using. So here's your opportunity to start learning the definition of table tennis terms with my table tennis glossary to help you on your way.

Tennis: Gameplay Basics

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Play of a Tennis Point

A tennis match is made up of a series of points. In tennis, opposing players are on opposite sides of the net. Each point is started by a serve. The player that hits the serve is called the server. The server alternates between the two sides for every game played.
To serve the tennis ball the server stands behind the baseline and between the centerline and the sideline. The server will alternate which sideline for every point that is played. The server must hit the ball over the net, without touching it, and into the service box that is diagonally opposite from where he/she is standing. The server gets two tries to get the ball in or loses the point. If the server hits the net, but the tennis ball still falls into the service box, this is called a 'let' and the serve is done over with no penalty to either side.
Once the server hits the ball in the opposite team will attempt to hit it back and a rally will begin where each team must hit the ball over the net and into the opposite court without allowing the ball to bounce twice on their side of the court.

Tennis Scoring
A tennis match is made up of a number of sets. Usually the sets are best two out of three or three out of five to win the match. Each set is made up of games. Typically the first player to win 6 games wins the set, but must win by at least two sets. Different tournaments may use different rules to break a 6 to 6 set tie. Some tennis matches will require the players to keep playing sets until one player wins by two sets. This can make for a very long tennis match. The most popular way to break the tie is to have a tie-breaker where the tennis players play to a certain number of points. Usually the winner must win by two points or more.
Each game is scored by points as described in the previous section. The serving side for each game alternates between the players or teams. It takes four points to win a game and the winner must win by at least two points. There are specific tennis terms for the number of points won. Zero points is called love, one point is fifteen, two points is called thirty, and three is forty. So when you hear a tennis score for a game called out as forty-fifteen it means the server has 3 points and the opponent has 1.
Tennis Equipment
The basic equipment for the tennis player includes the racquet, the standard tennis ball, and good tennis shoes.
The racquet has a long handle with an oval at the end that is strung tightly with strings. The tennis player tries to hit the ball in the center of the strings to get the most power and control over the tennis shot. Racquets vary in head size, length and weight. To get more power use a long, heavy racquet with a large head. To get more control, try a shorter, lighter racquet with a smaller head. Each player needs to find the right combination of these features as well as the tightness of strings to suit their tennis style of play.Back to Sports
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Tennis Glossary
Professional Tennis
Williams Sisters Biography
Roger Federer Biography There are a lot of different tennis terms used by tennis players and fans. If you want to be a tennis player then you should be familiar with almost all of these terms!

Tennis Terms

Ace

A serve that lands inside the lines and is untouched by the opponent

Advantage

The point that follows a deuce score. If the player wins this point he wins the game, otherwise it goes back to deuce!

Ad-Court

The left side of the tennis court. It is called Ad-Court because the ad points are always played from this side.

Approach Shot

A shot that the player follows to the net is called an approach shot

ATP

The Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) is the governing body of men’s Tennis!

Backspin

On a shot with backspin the ball rotates backwards. These shots usually stay pretty low

Break

When you win a game during which your opponent was serving that is called a break in Tennis!

Break Point

The receiver is said to have a break point whenever he is in a situation where a point won results in him winning the game off of the server.

Cross-Court

A shot that is hit diagonally into the opponent?s court

Deep

A shot that lands very close to the baseline rather than short around the service line

Deuce

An expression that is used when the actual score is 40-40

Deuce-Court

The right side of the tennis court. It is called Deuce-Court because all deuce points are played from this side

Double Bagel

A match that ends with the score 6-0 6-0 is often called a double bagel in tennis circles. One of the funniest tennis terms in my opinion

Double Fault

The server has two serves to start the point. Whenever he misses both he looses one point in the game and this situation is called a double fault.

Doubles

When you have four players on the court and two are playing against two this is called a doubles match.

Down the Line

A shot that is hit straight along the sideline into the opponent?s court

Error

Any shot in Tennis that does not land within the lines that it is supposed to land within is called an error

Foot Fault

The server is not allowed to move over or even touch the baseline during his service motion. If he does so it is a so-called foot-fault and his serve is considered a fault.

Forced Error

When Player 1 hits a really good shot that forces Player 2 to miss that is called a forced error

Groundstroke

Whenever the ball bounces on your side before you hit it that is called a Groundstroke. Forehands, Backhands, and Slice Backhands are all groundstrokes.

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Hold

When you win your service game it is called a hold.

Inside-Out Forehand

Tennis commentators often mention the so-called inside-out forehand. This is a situation where a player hits a forehand, usually from the backhand side of the court, towards the backhand side of his opponent. The ball takes an inside-out swing pattern and therefore the shot is called an inside-out forehand

Kick Serve

A serve hit with lots of topspin. The ball usually jumps high on this kind of shot!

Let

The umpire calls a let whenever a serve touches the net and still lands in the service box. The serve is then replayed

Match Point

When you have match point you only need to win one more point to win and end the entire match.

Mini-Break

If you win a point on your opponents serve during a tiebreak that is called a mini-break

Moonball

A shot hit very high over the net. These are usually defensive shots and many tennis player dislike playing against players that hit moonballs. Just hearing the tennis term “Moonball” can cause some tennis players to get into a bad mood.

Overhead

When you are at the net and your opponent tries to lob you with a high shot you will hit an overhead.

Singles

Whenever two players play a match against each other in tennis it is called a singles match

Smash

Same thing as an overhead.

What Are The Terms In Tennis

Tiebreak

A tiebreak is played when the score in a set reaches 6:6. The tiebreak is played up to 7 points and the idea is to bring the set to an end because without a tiebreak it could take forever

Underspin

This is another expression for backspin. The ball rotates backwards and stays low on these shots

Unforced Error

When Player 1 misses an easy shot that is called an unforced error

Volley

Tennis Terms Ace

Whenever your hit the ball before it bounces on your side it is called a volley

Wild Card

To get into many tournaments you need to have a certain rankings position. If you do not have that position the tournament officials can award you a wild card. With a wild card young players can often enter pro tournaments that they usually could not enter according to the ranking system