Tennis Dictionary Terms
- 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! A serve that lands inside the lines and is untouched by the opponent. The point that follows a deuce score.
- TENNIS TERMS: Ace. A serve that lands in but out of the reach of your opponent. When the score is tied at 40 to 40. Double Fault When your serve is called out two times in a row. A ball hit lightly with spin. Love: A score of zero. A shot hit back at the baseline.
Provides useful information about tennis fundamentals; rules and instruction on tennis; glossary of tennis terms, and much more.
| Glossary of Tennis Terms | |
Tennis - Glossary of Terms follows below: |
A B C D EF G HI JKL MN O P QR S T UVWXYZ
EF
Eastern Grip This grip is the classic grip used most often by beginning students; it is considered the easiest grip to use when learning the forehand shot. Although it is underused by pro tennis players, in favor of the Semi-Western grip, it is still used by some. It places your palm on the side plane of your handle, parallel to the plane of your strings. With your wrist straight and relaxed, the Eastern grip results in a vertical racquet face when your racquet is even with your front hip. For a classic swing style, this is the most natural and physically most secure relationship between body, racquet, and point of contact. The Eastern is also the most versatile forehand grip, because you can easily tilt upward for slice or keep the racquet face vertical to hit topspin. Many players find that they can hit heavier topspin and better handle the high kick of the opponent's topspin with the more western grips, though, which accounts for the reduced popularity of the Eastern at the pro level. It is so-named because it was originally developed in the Eastern United States.
ErrorA shot that fails to cross the net or lands out of the court, resulting in loss of the point. See forced error; unforced error.
Fast courts – court surfaces, such as wood and grass, that allow the ball to bounce faster and lower than
others.
Flat serve – hit with little or no spin, usually it is hit with great speed and power.
Follow-through – the finishing motion of the swing after the ball has been hit.
Face The flat area of the racket formed by the strings and bounded by the frame.
FaultAn invalid service attempt. It is a fault if the serve fails to land in the receiver's service court; if the server swings and misses the ball entirely; or if the serve is made from beyond the baseline or from the wrong side of the center mark. See also double fault; foot fault; serve.
Fifteen The first point of a game for either player or side. See point; scoring system.
First flight The flight of the ball after it leaves the racket and before it bounces.
Flat Descriptive of a low, fast, straight shot without spin.
Follow through The motion of the arm and racket after the ball has been struck.
Foot faultUsually a fault caused by the server's foot entering the court before the racket contacts the ball. It is also a foot fault if any part of the server's foot is on the wrong side of the center mark, or the server is walking or running while delivering the serve. See also serve.
Foot fault judge An official responsible for calling foot faults. The foot fault judge is positioned on a line with the baseline, on the opposite side of the court from the baseline judge.
Forced error An error resulting from a good shot by the opponent. See error; unforced error.
Forcing shot A shot that puts the opponent on the defensive; often an approach shot.
Forecourt The area between the net and the service line.
Forehand A shot hit from the racket side of the player's body; the right side for a right-hander.
Forty The third point of a game for either player or side. If both reach forty, it is called deuce.
Frame The oval portion of the racket that contains the strings; an unstrung racket.
| next >> |
A B C D EF G HI JKL MN O P QR S T UVWXYZ
Back to top
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
What Is Tennis
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
Tennis Slang Terms
When Player 1 hits a really good shot that forces Player 2 to miss that is called a forced error
Tennis Definitions
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.
Want To Improve Your Game ?
Sign Up And Get Free Video Tips!
Hold
When you win your service game it is called a hold.
Inside-Out Forehand
Tennis Urban Dictionary
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
Common Tennis Terms
Same thing as an overhead.
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
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
So that’s it for the tennis terms explanations. If you think a tennis term is missing then feel free to send me an email and I will include it!