tennis glossary

1 tennis glossary
2 At the end

From children to women and the elderly

A collection of glossary terms for tennis played by people of all ages.

For those who want to play tennis for the first time, before actually stepping on the court,

You will need to remember at least some terms and rules.

By knowing tennis terminology such as how to hit the ball and how to hit the ball,

You can start playing tennis smoothly!

Some people played tennis or soft tennis as club activities in middle school or high school.

Once again, please use this page to learn basic tennis terminology, hitting techniques, formations, etc.

What is eye formation?

Refers to the formation in which the server’s partner player assumes a position near the center of the net before the start of a point in a doubles match.

What is an aggressive baseliner?

An aggressive bass liner who actively uses strong hits.

What is out?

The ball bounces over the opponent’s line. If the ball is out, the opponent scores a point.

*If the ball bounces on the line, it will be counted as an in and will be your score.

What is Advantage?

Scoring a point after becoming a deuce and gaining an advantage over the opponent

What is Advantage Side?

The side that serves when it has an advantage.

Advantage side is sometimes abbreviated and called ad side.

What is Alley Court?

Refers to the vertically elongated zone between the doubles sideline and the singles sideline.

Also called array zone

What is an angle?

Refers to a short shot hit at a slightly harsh angle.

What is Anzuker?

A well-drained reddish soil made by baking clay.

In some places it is used as a clay court.

What is anticipation?

It means prediction. Predicting in advance where the ball hit by the opposing player will land.

Also used for bargaining with opponents

What is an umpire?

About the referee. Terms used in a wide range of sports other than tennis

What is irregular (irregular bound)?

A ball bouncing on the ground in an usually unpredictable direction

Irregular bounces that occur in tennis are often caused by hitting pebbles.

What is an insole?

An insole that goes into shoes. Words used outside of tennis

What is indoor?

Refers to an indoor court. The advantage is that you can play tennis regardless of the weather, but the usage fees are higher than outdoor courts.

What is in-play?

Refers to while play continues, such as during a rally.

What is a winning shot?

The shot that decided victory or defeat

What is Winner?

Scoring a point with a ball hit such as a volley or drop shot without the opponent touching the ball at all

Return winners are also winners

What is Wimbledon Championship?

One of the four major tennis tournaments held in southwest London, England. The court is played on a grass court.

What is a walkover?

The opponent withdraws from the match for some reason, resulting in a by default.

What is Ace?

Ace in tennis is used as an abbreviation for service ace.

In addition, a shot that cannot be returned without being touched by the opponent is also called an ace.

What is egg ball?

A type of spin shot that drops sharply near the baseline and bounces within the court.

The name comes from the fact that the trajectory of the ball resembles an egg.

What is Australian Formation?

In a doubles match, a formation in which both the server and her partner are positioned either to the left or right of the center line of the court before the point begins.

What is auto tennis?

A tennis facility with an automatic ball practice machine

The same facility as a batting center in baseball.

What is an overcoat?

Hitting the ball with the racket over the net

What is overrule?

When the referee overrules the linesman’s decision, it is called an overrule.

What is an oar?

A term used to count points often used in tennis, and refers to a situation in which the number of sets and games is the same.

Example) 15 points vs. 15 points is called fifty-all.

What is all-round?

A player who can make versatile plays

What is Omnicoat?

Artificial grass court with sand

What is on-the-line?

The ball bounces on the line. The play is judged to be a valid play rather than an out.

What is a counter puncher?

Instead of hitting hard, I try to pick up the opponent’s shots and stick with them and aim for mistakes.

A player whose style is to counter the opponent’s strong hits and score points.

What is gut?

refers to the strings attached to the racket

What is Keep?

The server side takes the game

In contrast to a keep, when the server receives the game, it is called a break.

In the game of tennis, the server side has an advantage, so how well you can hold and break is the key to victory or defeat.

What is Carrie?

Tennis is a sport in which the ball hits the racket only once and is returned to the opponent’s court.

If the ball hits the racket multiple times, you will be charged a carry offense.

What is glass coat?

about the grass court

What is a Grand Slam?

A name referring to the four major tournaments, or the victory of all four major tournaments.

What is a grip?

The part of the handle that holds the racket

What is grip end?

The end of the grip end is called the grip end.

What is grip tape?

Refers to the anti-slip tape wrapped around the grip.

What is clay court?

A coat made from a mixture of soil and sand. Used at the French Open

What is the game?

You can earn it by getting 4 points. Also used to declare that you have acquired the game.

It can also refer to the match itself.

What is a code ball?

A ball that hits the net and enters the opponent’s court.

What is consolation?

Refers to the loser’s repechage match

What is Continental?

Holding the racket with a thin grip, refers to how to hold the racket

With the Continental, the surface of the racket is perpendicular to the ground, and you hold it from above the grip like you would hold a knife.

What is a server?

Refers to the player who serves at the beginning of the game, or the side serving.

What is Service Ace?

Scoring a point with a shot without being received by the opponent

What is Service Keep?

Playing a game in which you or your team is the one serving

What is a service court?

The court area where the serve is placed

Also called a service area, if you do not enter this area, it will be a service fault.

What is service down?

Losing the game when you or your team is on the serve side

What is a service fault?

Failure to serve is called a service fault.

What is serve?

The first shot taken at the beginning of the game

In tennis, the game starts with a serve, the opponent player receives the serve, and then the rally begins.

What is a serve and volleyer?

A player who is good at moving to the net immediately after serving and aiming for a volley or smash.

What is a surface?

The surface of a tennis court is called the surface.

What is side spin?

Ball with horizontal rotation

What is sideline?

horizontal line of court

What is Just?

synonymous with out

What is a jackknife?

Hit while lightly jumping

What is singles?

one-on-one tennis match

In contrast to singles, tennis played by two people is called doubles.

What is swing?

swinging a racket. A term that is widely used in sports other than tennis that use stick-like equipment.

What is a step?

The movement and movement of the feet when hitting the ball or picking it up

same as footwork

What are strings?

Same meaning as gut. A net attached to a racket

What is straight?

Hit in a straight line. or that direction

What is a stroke?

In tennis, hitting the ball is called a stroke.

What is spin?

The rotation of the ball.

What is spin serve?

A serve with spin. There are twist serves, kick serves, drive serves, etc.

What is split step?

A footwork technique that involves making a small jump just before hitting the ball.

What is Smash?

A shot in which the ball bounces high and is hit from above like a serve. The basic way to play tennis is the deciding factor

What is slice serve?

A serve that involves slicing (lateral rotation) the ball.

The trajectory of the sliced ball curves sideways and continues to flow sideways after bouncing.

What is second service?

The second serve after failing the first serve.

One serve error is allowed, but failing this second serve will result in a double fault and a point loss.

What is self-judgment?

Players acting as referees (judges) in matches when there are no referees due to insufficient numbers.

Usually determines whether your own court is in or out.

What is the British Open?

The Wimbledon Championship is one of the four major tennis tournaments.

The court is a grass court

What is the Australian Open?

One of the four major tennis tournaments, held in Melbourne, Australia.

The coat is a hard coat made of rubber.

What is French Open?

One of the four major tennis tournaments held in Paris, France

The court is a clay court

What is the US Open?

One of the four major tennis tournaments

The coat is hard coat

What is a tiebreak?

A system in which when the game count is 6-6, whoever wins the next point wins the set.

What is Touch (Touch Net)?

A foul committed when a racket or body touches the net, resulting in a point for the opponent.

What is doubles?

In tennis, a match between two people against two people

Terms used in other sports such as table tennis

What is double fault?

If you fail to serve twice in a row, it will be a double fault and your opponent will score a point.

The second serve is often a control-oriented serve with less power and spin to avoid double faults.

What is Challenge (Challenge System)?

In tennis, if you are dissatisfied with the judge, you can request a video judgment (this is called the challenge system).

What is Chance Ball?

A sweet return ball that can be expected to score points.

It’s cool to smash the chance ball and score points.

What is twist serve?

A serve that is hit with a strong forward rotation.

What is two bound?

Also called not up

Returning a ball that has bounced twice or more (since it has bounced twice on your own court, the opponent scores a point at that point)

What is tennis?

Japanese pronunciation of tennis

What is a tennis racket?

A ball-hitting tool used in tennis

What is deuce?

Refers to a situation in which both players are lined up with one point left until winning the game.

After getting a deuce, you can win the game by scoring 2 points on your opponent.

What is toss?

The action of throwing the ball upwards when serving is called a toss.

What is topspin?

A ball that is rotated in a forward rotation (rotation in the direction of travel). Gentle forward rotation is also called drive rotation, but topspin has more rotation than drive rotation.

What is a nice shot?

A shout used to praise a player’s shot (same as the shout “Nice shot” in golf)

What does it mean to pull out?

A ball that is hit so that it passes past a player standing near the net.

What is the net?

The net in the center of the court. Own court and opponent’s court are separated by a net.

What is Not Up?

Hitting a ball that bounces twice (if the ball bounces twice in your own court, the opponent scores a point)

It is more commonly called two-bound.

What is Not Lady?

To serve when the opponent is not ready yet

If the referee determines that the serve is not ready, the serve will be redone.

What is hard court?

Types of tennis courts made of hard materials

The repulsive force of the ball is very strong, but it puts more strain on the players’ feet compared to grass.

What is a backhand?

Basic tennis form: swinging the racket with the opposite hand

What is a big server?

A player who is good at hitting powerful serves.

What is first serve?

In tennis, you can serve twice. Refers to that first serve.

By the way, the second serve is called the second serve.

What is a forehand?

Basic tennis form where you swing the racket with your dominant hand

What is follow through?

The movement of the racket swing after hitting the ball

A term used for all competitions using stick-like tools, other than tennis.

What is a fault?

In tennis, a missed serve is called a fault.

If you fault twice (double fault), you will lose a point.

What is a foot fault?

Stepping on the line when serving or hitting the serve beyond the line

If you make a foot fault, the serve becomes a fault.

What is flat?

hitting the racket perpendicular to the ball

What is a frame shot?

A shot that hits the frame

What is a break?

The game in which the opponent has the right to serve is taken by the side that does not have the right to serve.

What is a full set?

A state in which the scores are tied during a game is called a full set.

What is a penalty?

In tennis, if you violate manners or use abusive language, you will be given a warning as a penalty.

The first penalty is a warning, but it becomes more severe from the second time onwards.

The second penalty will result in one point for the opponent, the third penalty will result in one game for the opponent, and the fourth penalty will result in disqualification.

What is a pouch?

Players near the net move during a doubles match.

An attack in which the ball is volleyed towards one’s partner.

What is a point?

Scores and points in tennis

Tennis scores are added up as 15, 30, and 40 points, and if you score the next 1 point when you have 40 points, you can win the game.

What is a hot dog?

A shot in which you hit the ball with your back facing the net and with the racket out from under your crotch.

What is a body shot?

Hitting the ball aiming at the opponent’s body

What is volley?

Hitting a ball in the air without waiting for the ball to bounce from the opponent

What is match point?

A score in which the outcome of a match is determined by just one more score.

What is mixed doubles?

Doubles played in pairs of men and women is called mixed doubles, or mix for short.

What are the four major tournaments?

Four tournaments established by the International Tennis Federation to determine the best player.

There are Australian Open, French Open, British Open (Wimbledon Championships), and US Open.

What is Rising (Rising Ball)?

A ball that bounces immediately after it bounces.

What is a rising shot?

To hit (shot) a rising ball

What is a racket?

A ball-hitting device used in tennis

What is love?

A state where the points are 0 points.

What is Larry?

hitting the ball

What is return?

to hit back an opponent’s ball

What is loop drive?

A ball hit with a strong forward rotation (rotation in the direction of travel) that has a characteristic of bouncing significantly after falling on an arcuate trajectory.

What is a receiver?

The player receiving the serve

What is Rhett?

About starting over. Examples include cases where a served ball hits the net and enters the service area, or a tossed ball bounces on the ground without being hit.