Tennis Terms

Ace - a serve that is a winner without the receiving tennis player able to return the ball.
Ad court - the part of the tennis court that is to the left of the tennis players
Advantage-when a tennis player needs 1 more point to win the game after the score was deuce.
Alley - the extra area of the side court used for doubles.
ATP - stand for the Association of Tennis Professionals
Backhand - a way to swing the tennis racquet where the player hits the ball with a swing that comes across the body.
Backspin - spin of a tennis ball that causes the ball to slow down and/or bounce low.
Backswing - the motion of a swing that moves the racquet into position to swing forward and strike the ball.
Baseline - the line indicating back of the court.
Baseliner-a tennis player whose strategy is to play from the baseline.
Break - when the server loses the game
Break point - one point away from breaking serve
Chip - blocking a shot with backspin
Chip & Charge - an aggressive strategy to return the opponent's serve with backspin and move forward to the net for a volley
Chop - a tennis shot with extreme backspin. Meant to stop the ball where it lands.
Counterpuncher - another name for a player who is a defensive baseliner.
Court - the area where a tennis game is played
Crosscourt - hitting the tennis ball diagonally into the opponent's court
Cross Strings -The strings that run perpendicular to the long axis of your racquet. These generally get less wear than the main strings.
Deep - refers to a shot that bounces near the baseline verses near the net
Deuce - when the score in a game is 40 to 40.
Deuce court - the right side of the court
Double Fault - two missed serves in a row. The server will lose the point.
Doubles - a tennis game played by four players, two per side of the court.
Down the Line - hitting a tennis shot straight down the baseline
Drop shot - a strategy where the tennis player hits the ball just go over the net. It is used when the opponent is far from the net.
Drop volley - a drop shot from a volley
Fault - a service that is not in play.
First Service - the first of the two serves of a tennis ball a player is allowed. Generally the server will try a more difficult serve on the first service.
Flat - a shot with little to no spin
Follow Through - the part of the swing after the ball is hit. A good follow through is important for accuracy and power.
Foot Fault - when the server steps over the baseline while making a serve.
Forehand - a tennis swing where the player hits the tennis ball from behind their body. Often the forehand is the players best stroke.
Game Point - one point away to win the tennis game.
Grand Slam - any one of the four most prestigious tennis tournaments including the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon and the U.S. Open.
Graphite -The graphite used in racquet frames is not the true graphite you would find in a pencil, but a carbon fiber that adds stiffness and strength to the plastic resin with which it is mixed to form a frame. Because of its high stiffness-to-weight ratio, graphite is the most common frame material in mid- to high-priced racquets. When a racquet is made of resin and graphite alone, it is called 100% graphite, even though it is at least 40% resin. If other materials are used, the frame is called a composite.
Grip -The grip on a racquet handle usually consists of an outer synthetic layer bonded onto padding. Leather grips are rare in current models. The grip size is measured as the length of the perimeter of the octagonal cross-section of the handle.
Groundstroke-a forehand or backhand shot made after the tennis ball bounces
Head - the top part of the racket that has the strings and is meant to hit the ball.
Hold - when the server wins the tennis game.
I-formation - a formation in doubled where the both players stand on the same side of the court prior to starting the point.
Jamming - to hit the tennis ball straight to the opponent's body not allowing them to extend the racquet to hit the ball well.
Kick Serve - a serve with a lot of spin causing the ball to bounce high
Let - when the tennis ball from a service touches the net but still lands within the service box. The server gets another try as this does not count as a fault.
Lob - a tennis shot where the ball is lifted high above the net. Can be a defensive shot in some cases, but also may cause a winner when the ball is just out of reach of the opponent, but still lands in play.
Love - zero points in a tennis game.
Main Strings -The strings that run parallel to the long axis of the racquet. The main strings carry most of the burden of biting into the ball to produce spin. Small areas on each main string tend to rub against much longer sections of the intersecting cross strings, and this concentrated friction tends to make the mains break before the crosses.
Match Point - when one tennis player only needs one more point to win the entire match
Out - any tennis ball that lands outside the area of play.
Overgrip -An overgrip or grip wrap is a thin strip of material used to cover the grip on your racquet handle. Unlike your grip, the much cheaper overgrip is meant to be used for a short amount of time, in some cases less than one full match. It can absorb sweat, improve handle traction, and add sligtly to the handle size and padding.
Passing Shot - when the tennis ball is hit such that it passes by the opponent at the net without them being able to hit the ball.
Poaching - an aggressive strategy in doubles where the tennis player at net attempts to volley a shot hit to their partner on the baseline.
Tennis Racquet - the main piece of equipment in tennis. It has a long handle and a oval shaped head with a string mesh stretched across it. It is used by the tennis player to hit the ball.
Rally - when players hit the ball back and forth to each other while the ball is landing in play.
Set Point - when a tennis player needs one point to win the set
Singles - a tennis game played by two players
Second Service - the second serve that the server is allowed after missing the first serve. This serve must be successful or the server will loose the point (called a double fault).
Serve - starts the point by the server hitting the tennis ball into the opponents half of the court
Serve & Volley - a tennis strategy where the player serves and then charges forward to the net for a volley off of the return.
Spin - rotation of the tennis ball as it moves through the air. Skilled tennis players can control the spin and, therefore, the ball's trajectory and bounce
Straight Sets - when one player wins every set in a match.
Sweet Spot -Every racquet has three different sweet spots, but in a general sense, the sweet spot is the area of the string bed that produces the best combination of feel and power. The most powerful spot on the string bed is that with the greatest coefficient of restitution. The one with least vibration is found at the node of the first harmonic. The one with least shock is found at the center of percussion.
Topspin - when the tennis ball spins forward. This can cause it to bounce higher as well as dip down quickly.
Unforced error-a missed shot by a player that was not caused by any play by their opponent.
Winner - an outstanding tennis shot that cannot be returned by the opponent.
WTA - stands for Women's Tennis Association