Monday, April 16, 2007

TENNIS VOCABULARY

All
– indicates the scores are level. For example, ’15 all’ means that both players have a score
of 15
Ball boy/girl – professional tournaments use young boys or girls to collect tennis balls during
a game
Ball change – in tournaments the balls are changed after a certain number of games to ensure
they stay as bouncy as possible
Baseline – the line marking the front and back of a tennis court
Bounce – when a tennis ball hits the ground, it goes back into the air - the ball has bounced.
During a match, the ball often becomes less bouncy and needs changing for a new ball
Deuce – if a score gets to 40-40, the score is called deuce – at this stage, the winner of the
game is the first player to now win two points in a row
Doubles – a four-player game
Down-the-line – a shot that travels parallel to and along the sideline
Drive – a hard, straight shot often used to pass an opponent at the net
Drop shot – a gently played shot that just gets over the net so the other player can’t reach it
Ends – each side of the court (that begins with a baseline)
Fault – a serve which hits the net and / or lands outside the service box
Foot fault – this happens when a server’s foot touches the ground in front of the baseline or
the wrong side of the centre mark (on the baseline) before the player hits the ball
Game – a player wins a game if, generally, they are the first player to win four points
Ground stroke – a shot that is made after the ball has bounced
Half-volley – a shot hit just as the ball bounces
Let – when a serve hits the top of the net and lands within the service box, it is known as a
‘let’ and the server must serve again
Lob – a shot played deliberately high into the air to land at the back of the opponent’s court
Love – a score of zero points in a game or zero games in a set
Match – Usually, in men’s tennis, the first player to win three sets wins the match. In
women’s tennis, the first player to win two sets wins the match
Match point – a player who only needs one more point to win the match is said to be at
match point
Net – the piece of material down the middle of the tennis court that divides the court in half
Player – one of the people involved in playing a game, e.g. tennis player or football player
Rally – the exchange of shots between players. A rally starts when the receiver returns serve
and ends when the point is won
Receiver – the player who hits the ball back after a serve
Serve – a point begins with a player serving the ball. This means one player hits the ball
towards the other player. (The serve must be played from behind the baseline and must land
in the service box. Players get two attempts to make a good serve.)
Server – the player who hits the ball first for each point in a game
Service box – the area where players serve into
Set – Generally, the first player to win six games wins a set
Sideline – the left and right edges of a tennis court
Singles – a two-player game
Smash – an overhead shot hit very hard, usually before the ball has bounced
Stop volley – a shot that slows the ball down a lot and makes it drop just over the net with
very little bounce
Tiebreak – if both players win 6 games each then there is a tie-break. In a tiebreak, the first
player to win seven points, wins the tiebreak (note: like deuce, if both players get to six
points, then the winner is the player who now wins two points in a row)

READING THE PRESS

The player posted his first win – this means that a player has won their first match
Convert a point – this means that the player won that point
The courts were slow – this means the tennis balls did not travel as fast after they hit the
ground
I fancy my chances – a player thinks he has a good chance of winning a match against an
opponent
The underdog – the player that is expected to lose
Hung on in the match – continued to win points to stay in the match even though it looked
like the player should lose

TALKING TO FRIENDS

S/he will win because they are hungry for the title – if you say this you think that the
player really wants to win the title
My favourite is out – the person you really wanted to win has lost their match and is out of
the tournament
The player is at his peak – if you say a player is at their peak, you mean they are playing at
there very best
Goran is a legend!! – you think this player is very, very good
Don’t write that player off – you think that a player still has a chance of winning, even if
they are not playing well
The player has been given an easy draw – this means that the player only has to play
against easy opponents to get to the final
That player is out of form – that player is not playing well