Tennis terms

Ace: A serve which the opponent failed to touch with his/her racquet.

AD: Short for "advantage" - the person who scores the next point after deuce is said to have the advantage or "ad".

AD-in: When the server scores the next point after deuce he/she is said to have the "advantage in".

AD-out: When the receiver scores the next point after the game score is said to be "advantage out".

AD Court: The service court into which a server must serve at ad-in or ad-out. Hence the right-handed court on the opposite side of the net (from the servers view).

Advantage: The person who scores the next point after deuce is said to have the advantage or "ad".

Alley: The area between the singles and doubles sidelines.

Approach Shot: A shot that is hit in order to enable a player to move in closer to a net position.

Cross-Court: Descriptive of a shot that is hit from one side of the court to the other, as well as over the net. For example: the player hits from the right-handed side of the backcourt to the right-handed side of the opponent's backcourt.

Default: The failure or refusal of a player to take part in or complete a match, resulting in a victory for the opponent. Also, used as a verb, as in "Smith was forced to default of a knee injury."

Deuce: When players are tied at 40-40 (three points each), the score is called "deuce". At deuce, a player must win two points in a row to win the game. If the players split the following to points, the score reverts to deuce.

Deuce Court: The receiver's right service court, where he/she receives serve when the score is deuce The opposite of advantage court.

Double Fault: The server is give two attempts at a valid serve. If both attempts fail, it is a double fault and the receiver wins the point. Also can be used as a verb.

Doubles: A match between two teams of two players each.

Down The Line: Descriptive of a shot that is hit straight from the near sideline, as opposed to a cross-court shot.

Drop Shot: A soft shot that drops just over the net; usually hit with backspin to minimize its bounce. It's commonly used against an opponent who is playing deep, as contrasted with the chip shot.

Fault: An invalid service attempt. It is a fault if 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.

Flat Serve: A serve in which the racquet travels straight through the ball without creating a spin.

Foot Fault: Usually a fault caused by the server's foot entering the court before the racquet 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.

Game: A contest in which one player or side serves throughout. The first contestant to take four points wins the game, but the margin of victory must be at least two points. Scoring follows the sequence, Fifteen-Thirty- Forty-Game. If both players or sides reach forty, it's call a deuce.

Let: An interference or hindrance that calls for a point to be played over; or a service, which hits the net and lands in the proper service court.

Lob: To hit the ball high into the air over your opponent's head to the baseline of the court. Usually used when opponent is at the net.

Love: A score of zero.

Match: a contest of the best 2 out of 3 sets, or the best 3 out of 5 set. Matches of the latter length are use only in men's singles or men's doubles, and then usually only in the most important tournaments.

Receiver: The player who receives the service.

Service Break: A game won by the opponent of the server.

Set: The unit of scoring next higher than the game, scored when either player has won six games, unless the other player has won five; in that case the player first gaining a lead of two games wins.

Split Sets: The winner may win the first, lose the second, and win the third. The winner may also lose the first and win the second and third.

Straight Sets: A match won without losing a set.

Tie Breaker: The method is used to determine the winner of a set once the score in games is 6-6.

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