The Glossary of Tennis Part II
In the first part of the tennis glossary, we discussed on the around the court terms that have to do with the sport. Now it’s time to discuss those that concern the players themselves. You head them on every broadcast by the commentators. In fact, in most of those, there is also a former tennis player involved who talks purely tennis. Let’s begin making sense of what it is that we here:
- Service or Serve
For any game or set to begin, a player must serve the ball to the service court that’s diagonal to his position. Each serve must change sides (i.e. if the first serve is from right to left, the next service is to be from left to right). - Ace
If a player gains a point right after a service without his opponent touching the ball with their racket, has served an ace. - Volley
The term refers to striking the ball before it hits the ground. If this happens a fraction of a second after the ball has hit the ground or at exactly the same time, with the racket hitting or being very low over the surface, then the term is half volley. - Forehand
The racket hits the ball with the palm of the hand that holds it, facing the direction of the opponent. Usually, this is the best shot for the vast majority of tennis players. - Backhand
The opposite of the forehand. The ball is hit with the backside of the palm is turned towards the opponent. Nowadays, most players prefer to use both hands to hold the racket when they execute a backhand. Only three active tennis greats use only one hand: Roger Federer, Stan Wawrinka, and Stefanos Tsitsipas. - Topspin
After the ball is hit by the racket, its top spins in the direction of travel resulting in a dip and a bounce at a higher angle. - Underspin
The revers of the topspin. The top of the ball spins opposite to the direction of travel lowering the angle of the bounce and afloat while traveling towards the opponent’s side of the court. - Backspin
Also known as a slice. After the ball hits the court it rotates backward while the force applied to it goes upwards and thus lifting the ball. - Bagel
This term denotes a set that has ended by a score of 6-0 in favor of one of the opponents. - Drive
This indicates a strike of the ball that hits the ground when its trajectory is flat. - Drop shot
A shot that requires great technique. The ball is hit with a lot of backspin and just enough force to pass over the net and immediately drop to the opponent’s side. - Service hold
A player holds their service every time they win the game where they are the one serving the ball. - Smash
A point-ending shot of a player close to the net hitting the ball almost vertically with as much force as they can bear. - Lob
A defensive shot that sends the ball on a high trajectory with the intention of going over the opponent and behind them when they have come close to the net. - Overhead
The usual response to a lob is a hit of the ball when it is above the head of the player.
Now that you have ventured deeper into understanding what it is that you see when you watch a tennis match, it’s time to open a betting account with a broker and begin making some profit, especially through understanding where it is going.