TENNIS LINGO FULL
TENNIS LINGO FREE

From here that player only needs one more point to win the game.Īlley - The extra space at the side of the court that is used when playing doubles.ĪTP - Abbreviation for the Association of Tennis Professionals, the governing body that oversees men’s tennis.īackhand - A shot that is played by swinging your racket across your body to strike the ball with the back of the racquet head.īackspin - A shot that causes the ball to rotate backward causing the ball to slow down and/or bounce at a lower angle.

TENNIS LINGO FREE

If you consider we can explain one of them better, or have missed anything, then feel free to comment below or email us at When a serve is untouched and unreturned by the receiving player, meaning the player who served wins the point.Īdvantage (shortened to ‘Ad’) - The player who wins the first point when in deuce has the ‘advantage’. It will remain 'work in progress' and we will be adding as we discover new terms or acronyms. This article seeks to help explain the meaning of these items.

TENNIS LINGO FULL

We see advertisers use the medium of tennis while trying to flog their wares on television and we hear it on the radio.Like many sports, tennis is a game full of terms and acronyms. I’m sure we’ve all heard tennis metaphors being used in everyday speech. From deuce in tennis we need to win two more points in order to win the game. In slang English it means two or it’s the number two card in a deck of cards. It is generally viewed in a positive light.ĭeuce. A rally can also be a gathering or in automobile terms it can mean a type of vehicle race. In common usage to rally behind someone is to be supportive. A rally in tennis is to hit the ball over the net to each other. We start with a tie, at six games all, and we play a final game to determine who will be victorious. As this is a modern day invention into tennis the term was taken directly from it’s meaning and result a winner being triumphant. Both are positive terms though the word isn’t much used anymore in everyday English. An ace in tennis means a serve that is untouchable and unreturnable. It meant he was a high flyer or a person of capabilities. “That guy is a real ace” is probably an expression you would’ve heard back in the twenties or thirties. Or does “Love all” at the start of the match mean we should love our opponent. Like the word “serve”, “love” has been used as a pun or play on words by many advertising executives throughout the years. I believe that tennis is the only game in which love means nothing. So in tennis you start with love and you’ve gotta fight for everything after that. Love means nothing, nil, zero, de nada in tennis. This is a position which we like to find ourselves in and in tennis terms we need only to gain the next point in order to win. It’s one step ahead of your opponents and the odds are in your favour.

It’s a good thing to have the advantage in life as it is in tennis. Advantage in tennis is one point clear of Deuce.

I guess the easiest way to put it would be to say that nobody wants to be facing service.Īdvantage. It is considered to be an advantage to be the server in a game as you are the one applying all the service. We try to hold our own serve and break our opponents service. Your service is greatly anticipated and much appreciated. Even the word “serve” to me makes me think of serving someone else. Lets take a look at some of the other ones: Phrases like “the ball is in your court now” and “Game, set and match” are among many tennis metaphors out in the public domain. And some tennis born terms have also seeped back into life and are used quite commonly.

It’s funny how tennis has used words that reflect life in its terminology.

Tennis lingo