Tennis A to Z
Ace: A serve that the opponent doesn't touch with the racquet. An ace wins the point immediately for the server.
Backspin: A shot which forces the ball to spin and and reduce its speed at impact. It is also known as 'slice' or 'underspin'.
Career Golden Slam: A term associated with a player who has won all the four major titles and also an Olympic gold medal. So far only four people have achieved this feat: Steffi Graf, Andre Agassi, Rafael Nadal and Serena Williams.
Deuce: A score of 40-40. A player must score two consecutive points from deuce if he has to win the game. A player to score the first point from deuce is said to have an advantage. If he scores another, he wins the game. But if the opponent scores then the score goes back to deuce.
Error: A loss in point due to the shot not landing correctly in the opponent 's court.
Frame shot: A shot coming off the frame of the racquet rather than off the strings. Usually it is a mishit.
Grunt: Noises made by the players while serving or hitting the ball. Notable players who grunt are Rafael Nadal, Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova among others.
Hopper: A large container that holds tennis balls.
Jam: To hit the ball at or near to the opponent's body forcing him/her to hit back awkwardly.
Kick Serve: A type of serve which spins tremendously causing the ball to change the direction when it bounces.
Lucky loser: A player who loses the final qualifying round but still gets to enter the tournament when another player withdraws.
Mis-hit: A shot that fails to hit the middle of the racquet.
No man's land: The area between the service line and the base line is said to be a no-man's land.
Overrule: A decision is said to be overruled when the umpire reverses the decision of the line judge.
Poaching: In doubles, a player hits a shot, mostly a volley, which was intended for his/her partner.
Qualifier: A small competition held to choose a specified number of players for the main tournament.
Return ace: A shot in which the opponent serves, the player returns the serve, and the opponent is unable to hit the ball. It’s the opposite of ace wherein the server serves and the receiver is unable to hit the ball.
SABR (Sneak Attack by Roger): It is an attack devised by Roger Federer in which the serve returner rushes toward during a serve to upset the opponent's rhythm.
Tandem: It is a doubles formation in which each partner is responsible for one half of the court as divided by the centre line.
Umpire: An arbitrator who usually sits on a high chair next to the tennis court.
Volley: A shot in which the ball is struck before it bounces on the ground.
Western grip: A type of grip used by a player to generate a lot of topspin on the groundstrokes.
Zero pointer: Top 10 players who withdraw from a commitment tournament receive a mandatory zero pointer (no points) on their rankings.
