Tennis
History of the Game
An early version of Tennis started out in the 16th century in France where players would yell
"tenez" when starting a game giving the game the name Tennis. Later the game would be refined
in England in the 19th century as lawn tennis to more resemble the sport we play today. Tennis is
one of the most popular individual sports in the world.
Object of the Game
In tennis the player uses a racquet to hit a ball over a net into the opponent’s court. The ball must
be kept in play and can only bounce one time on the court surface before the opponent must
strike the ball back over the net. The standard ball is made up of felt over hollow rubber. Tennis
is often played with one player per side (singles) or with two players per side (doubles).
Skills
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Forehand - is a groundstroke that is frequently executed in a game, set, or match. Stroke
in which the player hits the ball with the front of the racquet hand facing the ball;
contrasted with backhand. If you are left-handed and an opponent returns a tennis ball
directly to your body, you would step to your right and hit it back from the left side of
your body. However, if you are right-handed and an opponent returns a tennis ball
directly to your body, you would step to your left and hit it back from the right side of
your body. The majority of tennis players prefer to execute a forehand more than any
other fundamental tennis stroke. In fact, the majority of tennis strokes executed in a
game, set, or match are forehands.
Backhand - is a groundstroke executed from the side opposite of the forehand side. So if
you are right-handed, your backhand is executed from the left side of your body and if
you are left-handed, your backhand is executed from the right side of your body. In order
to execute a tennis backhand, you must bring your natural hitting hand around your body
before hitting the tennis ball.
Serve - initiates every point. The tennis player that is serving is termed the server and the
other tennis player is termed the receiver. By rule, you can opt to serve anyway you see
fit, it is your choice. Toss the ball straight up high above the head while rotating the
tennis racquet with a full motion swing aiming to strike the ball to the diagonal service
area on the opposite end of the tennis court.
Lob - is mainly used as a defensive technique to turn the momentum of a point into an
offensive play. It is a high arching shot with additional hang time that is initiated by a
forehand, backhand, or at times a volley. With the lob technique, a tennis competitor has
the ability to change the course of a point and keep an opponent off balance during game
play.
Overhead - Similar to a serve, the overhead tennis technique is designed to earn points
by striking the tennis ball as it floats in the air over the head to the forehand or backhand
side of a tennis athlete's body.
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Volley – a shot hit by a player before it bounces on his own side of the court. It is a short
punch technique with little or no back swing from a tennis athlete's forehand or backhand
side. Every shot a player executes before the ball bounces on the court is considered a
volley.
Vocabulary/Terms
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Ace - Serve where the tennis ball is served in and not touched by the receiver; thus, a shot
that is both a serve and a winner is an ace.
Advantage - When one player wins the first point from a deuce and needs one more
point to win the game; not applicable when using deciding points.
Alley - Area of the court between the singles and the doubles sidelines, which together
are known as tramlines.
Backspin - Shot that rotates the ball backwards after it is hit; also known as slice or
underspin. The trajectory of the shot is affected by an upward force that lifts the ball.
Baseline - Line at the farthest ends of the court indicating the boundary of the area of
play.
Crosscourt - Hitting the ball diagonally into the opponent's court.
Deciding point - In doubles, the point played when the game score reaches deuce and
there is no ad play; the game is decided in favor of whichever team wins the deuce point.
Deuce - Score of 40–40 in a game. A player must win two consecutive points from a
deuce to win the game, unless the tournament employs deciding points. A player who
has won one point after deuce is said to have the advantage.
Dink - Shot with no pace, usually hit close to the net.
Double fault - Two faults in a row in one point, causing the player serving to lose the
point.
Doubles - Matches played by four players, two per side of the court.
Drop Shot - Play in which the player hits the ball lightly enough to just go over the net,
usually with backspin; designed to catch a player who is away from the net off guard.
Fault - Serve that fails to land the ball in the correct area of play, therefore not starting
the point.
Game point - Situation in which the server is leading and needs one more point to win
the game.
Grip - a grip is a way of holding the racket in order to hit shots during a match.
Groundstroke - Forehand or backhand shot that is executed after the ball bounces once
on the court.
Let (do-over) - A call that requires the point to be replayed. Lets typically occur when an
otherwise-valid serve makes contact with the net before hitting the ground.
Love – Zero (score)
Rally - Following the service of a tennis ball, a series of return hits of the ball that ends
when one or other player fails to return the ball within the court boundary or fails to
return a ball that falls within the play area.
Singles - Game played by two players.
General Rules
 Serving the ball - Each player takes turns serving the ball with the players switching
service after each game. The server must stand behind the baseline, or the farthest line
back on his or her side of the court that marks legal play, and in between the center mark
of the court and the sideline. When ready to serve, the ball is tossed into the air and aimed
diagonally across the court to the other player. As long as a served ball does not hit the
server's side of the court or the net and it bounces once within legal boundaries of the
service box on the receiver's side, the ball is now legally in play and a rally begins.
o You get two attempts to get the ball in play when serving. If the ball goes directly
out or hits the net and lands out, the first serve is lost and you have a second serve
attempt. If the 2nd serve does not land in play, the receiver gets the point. If either
the 1st or 2nd serve hits the net but goes over and lands in the correct service box,
it is a "let" and the serve is taken over again.
o When rallying, in order to get a "point," the ball can either bounce at least twice in
the court, once in the court and once anywhere else (including stationary objects
not on the court), or the hitter can may hit the ball directly out or into the net and
lose the point
o No double hitting; one player cannot hit the ball more than once or two doubles
partners cannot each hit the ball
 Faults - Is like a penalty in other sports, only this penalty costs the player at fault the
point. A foot fault occurs when the server walks or runs while serving or if the server's
foot touches the baseline before the serve has been completed. If two faults occur in a
row it is then called a double fault and the receiver wins the point.
 Scoring Points - A score of "love" is zero. One point becomes a score of 15, two points
are 30, and three points are 40. The fourth point takes you back to love. There are several
ways to win a point. During a rally if the ball bounces inbounds and is not returned, the
point goes to the last person to hit the ball. Points are also earned if your opponent double
faults, hits the ball twice in a row without the ball traveling back to your side of the net,
steps out-of-bounds, hits the ball into the net, or touches the ball with anything other than
the racquet.