Badminton is a racquet sport played using racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" and "doubles". Badminton is often played as a casual outdoor activity in a yard or on a beach; formal games are played on a rectangular indoor court. Points are scored by striking the shuttlecock with the racquet and landing it within the opposing side's half of the court.
A tennis court is the venue where the sport of tennis is played. It is a firm rectangular surface with a low net stretched across the centre. The same surface can be used to play both doubles and singles matches. A variety of surfaces can be used to create a tennis court, each with its own characteristics which affect the playing style of the game.
Table tennis, also known as ping-pong and whiff-whaff, is a sport in which two or four players hit a lightweight ball, also known as the ping-pong ball, back and forth across a table using small solid rackets. It takes place on a hard table divided by a net. Except for the initial serve, the rules are generally as follows: Players must allow a ball played toward them to bounce once on their side of the table and must return it so that it bounces on the opposite side. A point is scored when a player fails to return the ball within the rules. Play is fast and demands quick reactions. Spinning the ball alters its trajectory and limits an opponent's options, giving the hitter a great advantage.
Futsal is a football-based game played on a hard court smaller than a football pitch, and mainly indoors. It has similarities to five-a-side football and indoor football.
Jeu de paume, nowadays known as real tennis, (US) court tennis or courte paume, is a ball-and-court game that originated in France. It was an indoor precursor of tennis played without racquets, and so "game of the hand", though these were eventually introduced. It is a former Olympic sport, and has the oldest ongoing annual world championship in sport, first established over 250 years ago. The term also refers to the court on which the game is played and its building, which in the 17th century was sometimes converted into a theatre.
American handball, known as handball in the United States and sometimes referred to as wallball, is a sport in which players use their hands to hit a small, rubber ball against a wall such that their opponent(s) cannot do the same without the ball touching the ground twice or hitting out-of-bound. The three versions are four-wall, three-wall and one-wall. Each version can be played either by two players (singles), three players (cutthroat) or four players (doubles), but in official tournaments, singles and doubles are the only versions played.
Paddle tennis, rebranded as Pop tennis in 2015, is a game adapted from tennis and played for over a century. Compared to tennis, the court is smaller and has no doubles lanes, and the net is lower. Paddle tennis is played with a solid paddle as opposed to a strung racquet, and a depressurized tennis ball is used.
Palla is a traditional Tuscan ball game played in villages between Siena and Grosseto. It is also called palla EH! because players call out eh! before serving.
Pallone is the name of several traditional ball games, played in all regions of Italy, with few differences in regulations.
Sphaeristerium is a term in Classical architecture given to a large open space connected with the Roman thermae for exercise with balls after the bather had been anointed. They were also provided in Roman villas.
Pickleball is an indoor or outdoor racket/paddle sport where two players (singles), or four players (doubles), hit a perforated hollow polymer ball over a 36-inch-high (0.91 m) net using solid-faced paddles. Opponents on either side of the net hit the ball back and forth until one side commits a rule infraction. Pickleball was invented in 1965 as a children's backyard game on Bainbridge Island, Washington, US. In 2022, pickleball was adopted as the official state sport of Washington.
This page is a glossary of tennis terminology.
Indoor netball is a variation of netball, played exclusively indoors, in which the playing court is surrounded on each side and overhead by a net. The net prevents the ball from leaving the court, reducing the number of playing stoppages. This gives indoor netball a faster pace than netball.
Fistball is a sport of European origin, primarily played in the German-speaking nations of Austria, Germany and Switzerland, as well as in Brazil. The objective of the game is similar to volleyball, in that teams try to hit a ball over a net, but the rules vary from volleyball in a number of major ways. The current men's fistball World Champions are Germany, winners of both the 2019 Men's World Championships and the fistball category at the 2022 World Games, while the current women's fistball World Champions are also Germany, after winning the 2021 Women's World Championships.
Several sports related to volleyball have become popular. Indoor volleyball and beach volleyball are both events at the Olympics, and sitting volleyball is an event at the Paralympics. Other varieties are localised, or are played at an amateur or informal level.
Valencian pilota is a traditional handball sport played in the Valencian Community. Its origins are not known.
The International game is a ball game that is related to many sports derived from and similar to Jeu de paume. It is played in the Handball International Championships by teams from the Americas and Europe.
For the sport called "beach paddleball", see Matkot. For other sports called "paddleball", see Paddleball (sport).
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to tennis. Tennis is a sport usually played between two players (singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles). Each player uses a specialized racquet that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court.
Padbol is a fusion sport created in La Plata in 2008, combining elements of football, tennis, volleyball and squash.
