Traditionally, tennis is played between two people in a singles match, or two pairs in a doubles match. Tennis can also be played on different courts, including grass courts, clay courts, hard courts, and artificial grass courts.
Singles involves two players competing against each other, usually two men or two women, although games between a man and a woman may be played on an informal basis or as exhibitions. The game starts with one player serving the ball from the right side of the court behind the baseline. The other player must stand behind or close to the baseline on the left side of the court. The server then hits the ball over the net into the diagonally opposite service box. The receiver must let the ball bounce before hitting it back over the net. If the receiver hits the ball before one bounce or after two bounces then is called "fault". The game continues until one of the players fails to hit the ball over the net or hits it outside the boundaries off the court. [1]
Doubles is played by two teams of two players each, most often all-male or all-female. It utilizes a wider court than singles matches: it includes the area in the alley (tramlines, in British terminology), whereas singles does not. The two players on the receiving side change positions after each point played (one at the net and the other near the baseline, preparing to return serve). Most of the singles rules are applicable for doubles tennis, but there are few exceptions. First and foremost, the court side is wider. The boundaries are extended from side to side to the doubles sidelines. This includes the alleys between the singles and doubles sidelines on the court. The doubles tennis court boundaries are only in play after the ball is served. Players serve for one total game and then the serve rotates to the other team. Returners must stay on the same side of the court, known as the deuce side or ads side for the duration of the set as the server continuously switches sides after each point. [2]
Mixed doubles is played the same as doubles, but with one man and one woman per team. This form of tennis is rare in the professional game because the men's and women's tours are organized separately (by the ATP and WTA, respectively). However, all four Grand Slam tournaments hold a mixed doubles competition, alongside the men's and women's doubles, featuring many of the same players. There is also an annual mixed tournament for national teams, the Hopman Cup, which includes mixed doubles matches. Additionally, there have been mixed doubles events at the Summer Olympics on various occasions (In 1900, from 1912 until 1920 and again since 2012).
While players are gradually less competitive in singles by their late 30s and early 40s, they can still continue competitively in doubles and mixed doubles (as instanced by Martina Navratilova and John McEnroe, who won doubles titles in their 40s).
When three players are available, modified rules can accommodate the mismatch so that the single player does not have to be significantly better than the doubles team. The only major rule variation between Canadian doubles and traditional doubles tennis is that the team of two players can only hit the ball within the singles lines, whilst the single player can hit into the full doubles court.
An informal and unsanctioned form of tennis, this is played with similar rules to Canadian doubles, only in this version, players rotate court position after each game. As such, each player plays doubles and singles over the course of a match, with the singles player always serving. Scoring styles vary, but one popular method is to assign a value of two points to each game, with the server taking both points by holding serve, and the doubles team each taking one if they break. This format is usually known as "American doubles" in the United Kingdom and Australia. In South Africa it is called "American singles", or cut-throat tennis. It is also found in the Caribbean. [3]
Played in both singles and doubles forms by people in wheelchairs. The main difference is that the ball may bounce twice before it is hit, the second bounce may even be outside the court. All four Grand Slam tournaments include wheelchair tennis.
Visually impaired tennis (also known as blind tennis in Japan, its country of origin, and as sound tennis in some parts of the world) is competed in 4 types of classification where the B1 (blind) group requires players to wear a blindfold and utilizes special balls, which make a sound upon contact with the court. [4] It usually uses a smaller court and a lower net than standard tennis; up to three bounces may be allowed before returning the ball. [5] While sound tennis is not part of ITF, ATP, and WTA tournaments, an international tournament is held annually, and world rankings are published for male and female players with different degrees of disability. [6]
There is an evolution in tennis training that employs the use of low-compression balls and in some cases modified court sizes. Organizations around the world have begun to use lower compression balls and modified court sizes as a way to reach out to younger tennis players interested in tennis. The use of low-compression balls and modified court sizes is meant to ease the process into becoming a competitive or amateur tennis player. The low-compression balls are colored differently to indicate the level of compression. Young players and beginners are likely to find the game easier to learn because the balls do not bounce as high or travel as fast as "normal" balls. [7] The modified smaller courts make covering the court, or reaching the opponent's shot, easier as well.
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 other team's half of the court.
Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket strung with a cord to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over or around a net and into the opponent's court. The object of the game is to manoeuvre the ball in such a way that the opponent is not able to play a valid return. The player unable to return the ball validly will not gain a point, while the opposite player will.
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 is a racket sport derived from tennis but distinguished by its playing surface being atop a stationary table, rather than the court on which players stand. Either individually or in teams of two, players take alternating turns returning a light, hollow ball over the table's net onto the opposing half of the court using small rackets until they fail to do so, which results in a point for the opponent. Play is fast, requiring quick reaction and constant attention, and is characterized by an emphasis on spin, which can affect the ball's trajectory more than in other ball sports.
Racquetball is a racquet sport and a team sport played with a hollow rubber ball on an indoor or outdoor court. Joseph Sobek invented the modern sport of racquetball in 1950, adding a stringed racquet to paddleball in order to increase velocity and control. Unlike most racquet sports, such as tennis and badminton, there is no net to hit the ball over, and, unlike squash, no tin to hit the ball above. Also, the court's walls, floor, and ceiling are legal playing surfaces, with the exception of court-specific designated hinders being out-of-bounds. Racquetball is played between various players on a team who try to bounce the ball with the racquet onto the ground so it hits the wall, so that an opposing team’s player cannot bounce it back to the wall.
Real tennis – one of several games sometimes called "the sport of kings" – is the original racquet sport from which the modern game of tennis is derived. It is also known as court tennis in the United States, royal tennis in England and Australia, and courte-paume in France. Many French real tennis courts are at jeu de paume clubs.
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-bounds. 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.
POP tennis is a racket sport adapted from tennis and played for over a century. Compared to tennis, the court is smaller, has no doubles lanes, and the net is lower. Paddle tennis is played with a solid perforated paddle, as opposed to a strung racquet, and a lower pressure tennis ball.
Serve-and-volley is a style of play in tennis where the player (volleyer) serving moves quickly towards the net after hitting a serve, to attempt to hit a volley afterwards. In the serve-and-volley playstyle, the server attempts to hit a volley, as opposed to the baseline game, where the server stays back following the serve and attempts to hit a groundstroke. As a returner/receiver (volleyer) of a serve, the player may also attempt to hit a half-volley, instead of waiting longer after the ball has bounced to hit a usual groundstroke. The serve-and-volley style of play has diminished in recent years with advances in racquet and string technologies which allow players to generate a great amount of top spin on groundstrokes and passing shots. The slowing of court surfaces and deflation of balls, promoting longer rallies for the enjoyment of spectators, has also devalued the serve-and-volley style.
Pickleball is a racket or paddle sport in which two players (singles) or four players (doubles) use a smooth-faced paddle to hit a perforated, hollow plastic ball over a 34-inch-high (0.86 m) net until one side is unable to return the ball or commits a rule infraction. Pickleball is played indoors and outdoors. It was invented in 1965 as a children's backyard game in the United States, on Bainbridge Island in Washington state. In 2022, pickleball was named the official state sport of Washington.
A point in tennis is the smallest subdivision of the match. A point can consist of a double fault by the server, in which case the point is automatically won by the receiver. In all other cases, a point begins when a legal serve is hit by the server to the receiver on the opposite side of the court, and continues until one side fails to legally return the ball to the opposite side. Whichever side fails to do so loses the point and their opponent wins it.
This page is a glossary of tennis terminology.
Players use different strategies while playing tennis to enhance their own strengths and exploit their opponent's weaknesses in order to gain the advantage and win more points.
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 localized, or are played at an amateur or informal level.
Tennis games are often used to help players of all abilities to practice the different strokes involved in tennis. The number of participants needed varies from as few as two players to as many players as can fit on a tennis court. These games are often used by coaches and other tennis instructors to help teach the basic skills of tennis.
The 1877 Wimbledon Championship was a men's tennis tournament held at the All England Croquet and Lawn Tennis Club in Wimbledon, London. It was the world's first official lawn tennis tournament, and was later recognised as the first Grand Slam tournament or "Major". The AEC & LTC had been founded in July 1868, as the All England Croquet Club. Lawn tennis was introduced in February 1875 to compensate for the waning interest in croquet. In June 1877 the club decided to organise a tennis tournament to pay for the repair of its pony roller, needed to maintain the lawns. A set of rules was drawn up for the tournament, derived from the first standardised rules of tennis issued by the Marylebone Cricket Club in May 1875.
Ball boys and ball girls, also known as ball kids, are individuals, usually human youths, but sometimes dogs, who retrieve and supply balls for players or officials in sports such as association football, American football, bandy, cricket, tennis, baseball and basketball. Though non-essential, their activities help to speed up play by reducing the amount of inactive time.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to tennis.
10 and Under Tennis is a program that was introduced by the United States Tennis Association (USTA) in the summer of 2010. Upon making the change official in 2012, it modified the format of all USTA and International Tennis Federation (ITF) events involving players of years 10 and younger. The program changes the game making it easier for children to succeed. The objective is to adapt the court, balls, racket, and net to the size and strength level of youth players. These alternations create the opportunity for younger players to spend more time hitting balls rather than chasing them. It allows them to hone tennis skills and accelerate their development. The hope is that earlier success in tennis will translate to a lifetime of interest in the sport and perhaps set a foundation for generations of more world-class players.
This glossary provides definitions and context for terminology related to, and jargon specific to, the sport of pickleball. Words or phrases in italics can be found on the list in their respective alphabetic sections.
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| Grand Slams |
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| Professional tours |
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| Team tennis tournaments |
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| Multi-sport events |
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