ace

→ Japanese: エース (ēsu)

→ Korean: 에이스 (eiseu)

→ Russian: эйс (ejs)

→ Swedish: ess

(?) → Finnish: ässä

Inherited from Middle English as, from Old French as, from Latin as, assis (“unity, copper coin, the unit of coinage”). Doublet of as. Likely related or deriving ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₁éǵʰs, or otherwise taking from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eḱ- (“sharp, pointed”) in the sense of "singular".

der

(tennis, volleyball) A serve won without the opponent hitting the ball.

punt directe

tennis: point scored without the opponent hitting the ball


ace

en-verb

ace (third-person singular simple present aces, present participle acing, simple past and past participle aced)

aces (present singular third-person)
acing (participle present)
aced (participle past)
aced (past)

(transitive, intransitive, tennis) To win a point against (an opponent) by an ace.


ad

From a shortening of the word advantage.

[S]uddenly Agassi hits a hard heavy cross-court back hand that pulls Federer way out to his ad (= his left) side, and Federer gets to it but slices the stretch backhand short, a couple feet past the service line […].

2006, David Foster Wallace, “Federer Both Flesh And Not”, in Both Flesh And Not, Penguin, published 2013, page 5:

(tennis) Advantage; also, designating the left-hand side, from the player's point of view, of their half of the court, where the advantage point following a deuce is always played.


deuce

From Middle English dewes (“two”), from Anglo-Norman, from Old French deus, from Latin duo. The word was used by Ford to describe a model of car they made in 1932 due to it being a two-seater.

(tennis, table tennis, volleyball) A tied game where either player can win by scoring two consecutive points.

iguals

tennis: tie, both players able to win by scoring two additional points


time

From Middle English tyme, time, from Old English tīma (“time, period, space of time, season, lifetime, fixed time, favorable time, opportunity”), from Proto-West Germanic *tīmō, from Proto-Germanic *tīmô (“time”), from Proto-Indo-European *deh₂imō, from Proto-Indo-European *deh₂y- (“to divide”). Related to tide. Not related directly to Latin tempus.
cognates
*Scots tym, tyme (“time”)
*Alemannic German Zimen, Zīmmän (“time, time of the year, opportune time, opportunity”)
*Danish time (“hour, lesson”)
*Swedish timme (“hour”)
*Norwegian time (“lesson, hour”)
*Faroese tími (“hour, lesson, time”)
*Icelandic tími (“time, season”).

der

(tennis) Reminder by the umpire for the players to continue playing after their pause.


PR

en-noun

PR (countable and uncountable, plural PRs)

(tennis) Initialism of protected ranking.


alley

From Middle English aley, from Old French alee, feminine of alé, past participle of aler (“to go”) (French aller). Doublet of allée.

(tennis) The extra area between the sidelines or tramlines on a tennis court that is used for doubles matches.


get

From Middle English geten, from Old Norse geta, from Proto-Germanic *getaną. Cognate with Old English ġietan (whence also English yet), Old Saxon getan (“to get, to gain sth.”), Old High German pigezzan (“to uphold”), Gothic 𐌱𐌹𐌲𐌹𐍄𐌰𐌽 (bigitan, “to find, discover”)), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰed- (“to seize”).

cog

(sports, tennis) A difficult return or block of a shot.


drive

en-verb

drive (third-person singular simple present drives, present participle driving, simple past drove or (archaic) drave or (dialectal) driv, past participle driven or (dialectal) druv or (dialectal) drove)

drives (present singular third-person)
driving (participle present)
drove (past)
drave (archaic past)
driv (dialectal past)
driven (participle past)
druv (dialectal participle past)
drove (dialectal participle past)

→ Scottish Gaelic: draibh

[d̠ɹ̠ ̝ʷaɪv]

From Middle English driven, from Old English drīfan (“to drive, force, move”), from Proto-West Germanic *drīban, from Proto-Germanic *drībaną (“to drive”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰreybʰ- (“to drive, push”).
Cognates
Cognate with Scots drive (“to drive”), North Frisian driwe (“to drive”), Saterland Frisian drieuwe (“to drive”), West Frisian driuwe (“to chase, drive, impel”), Dutch drijven (“to drive”), Low German drieven (“to drive, drift, push”), German treiben (“to drive, push, propel”), Norwegian Bokmål drive, Danish drive (“to drive, run, force”), Norwegian Nynorsk driva, Swedish driva (“to drive, power, drift, push, force”), Icelandic drífa (“to drive, hurry, rush”).

سَاقَ

to move (something) by hitting it with great force

don't drive faster than your guardian angel can fly

To cause to move by the application of physical force:

(intransitive, sports, cricket, tennis, baseball) To hit the ball with a drive.

drajvi

(cricket, tennis, baseball) to hit the ball with a drive


drive

en-noun

drive (countable and uncountable, plural drives)

[d̠ɹ̠ ̝ʷaɪv]

(baseball, tennis) A ball struck in a flat trajectory.

laakapallo

baseball, tennis: ball struck in a flat trajectory


break

en-verb

break (third-person singular simple present breaks, present participle breaking, simple past broke or (archaic) brake, past participle broken or (nonstandard) broke)

breaks (present singular third-person)
breaking (participle present)
broke (past)
brake (archaic past)
broken (participle past)
broke (nonstandard participle past)
break (infinitive)

From Middle English breken, from Old English brecan (“to break”), from Proto-West Germanic *brekan, from Proto-Germanic *brekaną (“to break”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰreg- (“to break”). The word is a doublet of bray.
Cognates
Cognates of Germanic origin include Scots brek (“to break”), West Frisian brekke (“to break”), Dutch breken (“to break”), Low German breken (“to break”), German brechen (“to break”), French broyer (“to crush, grind”), Gothic 𐌱𐍂𐌹𐌺𐌰𐌽 (brikan, “to break, destroy”), Norwegian brek (“desire, yearning”).
Also cognate with Albanian brishtë (“fragile”), Latin frangō (“break, break up, shatter”, verb), whence English fracture and other terms – fragile, frail, fraction, and fragment.

breek

intransitive: to separate into (to end up in) two or more pieces

thyen

transitive: to separate into (to cause to end up in) two or more pieces

sındırmaq

to cause a person to lose spirit or will

խախտել

transitive: to do that which is forbidden by (something)

փչանալ

intransitive: to stop functioning properly or altogether

ջարդել

transitive: to cause to stop functioning

burst

ergative: separate into two or more pieces

contravene

transitive: do that which is forbidden by

break one's arm patting oneself on the back

you can't make an omelette without breaking eggs

He needs to break serve to win the match.

Yet when play restarted the Czech was a train that kept on running over Nadal. After breaking Nadal in the opening game of the final set, he went 2-0 up and later took the count to 4-2 with yet another emphatic ace – one of his 22 throughout.

2012 June 28, Jamie Jackson, “Wimbledon 2012: Lukas Rosol shocked by miracle win over Rafael Nadal”, in the Guardian:

(transitive, tennis) To win a game (against one's opponent) as receiver.


break

(tennis) A game won by the receiving player(s).


hang

en-verb

hang (third-person singular simple present hangs, present participle hanging, simple past and past participle hung or (law) hanged)

hangs (present singular third-person)
hanging (participle present)
hung (participle past)
hung (past)
hanged (participle past)
hanged (past)

From Middle English hangen, hongen, from a fusion of Old English hōn (“to hang, be hanging”, transitive verb) and hangian (“to hang, cause to hang”, intransitive verb), from Proto-West Germanic *hą̄han and *hangēn; also probably influenced by Old Norse hengja (“to suspend”) and hanga (“to be suspended”); all from Proto-Germanic *hanhaną, *hangāną, from Proto-Indo-European *ḱenk- (“to waver, be in suspense”).
See also Dutch hangen, Low German hangen and hängen, German hängen, Norwegian Bokmål henge, Norwegian Nynorsk henga; also Gothic 𐌷𐌰𐌷𐌰𐌽 (hāhan), Hittite 𒂵𒀀𒀭𒂵 (/kānk-/, “to hang”), Sanskrit शङ्कते (śáṅkate, “is in doubt, hesitates”), Latin cūnctārī (“to delay”).

laat hang

computing: to cause (a program or computer) to stop responding

vystavit

chess: to cause to become vulnerable to capture

freeze

computing: cause (a program or computer) to stop responding

give him enough rope and he'll hang himself

one may as well hang for a sheep as a lamb

(intransitive, of a ball in cricket, tennis, etc.) To rebound unexpectedly or unusually slowly, due to backward spin on the ball or imperfections of the ground.


hold

en-verb

hold (third-person singular simple present holds, present participle holding, simple past held, past participle held or (archaic) holden)

holds (present singular third-person)
holding (participle present)
held (past)
held (participle past)
holden (archaic participle past)

Derived from Middle English holden, derived from Old English healdan, derived from Proto-West Germanic *haldan, derived from Proto-Germanic *haldaną (“to tend, herd”), maybe derived from Proto-Indo-European *kel- (“to drive”).
cognates
*West Frisian hâlde
*Low German holden, holen
*Dutch houden
*German halten
*Danish
*Norwegian Bokmål holde
*Norwegian Nynorsk halda.
Compare Latin celer (“quick”), Tocharian B käl- (“to goad, drive”), Ancient Greek κέλλω (kéllō, “to drive”), Sanskrit कलयति (kalayati, “to impel”).

der+

hold with the hare and run with the hounds

one can't hold two watermelons in one hand

(tennis, transitive, intransitive) To win one's own service game.


hold

(tennis) An instance of holding one's service game, as opposed to being broken.


let

Derived from Middle English letten (“to hinder, delay”), from Old English lettan (“to hinder, delay”; literally, “to make late”), from Proto-West Germanic *lattjan, from Proto-Germanic *latjaną. Akin to Old English latian (“to delay”), Dutch letten, Old English læt (“late”). More at late, delay.

der

lettest (2nd person singular simple present and simple past; archaic)

letteth (3rd person singular simple present; archaic)

(tennis) The hindrance caused by the net during serve, only if the ball falls legally.

filet

hindrance caused by the net during serve at tennis


straight

en-adj

straight (comparative straighter, superlative straightest)

straighter (comparative)
straightest (superlative)

→ Japanese: ストレート

From Middle English streight, streght, streiȝt, the past participle of strecchen (“to stretch”), from Old English streċċan (past participle ġestreaht, ġestreht), from Proto-West Germanic *strakkjan (“to stretch”). Doublet of straught. Equivalent to stretch + -ed

der

Murray started well against Marcos Baghdatis before slumping to defeat in straight sets and the British No1 admitted he may not have been mentally prepared for the rigours of the ATP Tour after a gruelling start to 2011.

(tennis) Describing the sets in a match of which the winner did not lose a single set.


shallow

en-adj

shallow (comparative shallower, superlative shallowest)

shallower (comparative)
shallowest (superlative)

From Middle English schalowe (“not deep, shallow”); apparently related to Middle English schalde, schold, scheld, schealde (“shallow”), from Old English sċeald (“shallow”), from Proto-Germanic *skal-, from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kelh₁- (“to parch, dry out”). Related to Low German Scholl (“shallow water”). See also shoal.

der

given enough eyeballs, all bugs are shallow

Rosol spurned the chance to finish off a shallow second serve by spooning into the net, and a wild forehand took the set to 5-4, with the native of Prerov required to hold his serve for victory.

2012 June 28, Jamie Jackson, “Wimbledon 2012: Lukas Rosol shocked by miracle win over Rafael Nadal”, in The Guardian:

(tennis) Not far forward, close to the net.


deep

en-adj

deep (comparative deeper or more deep, superlative deepest or most deep)

deeper (comparative)
more deep (comparative)
deepest (superlative)
most deep (superlative)

shallow

antonym(s) of “in extent in a direction away from the observer”

shallow

antonym(s) of “thick in a vertical direction”

light

antonym(s) of “of a color, dark and highly saturated”

From Middle English depe, deep, dep, deop, from Old English dēop (“deep, profound; awful, mysterious; heinous; serious, solemn, earnest; extreme, great”), from Proto-West Germanic *deup, from Proto-Germanic *deupaz (“deep”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰewbʰ-nós, from *dʰewbʰ- (“deep”).
Cognates
Cognate with Scots depe (“deep”), Saterland Frisian djoop (“deep”), West Frisian djip (“deep”), Low German deep (“deep”), Dutch diep (“deep”), German tief (“deep”), Danish dyb (“deep”), Norwegian Bokmål dyp (“deep”), Norwegian Nynorsk and Swedish djup (“deep”), Icelandic djúpur (“deep”), Lithuanian dubùs (“deep, hollow”), Albanian det (“sea”), Welsh dwfn (“deep”).

inh

a deep volley

a deep run into the opposition half

(of distance or position; also figurative) Extending, reaching or positioned far from a point of reference, especially downwards.

(sports such as soccer, tennis) Penetrating a long way, especially a long way forward.

Our defensive live is too deep. We need to move further up the field.

She returns serve from a very deep position.

(sports such as soccer, American football, tennis) Positioned back, or downfield, towards one's own goal, or towards or behind one's baseline or similar reference point.


set

From Middle English set, sete, sette (“that which is set, the act of setting, seat”), from Old English set (“setting, seat, a place where people remain, habitation, camp, entrenchment, a place where animals are kept, stall, fold”) and Old English seten (“a set, shoot, slip, branch; a nursery, plantation; that which is planted or set; a cultivated place; planting, cultivation; a setting, putting; a stopping; occupied land”), related to Old English settan (“to set”). Compare Middle Low German gesette (“a set, suite”), Old English gesetl (“assembly”). According to Skeat, in senses denoting a group of things or persons, representing an alteration of sept, from Old French sette (“a religious sect”), from Medieval Latin secta (“retinue”), from Latin secta (“a faction”). See sect. It is quite possible that the modern word is more of a merger between both, however.

cog

(tennis) A complete series of games, forming part of a match.


stroke

The noun is derived from Middle English strok, stroke (“blow from a weapon, cut”), from Old English strāc, from Proto-West Germanic *straik, from Proto-Germanic *straikaz (“stroke”), from Proto-Indo-European *streyg- (“to rub, stroke; to shear; to strike”).
Sense 3.6.2.2 (“the oblique, slash, or virgule (‘/’)”) is a contraction of oblique stroke, a variant of oblique which was originally used in telegraphy.
The verb is derived from the noun.
cognates
* German Streich (“stroke”)
* Middle Low German strēk (“stroke, trick, prank”)
* Scots strak, strake, straik (“blow, stroke”)

isku

one of a series of beats or movements against a resisting medium, by means of which movement through or upon it is accomplished

ход

single movement or thrust of a part (such as a piston) of a machine that moves back and forth; length of this movement

خَطّ

line or mark made on a surface by an implement for drawing, writing, etc.

(ball games) An act of hitting or trying to hit a ball; also, the manner in which this is done.

(tennis) The hitting of a ball with a racket; also, the movement of the racket and arm that produces that impact.

հարված

(tennis) hitting of a ball with a racket; movement of the racket and arm that produces that impact


stop

From Middle English stoppen, stoppien, from Old English stoppian (“to stop, close”), from Proto-West Germanic *stoppōn, from Proto-Germanic *stuppōną (“to stop, close”), *stuppijaną (“to push, pierce, prick”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)tewp-, *(s)tewb- (“to push; stick”), from *(s)tew- (“to bump; impact; butt; push; beat; strike; hit”).
Cognate with Saterland Frisian stopje (“to stop, block”), West Frisian stopje (“to stop”), Dutch stoppen (“to stop”), Low German stoppen (“to stop”), German stopfen (“to be filling, stuff”), German stoppen (“to stop”), Danish stoppe (“to stop”), Swedish stoppa (“to stop”), Icelandic stoppa (“to stop”), Middle High German stupfen, stüpfen (“to pierce”). More at stuff, stump.
Alternative etymology derives Proto-West Germanic *stoppōn from an assumed Vulgar Latin *stūpāre, *stuppāre (“to stop up with tow”), from stūpa, stīpa, stuppa (“tow, flax, oakum”), from Ancient Greek στύπη (stúpē), στύππη (stúppē, “tow, flax, oakum”). This derivation, however, is doubtful, as the earliest instances of the Germanic verb do not carry the meaning of "stuff, stop with tow". Rather, these senses developed later in response to influence from similar sounding words in Latin and Romance.

cog

(tennis) A very short shot which touches the ground close behind the net and is intended to bounce as little as possible.


put away

en-verb

put away (third-person singular simple present puts away, present participle putting away, simple past and past participle put away)

puts away (present singular third-person)
putting away (participle present)
put away (participle past)
put away (past)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-put away.wav

(tennis) To hit the ball in such a way that the opponent cannot reach it; see passing shot


bagel

→ Chinese: 貝果／贝果 (bèiguǒ)

→ Dutch: bagel

→ Finnish: bagel

→ French: bagel

→ German: Bagel

→ Greek: μπέιγκελ (béigkel)

→ Hijazi Arabic: بيقل (bēgil, bēgal)

→ Indonesian: bagel

→ Italian: bagel

→ Japanese: ベーグル (bēguru)

→ Korean: 베이글 (beigeul)

→ Persian: بیگل (beygel)

→ Portuguese: bagel

→ Russian: бейгл (bejgl)

→ Spanish: bagel

→ Thai: เบเกิล (bee-gə̂l)

→ Ukrainian: бейґл (bejgl)

Borrowed from Yiddish בייגל (beygl), ultimately from a diminutive of Middle High German bouc, boug- (“ring, bracelet”), from Old High German boug (“ring”), from Proto-West Germanic *baug, from Proto-Germanic *baugaz (“ring”).
Compare obsolete English bee, Old English bēag, Old Frisian bāg, Old Saxon bōg, Middle Low German bōg, Old Norse baugr. Also compare dialectal Austrian German Beugel, Beigel. See also beag.

The Scot, who had been close to a two-set deficit in his semi-final against David Ferrer, avoided the dreaded bagel by seeing off a set point at 5-0 down before finally breaking the Djokovic serve to love as he began to go for his shots with the set seemingly gone.

2011 January 30, Piers Newbery, “Australian Open: Djokovic too good for Murray in final”, in BBC:

(tennis, slang) A score of 6-0 in a set (after the shape of a bagel, which looks like a zero).


bagel

bagel (third-person singular simple present bagels, present participle bagelling or (US) bageling, simple past and past participle bagelled or (US) bageled)

bagels (present singular third-person)
bagelling (participle present)
bageling (US participle present)
bagelled (participle past)
bagelled (past)
bageled (US participle past)
bageled (US past)

(tennis) To achieve a score of 6–0 (as the winner) in a tennis set.


net

Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *neHd-der.
Proto-Germanic *natją
Proto-West Germanic *nati
Old English nett
Middle English net
English net
From Middle English net, from Old English net, nett, from Proto-West Germanic *nati, from Proto-Germanic *natją, from Proto-Indo-European *ned- (“to turn, twist, knot”).
Cognate with West Frisian net, Low German Nett, Dutch net, German Netz, Danish net, Swedish nät.

der

(sports, tennis) A mesh stretched to divide the court in tennis, badminton, volleyball, etc.

мре́жа

sports: mesh stretched to divide the court

(tennis, by extension) The area of the court close to the net (mesh stretched to divide the court).


net

en-verb

net (third-person singular simple present nets, present participle netting, simple past and past participle netted)

nets (present singular third-person)
netting (participle present)
netted (participle past)
netted (past)

Azarenka whipped a sensational forehand around the net post to break for 2-0 in the second set, followed it up with a love hold and moved to 5-1 when Paszek netted a forehand.

2011 June 28, David Ornstein, “Wimbledon 2011: Victoria Azarenka beats Tamira Paszek in quarters”, in BBC Sport:


backboard

(tennis) A flat vertical wall with the image of a tennis net drawn or painted on it, designed to practice hitting against such that the ball rebounds.


advantage

en-noun

advantage (countable and uncountable, plural advantages)

From Middle English avantage, avauntage, from Old French avantage, from avant (“before”), from Late Latin ab ante. The spelling with d was a mistake, a- being supposed to be from Latin ad (see advance). For sense development, compare foredeal.

(tennis) The score where one player wins a point after deuce but needs the next to carry the game.

avantazh

the score where one player wins a point after deuce


chip

→ Catalan: xip

→ Greek: τσιπ (tsip)

→ Italian: chip

→ Korean: 칩 (chip)

desc

→ Hebrew: צִ׳יפְּס, צִ׳יפּ

→ Hebrew: צִ׳יפְּס, צִ׳יפּ (chips, chip)

→ Hungarian: csip, csipsz

→ Turkish: cips, çip

→ Yiddish: טשיפּל (tshipl)

→ Welsh: tsip

Noun from Middle English chip, chippe, from Old English ċipp (“chip; small piece of wood, shaving”), from Old English *ċippian (“to cut; hew”) – attested in Old English forċippian (“to cut off”) –, from Proto-West Germanic *kippōn (“to cut; carve; hack; chop”), from Proto-Germanic *kippōną (“to chip, chop”), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵeyb- (“to split; divide; germinate; sprout”). Related to Dutch kip, keep (“notch; nick; score”), Dutch kippen (“to hatch”), German Low German kippen (“to cut; clip; trim; shorten”), German kipfen (“to chop off the tip; snip”), Old Swedish kippa (“to chop”). Compare also chop.
The formally similar Old English ċipp, ċypp, ċyp (“a beam; log; stock; post”), from Proto-Germanic *kippaz (“log; beam”) (whence Old Saxon kip (“post”), Old High German kipfa, chipfa (“axle, stave”), Old Norse keppr (“cudgel, club”)) is a different, unrelated word either borrowed from Latin cippus (“stake; pale; post”) or borrowed from the same source language as the Latin.
Verb from Middle English chippen, from Old English *ċippian (“to cut; hew”) – attested in Old English forċippian (“to cut off”) – see above.

cog

(tennis) A light shot with a downward slice, usually played from close to the net.


single

→ Dutch: single

→ Finnish: sinkku

→ German: Single

→ Indonesian: singel

→ Japanese: シングル (shinguru)

→ Polish: singiel

From Middle English single, sengle, from Old French sengle, saingle, sangle, from Latin singulus, a diminutive derived from Proto-Indo-European *sem- (“one”). Akin to Latin simplex (“simple”). See simple, and compare singular.

(tennis, chiefly in the plural) A game with one player on each side, as in tennis.


approach

en-verb

approach (third-person singular simple present approaches, present participle approaching, simple past and past participle approached)

approaches (present singular third-person)
approaching (participle present)
approached (participle past)
approached (past)

From Middle English aprochen, borrowed from Old French aprochier (modern French approcher), from Late Latin appropiāre, a verb based on Latin prope (“near”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *pro- (a variant of *per- (“before, in front; first”)) + *-kʷe (“suffix forming distributives from interrogatives”)).

(intransitive, golf, tennis) To play an approach shot.


approach

From Middle English approche (“approach, arrival”), from approchen, aprochen (“to come or go near, approach; to adjoin, be close by; to enter (someone’s) presence; to be or become involved; to reach (a certain state); to arrive; to befall, happen to; to become similar to, resemble; to be a match for (someone)”); see etymology 1.

вход

avenue, passage, or way by which a building or place can be approached — see also access

захо́д

way an aircraft comes in to land at an airport


spoon

en-verb

spoon (third-person singular simple present spoons, present participle spooning, simple past and past participle spooned)

spoons (present singular third-person)
spooning (participle present)
spooned (participle past)
spooned (past)

From Middle English spoon, spoune, spone, spon (“spoon, chip of wood”), from Old English spōn (“sliver, chip of wood, shaving”), from Proto-West Germanic *spānu, from Proto-Germanic *spēnuz (“chip, flake, shaving”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)peh₂- (“chip, shaving, log, length of wood”).
Cognate with Scots spun, spon (“spoon, shingle”), West Frisian spoen, Dutch spaan (“chip, flinders”), German Span (“chip, flake, shaving”), Swedish spån (“chip, flake”), Faroese spónur (“wood chip; spoon”), Ancient Greek σφήν (sphḗn, “wedge”)(though the connection to the Greek is likely impossible by modern reconstructions of PIE). Eclipsed non-native Middle English cuculer, coclear (“spoon”), from Old English cuculer, cuceler, cucler, borrowed from Latin cochlear (“spoon”).
The "metaphoric unit of personal energy" sense was coined by writer and disability advocate Christine Miserandino in 2003 (see spoon theory).

coinage

(tennis, golf, croquet) To hit (the ball) weakly, pushing it with a lifting motion, instead of striking with an audible knock.


frame

en-verb

frame (third-person singular simple present frames, present participle framing, simple past and past participle framed)

frames (present singular third-person)
framing (participle present)
framed (participle past)
framed (past)

→ Dutch: frame

→ German: framen

From Middle English framen, fremen, fremmen (“to construct, build, strengthen, refresh, perform, execute, profit, avail”), from Old English framian, fremian, fremman (“to profit, avail, advance”), from Proto-West Germanic *frammjan, from Proto-Germanic *framjaną (“to further, promote, perform”), from Proto-Indo-European *promo- (“front, forward”).
Cognate with Low German framen (“to commit, effect”), Danish fremme (“to promote, further, perform”), Swedish främja (“to promote, encourage, foster”), Icelandic fremja (“to commit”). More at from.

cog

(tennis) To hit (the ball) with the frame of the racquet rather than the strings (normally a mishit).


smash

en-noun

smash (countable and uncountable, plural smashes)

→ Czech: smeč

→ Serbo-Croatian: smeč

→ Turkish: smaç

From a blend of smack + mash. Compare Swedish smask (“to smack with the lips”), dialectal Swedish smaska (“to smack, kiss”), Danish smaske (“to smack with the lips”), Low German smaksen (“to smack with the lips, kiss”).

cog

A smash may not be as pretty as a good half volley, but it can still win points.

A Nadal forehand into the net gave Djokovic the set and the Spaniard appeared rattled, firing a smash over the baseline in a rare moment of promise at 30-30 at the start of the third.

2011 July 3, Piers Newbury, “Wimbledon 2011: Novak Djokovic beats Rafael Nadal in final”, in BBC Sport:

(tennis) A very hard overhead shot hit sharply downward.


cannonball

From cannon + ball from being a round ball that is fired from a cannon.

(tennis) A served ball that travels with great speed and describes little or no arc in flight.


clay

en-noun

clay (usually uncountable, plural clays)

soul

antonym(s) of “material of the human body”

From Middle English cley, clay, from Old English clǣġ (“clay”), from Proto-West Germanic *klaij, from Proto-Germanic *klajjaz (“clay”), from Proto-Indo-European *gley- (“to glue, paste, stick together”).
Cognate with Dutch klei (“clay”), Low German Klei (“clay”), German Klei, Danish klæg (“clay”); compare Ancient Greek γλία (glía), Latin glūten (“glue”) (whence ultimately English glue), Russian глина (glina, “clay”). Related also to clag, clog.

der

The French Open is played on clay.

(tennis) A tennis court surface made of crushed stone, brick, shale, or other unbound mineral aggregate.


receive

en-verb

receive (third-person singular simple present receives, present participle receiving, simple past and past participle received)

receives (present singular third-person)
receiving (participle present)
received (participle past)
received (past)

From Middle English receiven, from Old French receivre, from Latin recipere (“take back, accept, etc.”), from re- (“back”) + capiō (“to take”); see capacious. Compare conceive, deceive, perceive. Displaced native Middle English terms in -fon/-fangen (e.g. afon, anfon, afangen, underfangen, etc. "to receive" from Old English -fōn), native Middle English thiggen (“to receive”) (from Old English þiċġan), and non-native Middle English aquilen, enquilen (“to receive”) (from Old French aquillir, encueillir).

der

(sports) To be in a position to take possession, or hit back the ball.

(tennis, badminton, squash) To be in a position to hit back a service.


hazard

en-noun

hazard (countable and uncountable, plural hazards)

From Middle English hasard, from Old French hasart (“a game of dice”) (noun), hasarder (verb), from Arabic اَلزَّهْر (az-zahr, “the dice”). Compare Spanish azar, Portuguese azar.

(tennis) The side of the court into which the ball is served.


return

en-verb

return (third-person singular simple present returns, present participle returning, simple past and past participle returned)

returns (present singular third-person)
returning (participle present)
returned (participle past)
returned (past)

From Middle English returnen, retornen, from Anglo-Norman returner, from Old French retourner, retorner, from Medieval Latin retornare (“to turn back”), from re- + tornare (“to turn”). Compare beturn.

der

The player couldn't return the serve because it was so fast.

(tennis) To bat the ball back over the net in response to a serve.

връщам

tennis: to bat the ball back over the net in response to a serve


rally

From Middle French rallier (French rallier), from Old French ralier, from Latin prefix re- + ad + ligare (“to bind; to ally”).

LL-Q1860 (eng)-I learned some phrases-rally.wav

(squash, table tennis, tennis, badminton) A sequence of strokes between serving and scoring a point.

table tennis; badminton; table tennis; badminton


slam

en-noun

slam (countable and uncountable, plural slams)

From Middle English *slammen (not recorded), apparently from a Scandinavian source ultimately from Old Norse slæma, slœma (“to slam, swing a weapon, strike an object out of reach”), related to Old Norse slamra, slambra (“to slam”). Cognate with Norwegian Bokmål slamre (“to slam”), Swedish slamra (“to pound, beat, make a clatter, rattle”), Norwegian Nynorsk slamra (“to sway, dangle”).

cog

(countable, tennis) One of the competitions of the yearly Grand Slam events.


slice

en-verb

slice (third-person singular simple present slices, present participle slicing, simple past and past participle sliced)

slices (present singular third-person)
slicing (participle present)
sliced (participle past)
sliced (past)

From Middle English sclise, sklise, from Old French esclice, esclis (“a piece split off”), deverbal of esclicer, esclicier (“to splinter, split up”), from Frankish *slitjan (“to split up”), from Proto-Germanic *slitjaną, from Proto-Germanic *slītaną (“to split, tear apart”), from Proto-Indo-European *sleyd- (“to rend, injure, crumble”). Akin to Old High German sliz, gisliz (“a tear, rip”), Old High German slīzan (“to tear”), Old English slītan (“to split up”), modern French éclisse. More at slite, slit.

der

no matter how thin you slice it, it's still baloney

(transitive, tennis) To hit the ball with a stroke that causes a spin, resulting in the ball swerving or staying low after a bounce.


server

→ Danish: server

→ Dutch: server

→ German: Server

→ Hindi: सर्वर (sarvar)

→ Hungarian: szerver

→ Italian: server m

→ Japanese: サーバー (sābā)

→ Korean: 서버 (seobeo)

→ Norwegian Bokmål: server, sørver

→ Norwegian Nynorsk: server, sørvar

→ Persian: سرور

→ Polish: serwer

→ Portuguese: server

→ Romanian: server n

→ Russian: се́рвер (sérver)

desc

→ Thai: เซิร์ฟเวอร์ (sə́əp-wə̂ə)

→ Thai: เซิร์ฟเวอร์ (sə́əp-wə̂ə)

→ Turkish: server

From Middle English servere, equivalent to serve + -er.

(tennis, volleyball) The player who serves the ball.

One who serves.
The player who serves the ball.


umpire

From a Middle English rebracketing of a noumpere as an oumpere, from Old French nonper (“odd number, not even (as a tie-breaking arbitrator)”), from non (“not”) + per (“equal”), from Latin par (“equal”). Doublet of nonpareil.

съдия

an official who oversees a game or match

(tennis, badminton) The official who presides over a tennis match sat on a high chair.


close of play

(tennis) The end of the final game (not to be confused with set or match) during a day at the Wimbledon Championships.


fault

From Middle English faute, faulte, from Anglo-Norman faute, Old French faute, from Vulgar Latin *fallita (“shortcoming”), feminine of *fallitus, in place of Latin falsus, perfect passive participle of fallō (“deceive”). Displaced native Middle English schuld, schuild (“fault”) (from Old English scyld (“fault”)), Middle English lac (“fault, lack”) (from Middle Dutch lak (“lack, fault”)), Middle English last (“fault, vice”) (from Old Norse lǫstr (“fault, vice, crime”)). Compare French faute (“fault, foul”), Portuguese falta (“lack, shortage”) and Spanish falta (“lack, absence”). More at fail, false.

cog

It is a fault if the ball served drop in the net, or beyond the Service-Line, or if it drop out of Court, or in the wrong Court. A fault may not be taken. After a fault, the Server shall serve again from the same Court from which he served that fault.

1879, Julian Marshall, Lawn-tennis: With the Laws Adopted by the M. C. C., and A. E. C. & L. T. C., and Badminton, page 8:

A mistake or error.
(tennis) An illegal serve.


shank

en-verb

shank (third-person singular simple present shanks, present participle shanking, simple past and past participle shanked)

shanks (present singular third-person)
shanking (participle present)
shanked (participle past)
shanked (past)

From Middle English schanke, from Old English sċanca (“leg”), from Proto-West Germanic *skankō, from Proto-Germanic *skankô (compare West Frisian skonk, Low German Schanke, German Schenkel (“shank, leg”), Danish skank, Norwegian skank, Swedish skänkel), from *skankaz (compare Old Norse skakkr (“wry, crooked”)), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)keng- (compare Middle Irish scingim (“I spring”), Ancient Greek σκάζω (skázō, “to limp”).

Marouane Chamakh then spurned a great chance to kill the game off when he ran onto Andrey Arshavin's lofted through ball but shanked his shot horribly across the face of goal.

2011 September 28, Tom Rostance, “Arsenal 2 - 1 Olympiakos”, in BBC Sport:

(transitive, chiefly tennis, soccer, gridiron football) To hit or kick the ball in an unintended direction.


Hawk-Eye

From hawk + eye, a reference to the bird of prey's noted eyesight.

(cricket, tennis) A system, using six static television cameras and sophisticated computing, to track the path of the ball in flight.


Grand Slam

(tennis) The four biggest competitions of the year: Wimbledon, the French Open, Australian Open and the US Open


vantage

en-noun

vantage (countable and uncountable, plural vantages)

/ˈvɑːntɪd͡ʒ/

From Middle English vantage, by apheresis from advantage; see advantage.

(dated, tennis) Alternative form of advantage (score after deuce)


baseline

The umpire missed the call. The ball hit the baseline.

(tennis) The line at the farthest ends of the court indicating the boundary of the area of play.

底线

tennis: chalk line at the farthest ends of the court


baseline

en-verb

baseline (third-person singular simple present baselines, present participle baselining, simple past and past participle baselined)

baselines (present singular third-person)
baselining (participle present)
baselined (participle past)
baselined (past)

By the time Maggie, who is eight years younger than Manuela, started playing, baselining was no longer enough to win points, so she learned to move around the court more …

2002, Susan Orlean, The Bullfighter Checks Her Makeup, →ISBN, page 260:


tramline

(tennis, British) Either of the two pairs of sidelines marked on a tennis court which mark the outside of the singles and doubles playing areas.


backhand

(tennis) a stroke made across the chest from the off-hand side to the racquet hand side; a stroke during which the back of the hand faces the shot.


flick

→ Afrikaans: fliek

From Middle English flykke (“light blow or stroke”). Later uses apparently interpreted as a back-formation from flicker.

inh

The fourth seed was dominating her 20-year-old opponent with a series of stinging groundstrokes and athletic drive-volleys, striking again in game five when Paszek flicked a forehand pick-up into the tramlines.

(tennis) A powerful underarm volley shot.


overhead

en-noun

overhead (countable and uncountable, plural overheads)

From Middle English owerheved, over-hed, over hede (adverb), from Old English oferhēafod (adverb), equivalent to over- + head. Compare German Low German overhoopt, överhoopt, German überhaupt.

computational overhead| digital overhead


ATP

Association of Tennis Professionals
w:Association of Tennis Professionals

(tennis) Initialism of Association of Tennis Professionals: the governing body of men's professional tennis, formed in 1972.


dink

Imitative. Originally US. Attested since the 1930s.

sound-symbolic

Imitative

But what I saw is she still has that sense of, ‘Okay, I need to hit a dink shot, I need to come with power now, I need to change up my serve not for a flat one, but a big kick.’

2018 February 12, Ava Wallace, “New mother Serena Williams returns to tennis, with a little rust and plenty to learn”, in Washington Post:


dink

en-verb

dink (third-person singular simple present dinks, present participle dinking, simple past and past participle dinked)

dinks (present singular third-person)
dinking (participle present)
dinked (participle past)
dinked (past)

sound-symbolic

Imitative


tennis court

(tennis) A firm, rectangular surface, marked with lines and having a net across the middle, where the game of tennis is played.


AO

(tennis) Abbreviation of Australian Open, a major tennis tournament, part of the Grand Slam


tennis racket

(tennis) A type of bat used to strike the ball in tennis; it has an oval frame with a taut interlaced network of strings


new ball

(tennis) Any of a set of replacement tennis balls issued at specified times in the professional game.


tweener

The No 2 seed dismissed the challenge of the world No 82, Panna Udvardy of Hungary, in just over an hour with eight aces, 27 winners and even a tweener, treating the crowd to her power and athleticism on her return to Wimbledon after missing the event last year because of the ban on Russians and Belarusians competing.

2023 July 4, Simon Cambers, “Sabalenka and Jabeur delight the crowds with a tweener and touch”, in The Guardian:

(sports, chiefly tennis) A shot that is hit between the legs.


penthouse

From Anglo-Norman pentiz (“pentice”), from apendiz (“appentice”), ultimately from a suffixed form of Latin appendō (“I append”). Altered by folk etymology to appear to be a compound of house. Doublet of appentice and pentice.

2005, Tony Collins (ed.), Encyclopaedia of Traditional British Rural Sports, Routledge, page 262,
An odd derivative of real tennis lasted until the latter part of the eighteenth century at Rattray in Perthshire. It was played in the churchyard by two pairs of men, and the method for starting the play was to throw the ball onto the church roof, using it like the sloping penthouse of the tennis court.

(tennis) Any of the sloping roofs at the side of a real tennis court.

側斜屋頂

any of the sloping roofs at the side of a real tennis court


no man's land

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-no man's land.wav

Originally from Middle English Nomanneslond, which first appears c. 1350. Revived with new senses in a dispatch printed in the Times newspaper by Colonel Ernest Dunlop Swinton writing as "Eyewitness".

(tennis) The area between the backcourt and the space close to the net, from which it is difficult to return the ball.


tweenie

(tennis) A shot that is hit between the legs; a tweener.


dedans

(court tennis) A division, at one end of a tennis court, for spectators.


Wimbledon

From an Old English name (probably Wynnmann, or alternatively Wynebeald) + dūn (“hill”).

Norman Brookes was the first Australian to win the men's singles at Wimbledon in 1907 - making him the first male outside Britain to win the Championships and the first of 12 Australian men to take the title.

2005, Jane Egginton, Working and Living Australia, page 81:

In the 1991 Wimbledon semifinal between Michael Stich and Stefan Edberg, there was just one service break in the entire match, and the guy whose serve was broken, Stich, ended up winning the match!

2008, Pete Sampras, Peter Bodo, Pete Sampras: A Champion's Mind, published 2010, unnumbered page:

An incredible 28 thousand kilograms of strawberries are eaten at Wimbledon every year...

2013, Jack Goldstein, Frankie Taylor, 101 Amazing Facts about Wimbledon, unnumbered page:

(tennis) The Wimbledon Championships, a prestigious tennis tournament.


WTA

Women's Tennis Association
w:Women's Tennis Association

(tennis) Initialism of Women's Tennis Association.

Men's Association of Tennis Professionals


double fault

While reaching last year's US Open final showed he possesses an all-round game, Anderson's biggest weapon remains his serve - which he lost in the opening game against Djokovic with a double fault on break point.

2018 July 15, Jonathan Jurejko, “Novak Djokovic wins fourth Wimbledon by beating Kevin Anderson”, in BBC Sport:

(tennis) The missing of both the first serve and second serve, resulting in a point for the receiver.


match point

He made it to match point three times and still lost, but you can't come much closer than that.

(sports, tennis) A state in a game where a player can win the entire match by winning the next point. Often used in tennis.


set point

(tennis, volleyball) A situation where if one of the two players wins the next point, (s)he will win the set (but not the match).


break point

(tennis) A situation in which if the receiver wins the next point, (s)he will win the game (but not the set or match).


approach shot

(tennis) A shot intended to allow the player hitting it to get to the net.


pusher

(tennis) A defensive player who does not attempt to hit winners, instead playing slower shots into the opponent's court.


OOP

en-noun

OOP (countable and uncountable, plural OOPs)

(tennis) Initialism of order of play (“the schedule of contests in a tennis event”).


ATA

American Tennis Association
w:American Tennis Association

(tennis) Initialism of American Tennis Association.


service line

(tennis, badminton) The line, in tennis and similar sports, from behind which the ball is initially served and which the feet must not cross when serving.


love game

(tennis) A game in which one of the two players scored no points.

joc en blanc

a game in which one player scored no points


game point

(tennis) A situation where if one of the two players wins the next point, he or she will win the game (but not the set).


run around

en-verb

run around (third-person singular simple present runs around, present participle running around, simple past ran around, past participle run around)

runs around (present singular third-person)
running around (participle present)
ran around (past)
run around (participle past)

He'd gotten into tremendous shape so that he could run around his backhand and avoid hitting it altogether. He even tried a left-handed forehand. That was how desperate he was.

2006, Greg Moran, Tennis Beyond Big Shots, →ISBN, page 71:

(tennis, of a forehand or a backhand) To change one's position on the court to hit a forehand rather than a backhand, or vice versa.


unpassable

(tennis) Not able to be passed; not capable of being beaten at the net by a passing shot.


skyhook

(tennis) A form of the overhead smash in which the eastern grip is used to hit the ball farther behind the body than usually possible.


tweeny

(tennis) A shot played between the legs; a tweener.


return ace

(tennis) A point made by the opponent returning the ball in such a way that the server does not make contact


widebody

The increased design freedom offered by composites was demonstrated with the introduction of "widebody" rackets, such as the Profile by Wilson, in the late 1980s. Widebody rackets have larger cross sections around the centre of the frame than the handle and tip, to give higher stiffness in the region of maximum bending.

2020 January 21, Thomas Allen, “Tennis: a smashing history of how rackets shaped the game”, in The Conversation, archived from the original on 2022-10-27:

(tennis) A tennis racket having a thick (although not necessarily wide) frame, increasing the racket's stiffness.


straight-sets

American Fish beat Frenchman Tsonga in a straight-sets victory.

(tennis, of a victory or a loss in a match) Achieved in the minimal possible number of sets.


ball machine

(tennis) A machine that shoots tennis balls out of a pipe, allowing a player to practise hitting them.


second serve

Rosol spurned the chance to finish off a shallow second serve by spooning into the net, and a wild forehand took the set to 5-4, with the native of Prerov required to hold his serve for victory.

(tennis) Another attempt at a service, after a faulty first service.


LTA

Lawn Tennis Association
w:Lawn Tennis Association

(tennis) Initialism of Lawn Tennis Association.


unforced error

This meant Nadal needed to hold serve to force his opponent to earn the win. An unforced error took Rosol to 30-15 and two points away from glory, but a net cord in Nadal's favour and the men were level in the game.

(sports, chiefly tennis) A basic error committed in a tactical game, where errors are usually forced by the game strategy.


pull the trigger

pull the trigger (third-person singular simple present pulls the trigger, present participle pulling the trigger, simple past and past participle pulled the trigger)

pulls the trigger (present singular third-person)
pulling the trigger (participle present)
pulled the trigger (participle past)
pulled the trigger (past)

(tennis, informal) To hit a very powerful shot.


baseliner

(tennis) A player who plays from the baseline, seldom moving to the net.


crosscourt

What became a pivotal seven minutes, Stosur pulled back an early deficit to draw level at 6-6 before Dementieva nailed a running crosscourt forehand and then buried a forehand volley after a rare visit to the net to seal the critical tiebreak.

2009 January 25, Bruce Matthews, “Brave Sam Stosur wilts under Elena Dementieva”, in Herald Sun:

(tennis, net sports) Hit diagonally into the opposite corner of the court


groundstroke

But each time Dementieva underlined why she holds such a lofty world standing by answering the challenge with those unerring groundstrokes, particularly the forehand, to hit back after dropping her serve.

In a desperately tight opening set, the pace and accuracy of the Serbian's groundstrokes began to draw errors from the usually faultless Nadal and earned him the first break point of the day at 5-4.

(tennis) A forehand or backhand shot that is executed after the ball has bounced once on the court.


claycourt

(tennis) A court whose surface is made of crushed shale, stone or brick.


counterpuncher

Serena will play the third-seeded Jankovic, the counterpuncher who looked vulnerable after digging too deeply into her physical reserves last season […].

2008 January 21, Christopher Clarey, “Even in Singles, Williams Sisters Are Double Trouble”, in New York Times:

(tennis) A player who returns every ball and relies on the opponent making mistakes


racket abuse

(tennis) the throwing of one's racket in anger, during play, which may result in a penalty.


on serve

The fourth set between Gabashvili and Melzer is still on serve, the Russian leading 4-3, but the Austrian holding a two sets to one lead.

(tennis) With each player or pairing having won the same number of games as they have served.


service game

(tennis, badminton, ping pong) A game where one serves, as opposed to receiving.


serve out

serve out (third-person singular simple present serves out, present participle serving out, simple past and past participle served out)

serves out (present singular third-person)
serving out (participle present)
served out (participle past)
served out (past)

She held her nerve after failing to serve out the match at the first attempt, seeing three match points slip by in a nervous service game at 6-4 5-4 and recovering from losing the tie-break to dominate the decider.

2011 June 28, Piers Newbery, “Wimbledon 2011: Sabine Lisicki beats Marion Bartoli”, in BBC Sport:

(transitive, tennis) To win a set, or by extension a match, by holding serve (winning a game as the server).


junkballer

(tennis, sometimes derogatory) A player that hits a lot of slow shots.


wrong-foot

wrong-foot (third-person singular simple present wrong-foots, present participle wrong-footing, simple past and past participle wrong-footed)

wrong-foots (present singular third-person)
wrong-footing (participle present)
wrong-footed (participle past)
wrong-footed (past)

(sports) To cause a competitor to move or put weight on the wrong foot, as by making an unexpected move.

(transitive, tennis) To play the ball in an unexpected direction, forcing (the opponent) to change direction suddenly.


hold serve

hold serve (third-person singular simple present holds serve, present participle holding serve, simple past and past participle held serve)

holds serve (present singular third-person)
holding serve (participle present)
held serve (participle past)
held serve (past)

2012 June 28, Jamie Jackson, “Wimbledon 2012: Lukas Rosol shocked by miracle win over Rafael Nadal”, in the Guardian:

(tennis) To win a game when one is serving.


double-fault

double-fault (third-person singular simple present double-faults, present participle double-faulting, simple past and past participle double-faulted)

double-faults (present singular third-person)
double-faulting (participle present)
double-faulted (participle past)
double-faulted (past)


drive-volley

The fourth seed was dominating her 20-year-old opponent with a series of stinging groundstrokes and athletic drive-volleys, striking again in game five when Paszek flicked a forehand pick-up into the tramlines.

2011 June 28, David Ornstein, “Wimbledon 2011: Victoria Azarenka beats Tamira Paszek in quarters”, in BBC Sport:

(tennis) A powerful underarm volley shot.


love hold

Azarenka whipped a sensational forehand around the net post to break for 2-0 in the second set, followed it up with a love hold and moved to 5-1 when Paszek netted a forehand.

(tennis) A game in which the server wins every point (in which the server holds to love).


moonball

(tennis) A medium-high offensive lob hit with topspin.


moonball

moonball (third-person singular simple present moonballs, present participle moonballing, simple past and past participle moonballed)

moonballs (present singular third-person)
moonballing (participle present)
moonballed (participle past)
moonballed (past)

(tennis) To strike the ball in this way.


line judge

(tennis) An official who watches the lines of the court and judges whether the ball has landed in or out and also declares foot faults.


inside-out

...cracking an ‘inside-out’ backhand past Rahim on the set point...

1977 March 15, The Washington Post, page D5:

Kyrgios hits a thumping inside-out forehand to Raonic's weaker wing, the backhand.

2014 July 2, The Daily Telegraph, Sports Sect., p. 6

(tennis) Describing cross-court shots made by the unexpected hand, as of a backhand return of a ball struck to the player's forehand.

ઊલટું

with the inside turned to be on the outside


junkball

(tennis, sometimes derogatory) A deliberately slow shot.


double-break

In the seventh game of the deciding set, one backhand came in at a thundering 99mph – this was followed by a lightening forehand return from Nadal's next serve to make it 30-love. A double-break would have left Nadal with no out-clause, but he clung on to pull the score back to 4-3.

(tennis) In a set, an advantage equivalent to two breaks of serve.


shot clock

Top tennis stars will come under a 25-second shot clock in grand slam tournaments starting at the Australian Open in January.

2017 November 17 "Shot clock introduced for all Grand Slams" RTÉ, Ireland

(tennis) A countdown of the time remaining within which the current server must serve the ball.


golden slam

(tennis, golf) Winning all four major championships (a grand slam) plus an Olympic gold medal.

calendar golden slam

inning all these in a calendar year or a single season

career golden slam

winning all these in the course of a career

non-calendar golden slam

holding all these as reigning champion all at one time, not in the course of one year/season, but spread over two


serve and volley

(tennis) A tactic where a player serves and immediately moves towards the net in an attempt to hit a volley.


serve and volley

serve and volley (third-person singular simple present serves and volleys, present participle serving and volleying, simple past and past participle served and volleyed)

serves and volleys (present singular third-person)
serving and volleying (participle present)
served and volleyed (participle past)
served and volleyed (past)


deuce court

(tennis) The receiver's right-side service box, or the opponent's left for the server, being the receiving side for a deuce point.


serve-volleyer

Tim Henman, now thirty years old and never a champion, is the only top ten serve-volleyer, and less than a dozen top 100 players frequently do it.

2009, Paul Fein, Tennis Confidential II: More of Today's Greatest Players, Matches, and Controversies, →ISBN:

(tennis) A player who employs the serve and volley strategy.


chip and charge

(tennis) A weak groundstroke followed immediately by an advance towards the net.


chip and charge

chip and charge (third-person singular simple present chips and charges, present participle chipping and charging, simple past and past participle chipped and charged)

chips and charges (present singular third-person)
chipping and charging (participle present)
chipped and charged (participle past)
chipped and charged (past)

(tennis) To hit a weak groundstroke and advance towards the net.


service court

(tennis) The part of the court in which the ball must land on a serve.


mini-break

From mini- + break (“game won against the server”).

prefix

Coordinate term: mini-hold

(tennis) In a tiebreak, a point won against the server when ahead.


I formation

From the vertical (as viewed from the opposing endzone) alignment of quarterback, fullback, and running back, particularly when contrasted with the same players' alignments in the T formation.

(tennis) A formation in doubles where the server's partner starts crouched down close to the center of the net


game, set, match

"Game, set and match to Byrd!" announced Westcott above the applause. "Byrd wins the School Championship!"

1915, Ralph Henry Barbour, chapter 13, in Left Tackle Thayer:

(sports, tennis) Victory at the conclusion of a tennis match.


Serena Slam

From Serena (“Serena Williams”) + slam (“grand slam”).
From Serena Williams who achieved the feat (though she was not the first) and was greatly celebrated for it.

compound

(tennis) A type of grand slam in tennis, where a player is reigning champion of all the major tournaments at the same time, but not all the tournaments have occurred in the same tennis season/calendar year.

Tiger Slam

the same feat in golf, named after Tiger Woods

grand slam

a conventional grand slam requires the player to be reigning champion of all major tournaments in the same calendar year/sports season

grand slam

all of the major tournaments collectively

career grand slam

a player having won all major tournaments at least once in their playing career


stringbed

A second limitation is the lack of measurement of both handgrip force and ball impact location in the stringbed.

2015 July 16, “Tennis Racket Vibrations and Shock Transmission to the Wrist during Forehand Drive”, in PLOS ONE, →DOI:

(tennis, squash, racquetball) The matrix of strings within the oval frame of a racket


salad bowl

(tennis) The silver bowl awarded to the winners of the Davis Cup.


footfault

en-verb

footfault (third-person singular simple present footfaults, present participle footfaulting, simple past and past participle footfaulted)

footfaults (present singular third-person)
footfaulting (participle present)
footfaulted (participle past)
footfaulted (past)

(tennis, intransitive) To commit a foot fault.


passing shot

(tennis) A shot that passes the opponent because it is out of reach


not up

(tennis) Of the ball, having bounced twice. Usually called by the umpire in situations where it is unclear if the ball has bounced a second time to indicate to the players and spectators that the point is over.


break back

break back (third-person singular simple present breaks back, present participle breaking back, simple past broke back, past participle broken back)

breaks back (present singular third-person)
breaking back (participle present)
broke back (past)
broken back (participle past)

(tennis, of a receiver) To win a game having lost a service game, or during a tiebreak, to win a point against the serve having lost a point while serving.


squash shot

Trying to get the ball in play, she ducked and hit an awkward squash shot.

2011, Yolanda Wallace, Lucky Loser, →ISBN:

Roger ran back and, instead of hoisting a defensive lob, went for a reverse between-the-legs squash shot, which didn't come off.

2013, Paul McNamee, Game Changer: My Tennis Life, →ISBN, page 289:

That was the last squash shot I trained with her.

2014, Syed Raza Haider, A Tulip In The Desert, →ISBN, page 231:

(tennis) A forehand shot with the arm at full extension, typically made as a desperation shot to slice the ball back into the court.


Champions tiebreak

en-noun

Champions tiebreak (plural Champions tiebreaks)

(tennis) An extension of a tiebreak (sometimes played instead of a deciding set) in which the winner is the first player to reach ten points and lead by a margin of two


Canadian doubles

(tennis) A game of tennis with three people, pitching a singles player against a doubles pairing, with some modified rules


all-courter

(tennis) A player who can play as a baseliner or serve-and-volleyer


serve-and-volleyer

(tennis) A player who plays in a serve and volley style


forced error

(sports, especially tennis) An error caused by an opponent's good play


singles net

(tennis) A net used for playing singles, shorter than a doubles net


American doubles

(tennis) A game of tennis with three people, pitching a singles player against a doubles pairing, and rotating who playes singles each game


singles stick

(tennis) A stick used to support a doubles net so that it meets the requirements of a singles net


doubles net

(tennis) A net used for playing doubles, longer than a singles net


wood shot

(tennis) A shot hit off the frame of the racket


double break point

double break point (countable and uncountable, plural double break points)

(tennis) A situation in which the receiver has two break points (15-40 using the tennis scoring system)


Australian doubles

(tennis) A game of tennis with three people, pitching a singles player against a doubles pairing, and rotating who plays singles each game


time violation

(tennis) The breaking of a rule where a player takes too long to get ready between a point


point penalty

(tennis) The awarding of a point for a player's opponent, as a result of infringement of the rules, e.g. foul language or time violation


chair umpire

(tennis) The official who sits in the umpire chair, who is the main authority during a match


Big Three

(tennis) Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, and Rafael Nadal, each considered to be among the greatest tennis players of all time.


golden set

(tennis) A set which is won without conceding any of the 24 points.


clay courter

(tennis) A tennis player who plays on a claycourt


mini-hold

From mini- + hold (“game won by the server”).

Coordinate term: mini-break

(tennis) In a tiebreak, a point won by the server.


strokemaster

(cricket, tennis) A player who hits the ball excellently.


all-court

en-adj

all-court (comparative more all-court, superlative most all-court)

more all-court (comparative)
most all-court (superlative)

(tennis) adaptable to playing on all surfaces


pro shop

(sports, especially tennis and golf) A shop at a sports club that sells equipment, often run by a professional in that sport


hitting partner

en-noun

hitting partner (plural hitting partners)

(tennis) A player with whom one practises playing rallies, though not as a coach.


USTA

United States Tennis Association
w:United States Tennis Association

(tennis) Initialism of United States Tennis Association; also U.S.T.A.: the national governing body for tennis in the United States.


U.S.T.A.

Every year, Allaster said, the U.S.T.A. asks the WTA what balls it wants to use, and the answer has always been the same. “As far as we know, a majority likes it, so we could end up trading one problem for another.”

2022 September 6, Matthew Futterman, “The Great U.S. Open Ball Debate of 2022”, in The New York Times:

(tennis) Initialism of United States Tennis Association; also USTA: the national governing body for tennis in the United States.


extra-duty

Coordinate term: regular-duty

The men at the U.S. Open use what is known as an “extra-duty” ball, which means the felt on the outside of the ball is woven slightly more loosely than the “regular-duty” ball the women use. […] Extra-duty balls are the balls of choice for outdoor hardcourts, like those at the U.S. Open, except when they are not.

(tennis) Describing a tennis ball having a thicker felt woven more loosely around the ball's core, designed for hard court surfaces such as asphalt or concrete.


regular-duty

Coordinate term: extra-duty

The men at the U.S. Open use what is known as an “extra-duty” ball, which means the felt on the outside of the ball is woven slightly more loosely than the “regular-duty” ball the women use. […] However, the regular-duty balls “play faster,” Collins said through a spokeswoman for the company.

(tennis) Describing a tennis ball having a thinner felt woven more tightly around the ball's core, designed for softer court surfaces such as clay.


spaghetti string

spaghetti string (plural spaghetti strings)

(tennis) A string forming part of a tennis racket strung according to the spaghetti stringing method.


spaghetti-strung

(tennis) Of a tennis racket: strung according to the spaghetti stringing method.


spaghetti stringing

(tennis) A style of stringing a tennis racket with two sets of main strings and five parallel pairs of cross strings that are not interwoven with those main strings, designed to impart maximum spin to the ball.


string saver

(tennis) Each of the small pieces of plastic or other material placed at the intersections of strings of a tennis racket, to reduce friction and extend the racket's life.


Novax

Blend of Novak + no vax, in reference to Djokovic's opposition to COVID-19 vaccines, which led to him being forced to skip many tournaments in 2022.

You cannot blame Novax for turning out bad, when he has a nationalist nutjob father. A man who admires Black Hand, the mob who started WWI by killing Archduke Ferdinand.

2022 January 5, Jenny Craig, “Re: Djokovoc^([sic])”, in aus.politics (Usenet):

(tennis, derogatory) Novak Djokovic (born 1987), Serbian professional tennis player.

Novak Djokovic#Opposition to COVID-19 vaccine mandate