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Tennis Terminology | S - T - U

S

Scoring system

The scoring system for modern tennis is based on that of its medieval ancestor, court tennis. In court tennis, a game comprised four rounds of 15 points each. That system was imposed on lawn tennis, as it used to be known, with the points numbered 15, 30, 45, and 60 (or game). Somewhere along the line, 45 was abbreviated to 40. The point is the basic building block; a game is made up of points, a set is made up of games, and a match is made up of sets.

Second flight

The flight of the ball after it bounces.

Seed

Before a tournament, certain players are ranked, based on their ability and recent performances. The process is called seeding, the rankings are called seeds, and the top-ranked player is called the top seed. Matches are then arranged so that the top-seeded players will not meet until the later rounds of the tournament.

Serve

The shot that begin each point. Standing behind the baseline, the player must toss the ball into the air and hit it into the diagonally opposite service court. The server is given two chances to make a valid serve. A failure is called a fault and a double fault results in loss of the point. On the first point, the server must be to the right of the center line, and then alternates sides with each point. In singles, the players alternate service throughout a match. In doubles, service alternates between the sides, and all four players serve in turn.

Serve and volley

A style of play in which the server takes the net after each successful serve in order to volley the opponent's return.

Server

The player whose turn it is to serve.

Service

See serve.

Service court

One of the two rectangles on each side of the net bounded by the service sideline, the service line, the center service line between them, and the net itself. Each service court is 21 feet deep and 13 ½ feet wide.

Service line

The line that marks the back boundary of the service courts on each side of the net.

Service line judge

An official who is responsible for determining whether a serve hits the court beyond the service line. The service line judges are stationed on the same side of the court as the umpire and on a line with the service lines.

Service sideline

That part of the singles sideline, between the net and the service line, that marks the outside boundary of the service court.

Service winner

A serve that the receiver hits without making a legal return.

Set

A set is a group of games that is won by the player or side that first wins at least six games with a two-game margin, unless a tie-breaker is employed. In major tournaments, there are usually five sets in a men's match and three in a women's match. See scoring system; tie-breaker.

Set point

A point that, if won by the leader, will result in winning the set. See also game point; match point.

Shot

The act of hitting the ball with the racket.

Sideline

The line that marks the side boundary of the court. The sidelines are 27 feet apart for singles and 36 feet apart for doubles.

Sideline judge

An official who is responsible for determining whether a shot lands outside the sideline or in the court. There are four sideline judges, two at each end of the court.

Sidespin

Spin around the ball's vertical axis, applied by drawing the racket strings horizontally across the ball at the moment of contact.

Singles

A match between two players.

Singles court

The court used for a singles match, which is 27 feet wide.

Singles sideline

One of the two lines that mark the side boundaries of the singles court.

Slice

A shot hit with both backspin and sidespin; as a verb, to hit such a shot.

Smash

An overhead shot that is hit very hard and down into the opponent's side of the net.

Snap volley

A volley given extra velocity by wrist action at impact.

Stop volley

A volley, hit with little motion of the racket, that drops just over the net.

Straight sets

Descriptive of a match in which one player wins all the sets.

Strings

The hitting surface of the racket, made up of interlaced strings of gut or synthetic material.

Stroke

A swing at the ball; a shot.

Sudden death

A tie-breaker of predetermined length. The most commonly used are the 9-point tie-breaker, in which the first player to score 5 points is the winner, and the 13-point tie-breaker, which is won by the first player to score 7 points.

Sweet spot

The optimum hitting area, around the middle of the racket face.

T

T

The midcourt area, where the service lines meet the center service line.

Take the net

To move into the forecourt and toward the net in order to be able to hit volleys into the opponent's side of the court.

Tandem

A doubles formation in which each partner is responsible for one half of the court, as divided by the center line. Compare up and back.

Tape

The band of white canvas or synthetic material, 2 to 2 ½ inches wide, that covers the top of the net.

Team tennis

A type of competition between teams of players, involving singles and doubles matches, in which the victory is the team that takes the most games.

Tennis ball

The ball used in tennis is a hollow rubber sphere, 2 ½ to 2 5/8 inches in diameter and weighing between 2 and 2 1/16 ounces, filled with pressurized air and covered with a nap of wool and nylon.

Tennis elbow

Tendinitis of the elbow, often caused by the strains placed on the joint by playing tennis, though it may have other causes.

Thirty

The second point scored by a player or side in a game. See point; scoring system.

Throat

The thin area of a racket handle, where it meets the head.

Tie-break

A tiebreaker.

Tiebreaker

A method of determining the winner of a set that's tied. The most commonly used is the 13-point tiebreaker, which is won by the player who first wins 7 points, provided that the margin of victory is at least 2 points. This is sometimes called a "lingering death" tiebreaker, on contrast to the sudden death tiebreaker.

Top seed

The player judged to be the best in a given tournament, usually on the basis of computer rankings. See seed.

Topspin

Forward spin, around the ball's horizontal axis, that's applied by drawing the racket strings up and over the ball at the moment of impact. A shot hit with topspin is more likely to stay in play, because it drops sharply after reaching its highest point, and it takes a high bounce.

Touch

Precise control of a shot, often resulting in a placement, as in "She hit that shot with perfect touch."

Triple

The feat of winning the singles, doubles, and mixed doubles championships at a tournament.

Twist

A combination of topspin and sidespin on a serve. See, for example, American twist and reverse twist.

Two-handed backhand

A backhand shot on which the player has both hands on the racket handle.

Sweet spot

The optimum hitting area, around the middle of the racket face.

U

Umpire

The official who is in overall charge of a match. The umpire sits in a raised chair at one end of the net, calls the score after each point, and has final responsibility for all questions of judgment and fact. He or she may reverse the decision of a judge or linesman if it is clearly in error and may impose point penalties or even default a player for unsportsmanlike conduct.

Underspin

See backspin.

Unforced error

Loss of a point caused by a poorly hit shot that goes into the net or out of the court. Compare forced error.

Up and back

A doubles formation in which one partner plays in the forecourt, the other in the backcourt. Compare tandem.