Tennis Glossary: 50 Terms Every Fan Should Know (From Ace to Tweener)

Scoring Terms

The vocabulary of the scoreboard:

• Love — zero. 'Thirty-love' means 30-0.
• Deuce — 40-40; from here a player must win two straight points.
• Advantage — the point after deuce; win the next one and the game is yours.
• Game point / Set point / Match point — one point from winning that unit.
• Break point — a chance to win a game on the opponent's serve.
• Break / Hold — winning a game on the opponent's serve / on your own.
• Tiebreak — first to 7 (win by 2) at 6-6 in a set; 10 points in a major's deciding set.
• Bagel — winning a set 6-0. The zero is the bagel.
• Breadstick — winning a set 6-1. Tennis loves its bakery.
• Golden set — winning a set without losing a single point. Nearly mythical.

The Shots

What just happened, named:

• Ace — a serve the returner never touches.
• Double fault — two missed serves; free point for the returner.
• Forehand / Backhand — groundstrokes on the racket side / opposite side of the body.
• Volley — hitting the ball before it bounces, usually at the net.
• Half-volley — a pickup hit a split-second after the bounce; pure timing.
• Overhead (smash) — the ball-above-your-head kill shot.
• Lob — a high ball over an opponent at the net.
• Drop shot — a soft touch that dies just over the net.
• Passing shot — a groundstroke that beats a net-rushing opponent.
• Slice — backspin that keeps the ball low and slow.
• Topspin — forward rotation that makes the ball dip and kick up.
• Kick serve — a topspin serve that bounces high, often to a backhand.
• Tweener — a between-the-legs shot, back to the net. Showtime.

The Court

Geography of the rectangle:

• Baseline — the back line; where most modern tennis lives.
• Service box — where a serve must land, diagonally opposite the server.
• Tramlines (alleys) — the side corridors, in play only for doubles.
• T (the T) — where the centre service line meets the service line.
• Let — a serve that clips the net but lands in: replayed, no penalty.
• Net cord — a rally ball that clips the tape; play continues wherever it lands.

Tournament Jargon

The language of the draw sheet:

• Draw — the tournament bracket.
• Seed — a ranked player placed so top players can't meet early.
• Wild card — a discretionary entry granted by organisers.
• Qualifier — a player who earned entry through the pre-tournament qualifying event.
• Lucky loser — a qualifying loser who enters when someone withdraws.
• Bye — a free pass through a round, usually for top seeds.
• Walkover — advancing because the opponent withdrew before the match.
• Retirement — a player stopping mid-match, usually through injury.
• Round robin — group-stage format used at the year-end Finals.
• Order of play — the daily schedule of matches by court.

The Tour and Its Institutions

Who runs what:

• ATP / WTA — the men's and women's professional tours.
• ITF — the international federation; runs Grand Slams' governance, Davis Cup and juniors.
• Grand Slam (major) — the four biggest events: Melbourne, Paris, London, New York.
• Masters 1000 / WTA 1000 — the tier just below the majors.
• Challenger — the second-tier circuit where rankings are built.
• Chair umpire — the match official in the tall chair.
• Electronic line calling / Hawk-Eye — the camera systems that call (or review) lines.

Fan Culture

The words the internet added:

• GOAT — 'greatest of all time'; tennis's favourite argument.
• Career Grand Slam — winning all four majors across a career.
• Golden Slam — all four majors plus Olympic gold in one year. Done once: Steffi Graf, 1988.
• Tenniscore — the tennis aesthetic as fashion and lifestyle; we have a whole guide.

• Tennis scoring explained in full →
• How to get into tenniscore →
• The complete Grand Slam guide →