История тенниса

 

Grand Slam

To win all 4 of major tennis tournaments (Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon, and US Open) in one season you are said to have won the Grand Slam. Therefore, the 4 major tournaments are also known as Grand Slam events.

 

Grip of the tennis racquet 

How the tennis racquet is held to effectively hit shots during a tennis set.  There are three primary grips, the Western Grip, the Eastern Grip, and the Continental.  Some recognize three additional grips, the Semi-Western Grip, the Australian Grip and the Hawaiian Grip.  Most players change grips during a match depending on what is needed by the shot they are making.  The Continental is a grip that remains the same, not matter what shot is required.

 

Grip (Two-handed Backhand)  

The two-handed backhand grip has long been used for both stability and power of the backhand return shot.  There is a difference of opinion regarding the proper hand placement for this grip.  Undoubtedly the most popular placement is to hold the racquet in your dominant hand with a Continental grip, then taking your opposite hand and placing it above your playing hand in a Semi-Western forehand grip.

 

Grip (Eastern)  

This grip is the classic grip used most often by beginning students; it is considered the easiest grip to use when learning the forehand shot.  Although it is underused by pro tennis players, in favor of the Semi-Western grip, it is still used by some.  It places your palm on the side plane of your handle, parallel to the plane of your strings.  With your wrist straight and relaxed, the Eastern grip results in a vertical racquet face when your racquet is even with your front hip.  For a classic swing style, this is the most natural and physically most secure relationship between body, racquet, and point of contact. The Eastern is also the most versatile forehand grip, because you can easily tilt upward for slice or keep the racquet face vertical to hit topspin. Many players find that they can hit heavier topspin and better handle the high kick of the opponent's topspin with the more western grips, though, which accounts for the reduced popularity of the Eastern at the pro level.

 

Grip (Continental)  

The Continental grip is the one solution used for every shot, but it is considered old school; it places your palm on the upper right slant bevel, 45 degrees counterclockwise from the Eastern.  This makes the racquet face tend to tilt upward, which is especially appropriate for hitting a slice. You can hit flat with the Continental, but you must meet the ball in a weaker position, slightly farther back, than with the Eastern. The Continental grip can be used for both forehands and backhands, but it's rarely used anymore for forehands, because it's poorly suited to hitting a topspin.

 

Grip (Extreme Eastern or Semi-Western)  

This grip places your palm on the lower right slant bevel, the plane 45 degrees clockwise (for a righty) from the plane of the strings. To counteract the resulting natural downward tilt of the racquet face, you must meet the ball slightly farther forward (at a given height) than you would with an Eastern grip, and while it's possible to hit flat, you will generally need to swing upward more sharply, which encourages you to hit topspin. The average grip among the pros now is Semi-Western, primarily because of the importance of topspin in the modern, advanced game. The Semi-Western grip does well both at generating topspin and handling the high bounces from the opponent's topspin. It is not well suited to hitting slice, and it's less comforable on low balls than on high balls.

 

Grip (Hawaiian)  

The "Hawaiian" grip is unquestionably the strangest of all grip types.  It places your palm 135 degrees clockwise from the Eastern Grip, or 45 degrees farther than the Western Grip.

 

Grip (Western)

The Western grip places your palm on the bottom plane of your handle, at 90 degrees clockwise from the plane of the strings.  This makes the racquet face tilt downward severely, and you must meet the ball farther forward (at a given height) than you would with a Semi-Western grip to get the plane of the strings into a vertical position.  The most natural swing pattern with a Western grip is sharply upward and very fast, which explains why most Western hitters generate heavy topspin.  The Western grip handles high balls much better than low ones, in large part because a higher point of contact does not need to be as far forward.  It is possible for some players to hit flat with a Western grip, but doing so forces your wrist into a very awkward position.   The Western grip got its name from its origin with California players.

 

Ground Strokes

Any type of shot (Forehand and Backhand) across the net where the ball bounces.

 

Half Court

The half of the court nearest to the service line.

 

Half-volley

To hit the tennis ball immediately after it has off the ground, so you're hitting the ball on it's upward bounce.

 

Hard Court

A tennis court which has a surface made from asphalt, concrete, etc.

 

Hot Dog

Used to describe a showoff on the tennis court i.e. a player smashing the ball at every opportunity or playing trick shots. A perfect example would be trick shot legend Mansour Bahrami.

 

Inside-Out

An Inside-Out Forehand is to run around the ball to take it on your forehand, even though it has been hit to you in a natural backhand position. An Inside-Out Backhand is the exact opposite.

 

Kick Serve

A serve with plenty of spin enabling it to change direction once hitting the ground. This can result in the receiver misreading the bounce of the ball and playing a sub-standard return shot.

 

Kill

To hit the ball hard into an area where the opponent can't reach it. See smash.

 

Let

Called to announce that a point is to be replayed. A common example is when a serve clips the top of the net but still lands correctly in the court.

 

Lob

To hit the ball over your opponents head using a lot of Topspin. Best played when your opponent is at the net.

 

Love

When one of the tennis players has a score of zero (0).

 

Lawn tennis

The original name for modern tennis, based on the fact that it's played on grass, to distinguish it from court tennis.

 

Left court

Same as advantage court.

 

Match

A tennis contest made up of sets, as a set is made up of games. In major competition, a men's match is made up of five sets and the winner is the player who first wins three sets. Women usually play best-of-three matches

 

Match Point

A point that either server or receiver needs to win a match.

 

Mid-court

 the area around the service lines, halfway between the net and the baseline. Also known as

“No man's land.”

 

Moon ball

A very high lob mixed into a baseline exchange, primarily used to change the tempo.

 

Mini-break

If the server loses one of his two service points during a Tie-break, this is called a Mini-break.

 

Net

Same as a Let call (see above).

 

Offensive lob played from an intermediate or offensive position, usually hit with a lower trajectory than

the defensive lob, and intended to win the point. Often hit with topspin.

 

Open stance

Any hitting stance where the back foot is closer to the path of the ball than the front foot.

 

Overhead smash

Stroke played above the head with a service-type action, usually from near the net

and in response to a lob.

 

Offensive lob

A lob that is an attempt to score, rather than being purely defensive. It's typically hit very deep into the opponent's court when the opponent is at the net. See also defensive lob.

 

Overhead Smash

A shot played above the head, hitting the ball downwards, hard and fast into your opponents side of the court

 

Overrule

Where the Umpire decides his opinion of a line-call (etc.) is better than that of a line judge.

 

Passing Shot

A shot played down the line while your opponent is close to the net, but is unable to return.

 

Punch volley 

Marked by a very short ‘punching' movement of the racket.

 

Put away volley 

Hit beyond the opponent's reach.

 

Pace

The speed at which the ball is hit. It's commonly used to mean a great deal of speed, but in fact a well-paced shot may be hit rather slowly. A common tactic against a hard-hitting opponent is to vary the pace from one shot to the next.

 

Pair

A doubles team.

 

Partner

One of the two players on a doubles team.

 

Qualifying Competition

Seeded players are always pre-qualified for tournaments, but lesser players must perform well in Qualifying Competitions in order to earn their place in many tournaments.

 

Qualifier A small tournament where a specified number of players will earn their way into the main tournament. Also refers to a player who has earned a spot in the main draw.

 

Racket

The instrument that's used to hit the ball. It has a long, straight handle and an oval frame strung with natural gut or a synthetic material. Up until the late 1960s, rackets were made of wood, but then steel and aluminum frames were introduced, followed by frames of graphite, fiberglass, titanium, and carbon. Maximum dimensions are 29½ inches in overall length, 12½ inches in overall width. The hitting surface can be no more than 15½ inches long and 11½ inches wide. Also spelled racquet.

 

Receiver

The player who receives service throughout a game.

 

Rubber

A term used in the Davis Cup, which essentially means a "heat" or a "leg". The Davis Cup consists of one Doubles Rubber and four Singles Rubbers. As an example, if you win the first Singles match, you have won a Rubber or a Singles Rubber.

 

Serena Slam

A term created after Serena Williams consecutively won all 4 Grand Slam events, but not in the same season. In 2002 Serena won the French Open, Wimbledon, and US Open, followed by the Australian Open in 2003.

 

Show Court (Showcourt)

A tennis court which is the one of the most prized of all to play on or to spectate on. For example, at Wimbledon the show courts are Centre Court, No.1 Court, and No.2 Court.

 

Slice

You use Backspin to perform this type of shot. Often used as a defensive shot to return fast served ball deep into your opponents court and slow the game down. Similar in execution to the Drop Shot.

 

Serve-and-volley 

Style of play that involves rushing toward the net immediately after the serve, in order

to make a volley off the return.

 

Service box

Area on the other side of the net in which a serve must land in order to be legal.

 

Service break

One player wins a game while the other player is serving.

 

Service line 

Line in mid-court that marks the boundaries of the service boxes.

 

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 13½ feet wide.

 

T

Mid-court area formed by the junction of the centre service line and the service lines. You may

hear “a player serves down the T for an ace.”

 

Tennis elbow

Pain caused by too much play, improper technique, racquet tension or even racquet grip

size.

 

Tension

Degree of tautness in the strings of a racket.

 

Topspin

Hitting over the top of the ball for forward rotation in flight

 

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 to be able to hit volleys quickly 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 2½ 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 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.

 

Tie break

This method is used to determine the winner of a Set once the score in Games is 6-6. See Rules Of Tennis (Brief) for full details. Or see above for details of the Champions Tie Break variant.

 

Topspin

To hit the top of the ball making it spin forwards while moving forwards, and forcing the ball to curve down over the net.

 

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.

 

Umpire

The person who controls the game, the players, the score, and his line judges.

 

Unforced Error

Where a player is not under any pressure from an opponent yet plays a shot which does not land in the court

.

Volley

To hit the ball before it bounces.

 

Western

A way of holding your tennis racket in order to help you hit Topspin Forehand shots.

 

Wildcard

Given to select players who have not qualified for a tournament so they can participate. Preference usually given to young talent in the host country and also big name players who have slipped down the rankings.

 

Wing

Term often used meaning Backhand side and/or Forehand side. For example, a player may be comfortable to volley from either Wing.

 

WTA

Women Tennis Association. The WTA are the governing body of the women's professional tennis circuit.