270 terms
Tennis glossary
The terms people ask about most have their own page. Every other term gets one plain sentence and a link to the guide that explains it properly.
Scoring
Records
Strokes
A to Z
- Ace
- An ace is a legal serve the receiver doesn't touch with their racquet. The server wins the point outright.
- Acute-to-chronic workload ratio
- Recent training load divided by longer-term load, once promoted as an injury predictor with a sweet spot that isn't reliably supported. Read the guide
- Advantage (ad)
- Advantage, or ad, is the score after deuce when one player has won the next point. Win one more and they take the game.
- Advantage set
- A set with no tiebreak, which continues until one player leads by two games. Read the guide
- Aerobic system
- The slow, high-capacity energy system that, in tennis, refills short-burst energy between points. Read the guide
- Aggressive baseliner
- A player who bets on striking first from the back of the court, accepting more errors. Read the guide
- Air density
- How much air the ball has to push through, about 1.21 kg/m³ at standard conditions and lower at altitude. Read the guide
- All-court player
- A player who bets on switching between styles, at the cost of the training it takes to own each. Read the guide
- Alley
- The 1.37 m strip down each side of the court that is in play only in doubles. Read the guide
- Anticipation
- Predicting where the ball will go from cues visible before the opponent's contact. Read the guide
- Approach shot
- An approach shot is the shot you hit to move from the baseline to the net, placed to make the opponent's passing shot hard.
- Approach zone
- The area inside the service line that you cross on the way to the net, where half-volleys cluster. Read the guide
- Arming the ball
- Swinging mainly with the arm, without the legs and trunk contributing. Read the guide
- ATP
- ATP stands for the Association of Tennis Professionals, which runs the men's professional tour and its rankings.
- Australian formation
- A serving formation with both partners on the same side of the court, taking away the cross-court return. Read the guide
- Backspin
- Spin put on the ball by an open face and a descending path, which lifts it in the air and makes it skid after the bounce. Read the guide
- Backswing
- The part of the stroke that takes the racquet back before it swings forward to the ball. Read the guide
- Bagel and breadstick
- A bagel is a set won 6–0, named for the zero's shape. A breadstick is a set won 6–1.
- Balance point
- The point along the frame where the racquet balances, which tells you whether it's head-heavy or head-light. Read the guide
- Battle of the Sexes
- The 1973 match in which Billie Jean King beat Bobby Riggs in straight sets at the Astrodome. Read the guide
- Bevel
- One of the eight flat faces of a racquet handle, numbered so a grip can be described by where the base knuckle sits. Read the guide
- Bisector
- The line that splits the angle between an opponent's widest possible replies, where you recover to. Read the guide
- Bisector of angles
- The bisector of angles is the line that splits the angle between your opponent's widest possible replies. Recovering onto it leaves you equally far from both.
- Block
- A stroke with no backswing, where the racquet meets the ball in front and the face angle does the work. Read the guide
- Block return
- A return with almost no backswing and a firm, stable face that redirects the server's pace, like a volley with your feet on the ground. Read the guide
- Blocked practice
- Repeating the same shot many times in a row before moving to another. Read the guide
- Body serve
- A serve aimed straight at the returner to take away their swing room. Read the guide
- Boundary layer
- The thin layer of air next to the ball's surface, which the felt disturbs to shape drag. Read the guide
- Break of serve
- A break is winning a game your opponent served. Because servers usually win their games, one break is often enough to win a set.
- Break point
- A break point is a point where the receiver can win the game. Winning it breaks the opponent's serve.
- Builder coach
- A coach who shapes a player's technique and values over many years, usually from childhood. Read the guide
- Calibration
- How well a model's stated chances match reality, so that its 70 % calls come true about 70 % of the time. Read the guide
- Career Grand Slam
- A Career Grand Slam is winning each of the four majors at least once over a career, not necessarily in the same year.
- Centre of percussion
- The spot on the strings where an impact makes the handle neither kick forward nor back, so the hand feels no jolt. Read the guide
- Centre service line
- The line that splits the deuce service box from the ad service box. Read the guide
- Centre strap
- The strap that holds the middle of the net down to 0.914 m. Read the guide
- Challenger
- Challengers are the second tier of men's professional tournaments, below the ATP Tour. Players ranked roughly outside the top 100 build their ranking there.
- Champion-mentor
- A coach, often a former champion, hired to fix one missing piece once the player's game is formed. Read the guide
- Change-of-direction speed
- How fast you run a route you already know, such as a pre-planned cone drill. Read the guide
- Chip and charge
- A low sliced return followed straight to the net. Read the guide
- Chip return
- An open-faced, continental-grip underspin block that absorbs pace and skids low after the bounce. Read the guide
- Choking
- A drop in performance under pressure caused by where your attention goes. Read the guide
- Closed chain
- A linked system where both hands hold the racquet, forming a braced triangle with the arms. Read the guide
- Coaching window
- The period a coach worked with a player, used to count results during the partnership. Read the guide
- Coefficient of restitution
- The ratio of speed after a bounce or impact to speed before it, about 0.75 for a tennis ball. Read the guide
- Commitment
- The moment the returner starts the forward swing, which opens the poacher's window to leave. Read the guide
- Constraint
- A rule added to a drill, such as a target, a recovery or a score, that changes what the player must solve. Read the guide
- Constraints-led coaching
- A player-led approach in which the coach shapes the task and the player finds the solution. Read the guide
- Contextual interference
- The drop in practice performance, and gain in retention, that comes from mixing the order of tasks. Read the guide
- Continental grip
- The grip with the base knuckle on bevel 2 for a right-hander, used for the serve, volley and slice. Read the guide
- Counterpuncher
- A player whose style bets on the opponent's error, accepting long points. Read the guide
- Court Pace Index
- A live pace measure calculated from Hawk-Eye tracking data at events. Read the guide
- Court Pace Rating
- The ITF measure of court speed, based on ball velocity before and after the bounce, in five categories from slow to fast. Read the guide
- Cross and switch
- The answer to a lob over the net player: the baseliner crosses to take it and the net player moves to the other side. Read the guide
- Cross-court
- A shot hit diagonally across the court, over the lower middle of the net. Read the guide
- Cross-step
- A step where one leg crosses over the other, used to move back quickly while staying sideways. Read the guide
- Crossover step
- A recovery step in which one leg crosses over the other to cover distance, before shuffle steps finish the reset. Read the guide
- Davis Cup
- The Davis Cup is the men's international team competition in tennis, run by the ITF. It was first played in 1900.
- Dead ball
- A ball that has lost internal pressure and bounces noticeably lower than a new one. Read the guide
- Dead spot
- A spot near the throat where a still racquet gives almost no rebound. Read the guide
- Dead strings
- A string bed that has lost enough tension and snapback to change how the ball comes off it. Read the guide
- Dead-ball drill
- A drill in which a coach or machine feeds the ball rather than it coming from a live rally. Read the guide
- Defend, neutral and attack thirds
- A split of the court by the hitter's position, where each third allows a different kind of shot. Read the guide
- Defensive lob
- A high, deep lob, often sliced, hit to buy time to recover. Read the guide
- Deliberate practice
- Practice built on a well-defined task, immediate feedback, repetition aimed at a weakness and effort just past current ability. Read the guide
- Denominator
- The set a percentage is taken from, such as all points, first serves or matches on one surface. Read the guide
- Depth band
- The zone past the service line in your target third of the court, used to score whether a rally ball was deep enough. Read the guide
- Deuce
- Deuce is the score when both players have three points in a game, 40–40. From deuce a player must win two points in a row to take the game.
- Double fault
- A double fault is two faults on the same point: both the first and second serve miss. The server loses the point.
- Doubles alley
- The strip about 1.37 m wide on each side that is in play in doubles after the serve. Read the guide
- Down the line
- A shot hit straight along the sideline, over the higher part of the net. Read the guide
- Drag
- The air's resistance, which slows the ball and pulls it short. Read the guide
- Drive volley
- A volley hit with a full takeback and a low-to-high swing, like a groundstroke taken out of the air. Read the guide
- Drop shot
- A drop shot is a soft shot that lands just over the net, usually with backspin, to make a deep opponent run forward.
- Drop test
- The ITF check that drops a ball from 254 cm and measures how high it rebounds. Read the guide
- Dwell time
- How long the ball stays on the strings, about 4 to 5 milliseconds. Read the guide
- Eastern backhand grip
- A grip with the base knuckle of the index finger on bevel 1, the usual grip for a one-handed drive. Read the guide
- Effective mass
- How heavy the racquet behaves at the point of impact, about half its real mass at the centre and a third near the tip. Read the guide
- Electronic line calling
- Automated line calls made by a camera tracking system instead of human line judges. Read the guide
- Elo rating
- A single number per player whose gap to another player's number converts into a win probability. Read the guide
- Equal prize money
- Paying men and women the same at a tournament, which the four majors adopted between 1973 and 2007. Read the guide
- Expected Shot Value
- The change in point-win probability attributed to a shot from its measured features. Read the guide
- Explicit monitoring
- Consciously attending to the steps of a skill that normally runs automatically, which disrupts it. Read the guide
- External focus
- Attention on an effect outside the body, such as the ball's flight or the target. Read the guide
- Faded feedback
- Feedback given less often than on every ball, or as a summary, so the player learns to detect their own errors. Read the guide
- Fake
- A half-step that threatens a poach without crossing, to make the returner hesitate. Read the guide
- False step
- A small step away from the ball at the start of a movement that delays the run. Read the guide
- Fault
- A fault is a serve that doesn't count: it misses the correct service box, or the server foot-faults or misses the ball. The server gets a second serve.
- First strike
- First strike tennis is the idea that the first four shots of a point, serve, return, serve plus one and return plus one, decide most points.
- First volley
- The first ball you volley after moving forward, often taken low near the service line. Read the guide
- Flat serve
- A serve struck through the back of the ball with little spin, brushing from 6 to 12 on a clock face. Read the guide
- Foot fault
- A foot fault is a serve fault called when the server touches the baseline or the court inside it before hitting the ball.
- Force–velocity curve
- Hill's curve showing that a muscle trades force for speed, with power peaking in the middle. Read the guide
- Forced error
- A miss caused by the quality of the opponent's shot. Read the guide
- Friction
- The grip between ball and court at the bounce, which takes away forward speed. Read the guide
- Game
- A game is won by the first player to win four points with a two-point lead. Points are called love, 15, 30 and 40.
- Golden Slam
- Winning all four major titles and the Olympic singles gold in one calendar year. Read the guide
- Grand Slam
- The Grand Slams are the four biggest tournaments: the Australian Open, Roland-Garros, Wimbledon and the US Open. Winning all four in one year is the Grand Slam.
- Gravity step
- A first step started by letting the body fall toward the target before the legs drive. Read the guide
- Ground reaction force
- The force the court pushes back into you, equal to the force you push into it. Read the guide
- Half volley
- A half volley is a shot hit immediately after the ball bounces, low to the ground, with a short block rather than a swing.
- Half-volley
- A shot taken just after the bounce, usually at your feet as you move toward the net. Read the guide
- Hang time
- How long a ball stays in the air, which sets how far the wind can move it. Read the guide
- Hawk-Eye
- A multi-camera system that triangulates the ball's flight to call lines and measure speed, spin, bounce and placement. Read the guide
- Head-to-head
- The record of wins and losses between two players across all their meetings. Read the guide
- Heavy ball
- A ball hit with a lot of topspin that arrives later and higher after the bounce than its pace suggests. Read the guide
- Hindrance
- A hindrance is interference with a player's ability to play a point. Deliberate hindrance by the opponent loses them the point; accidental interference means a let.
- Hitting on the rise
- Meeting the ball while it's still climbing after the bounce, before it reaches its peak. Read the guide
- Hold (of serve)
- To hold is to win a game you served. Holding serve is the normal outcome, which is why breaks matter so much.
- Hot hand
- The belief that a player who has just won several points is more likely to win the next one. Read the guide
- I-formation
- A serving formation with the net player crouched astride the centre service line, moving to a side agreed before the point. Read the guide
- Inside-out
- A forehand hit from the backhand side of the court, run around, toward the opponent's backhand. Read the guide
- Internal focus
- Attention on a body part or movement, such as the wrist or the elbow. Read the guide
- Internal rotation
- The shoulder turning the upper arm inward, the biggest single source of racquet speed on the serve. Read the guide
- ITF
- The ITF, the International Tennis Federation, is the world governing body of tennis. It writes the Rules of Tennis and runs the Davis Cup and Billie Jean King Cup.
- IZOF
- Individual zones of optimal functioning, Hanin's model that each athlete performs best within a personal band of arousal. Read the guide
- K-factor
- The scale that sets how much a rating moves after one match. Read the guide
- Kick
- The high, forward jump a topspin ball takes off the court. Read the guide
- Kick serve
- A kick serve is a serve hit with heavy topspin and some sidespin. It clears the net high, dips into the box and jumps up after the bounce.
- Kinetic chain
- The linked sequence of body segments that pass speed from the ground to the racquet. Read the guide
- Lag
- The racquet trailing behind the hand as the body turns, so it whips through late. Read the guide
- Lateral epicondylitis
- Tennis elbow, a tendinopathy where the wrist extensor tendons attach on the outside of the elbow. Read the guide
- Launch angle
- The angle above horizontal at which the ball leaves the strings. Read the guide
- Launch window
- The range of launch angles that clear the net and land in the court for a given speed and spin. Read the guide
- Let
- A let is a point that is replayed. On a serve, it's called when the ball touches the net and still lands in the correct service box.
- Leverage
- How much a player's chance of winning the match changes between winning and losing a given point. Read the guide
- Lift coefficient
- A number describing how strongly spin turns into sideways force, around 0.1–0.3 for a tennis ball. Read the guide
- Live-ball drill
- A drill played out of a real rally, so each ball comes from an opponent's stroke. Read the guide
- Live-ball transfer
- Practice where the ball is in play, so the skill has to meet a read, a recovery and a consequence. Read the guide
- Lob
- A lob is a high shot hit over an opponent at the net, either to win the point or to buy time to recover.
- Love
- Love means zero in tennis scoring. A game score of 15–love means the server has one point and the receiver none.
- Low-to-high swing path
- A racquet path that rises into and past the ball, so the strings brush up its back. Read the guide
- Lucky loser
- A lucky loser is a player who lost in the final round of qualifying but still enters the main draw because another player withdrew.
- Madrid effect
- The faster, longer-flying ball in Madrid's thinner, high-altitude air. Read the guide
- Magnus effect
- The sideways push on a spinning ball, at right angles to its spin axis, caused by the pressure difference in the air it drags around. Read the guide
- Magnus force
- The force on a spinning ball in flight, which pushes it down for topspin and up for backspin. Read the guide
- Main strings
- The strings that run the length of the racquet head. Read the guide
- Mains
- The strings that run the length of the racquet head. Read the guide
- Markov chain
- A model in which the chance of what happens next depends only on the current state, here the score. Read the guide
- Match charting
- Recording a match shot by shot by hand, so patterns like rally length can be counted. Read the guide
- Match Charting Project
- A volunteer, shot-by-shot record of professional matches, the data behind the drop-shot findings. Read the guide
- Match point
- A match point is a point where one player can win the match by winning it. In a final it's often called championship point.
- Match tiebreak
- A tiebreak played to 10 points in place of a final set. Read the guide
- Middle seam
- The gap between two doubles partners down the centre of the court. Read the guide
- Moonball
- A high, heavy rally ball that forces the opponent to make contact above the shoulder. Read the guide
- Multimodal programme
- Training that combines more than one type of work, such as heavy lifts with throws and jumps, rather than one type alone. Read the guide
- Nap
- The raised fuzz of a tennis ball's felt, which adds drag as it fluffs up. Read the guide
- Net clearance
- How far above the net tape the ball passes. Read the guide
- Net window
- The band of launch angles that clears the net and lands inside the baseline. Read the guide
- No man's land
- No man's land is the area between the service line and the baseline, where balls tend to arrive at your feet.
- No-ad scoring
- A format where deuce is settled by a single deciding point, with the receiving team choosing the side. Read the guide
- No-man's-land
- The area between the service line and the baseline. Read the guide
- On the rise
- Hitting the ball after the bounce but before it reaches its peak. Read the guide
- Open court
- The part of the court the opponent has left uncovered after being pulled wide. Read the guide
- Open Era
- The Open Era began in 1968, when the major tournaments opened to professionals as well as amateurs. Records are often quoted from 1968 on.
- Open face
- A racquet face tilted back so it points slightly upward at contact, lifting the ball. Read the guide
- Open stance
- Hitting with the feet roughly parallel to the baseline, loading the outside leg and rotating. Read the guide
- Overhead (smash)
- An overhead, or smash, is a shot hit above the head like a serve, usually to put away a lob.
- Overreaching
- The overload that builds up when training load runs unbroken, without rest written into the week. Read the guide
- Oversize racquet
- A racquet with a head much larger than the wood-era standard, such as the Prince oversize of 1976. Read the guide
- Pace-off ball
- A deliberately slower ball that makes the opponent generate their own pace. Read the guide
- Passing shot
- A passing shot is a groundstroke hit past an opponent at the net, down the line or cross-court.
- Pattern of play
- A rehearsed sequence of shots that creates the same opening again and again. Read the guide
- Percentage tennis
- Choosing the shot with the best margin for error rather than the most spectacular one. Read the guide
- Phosphagen system
- The instant, short-lived energy system (ATP-PC) that powers the serve and the first steps, emptying in about 6 to 10 seconds. Read the guide
- Pinch
- A half-move toward the middle to take a weak return without switching sides. Read the guide
- Pinpoint stance
- A serve stance with the feet together, which stacks the push vertically. Read the guide
- Platform stance
- A serve stance with the feet apart, which trades some push for balance. Read the guide
- Poach
- A net player's cross to intercept a return meant for the server, after which the partners switch sides. Read the guide
- Polyester string
- A stiff, slick, low-powered monofilament string that players string lower and swing harder to make more spin. Read the guide
- Potentiation
- The last warm-up stage, where short, fast efforts prime the nervous system for full-speed play. Read the guide
- Practice block
- A section of a session with one purpose and one thing counted. Read the guide
- Prehab
- Small, frequent strength and mobility work aimed at the body sites most likely to be injured. Read the guide
- Pronation
- Inward rotation of the forearm, which turns the racquet face over. Read the guide
- Proximal-to-distal
- Firing order from the centre of the body outward, from hips and trunk to arm and racquet. Read the guide
- Pusher
- A pusher is slang for a player who keeps the ball in play with little pace and waits for the opponent to miss.
- Put-away
- A flatter, earlier shot aimed into open court to finish a point once the opening exists. Read the guide
- Qualifier and wildcard
- A qualifier earns a main-draw place by winning the qualifying rounds. A wildcard is a main-draw place the organisers give at their discretion.
- Quiet eye
- A final steady fixation of about 100 ms or more before a movement, longer in experts. Read the guide
- RA
- A scale of racquet frame stiffness, where higher numbers mean a stiffer frame. Read the guide
- RA rating
- A measure of frame stiffness, with most racquets roughly between 50 and 75. Read the guide
- Racquet drop
- The moment in the serve when the racquet falls behind the back before swinging up to the ball. Read the guide
- Racquet lag
- The racquet head trailing the hand as the body turns forward, storing energy before release. Read the guide
- Rally ball
- A high, deep, usually cross-court shot hit to build position rather than to win the point outright. Read the guide
- Rally length
- The number of shots in a point, counting the serve as shot one. Read the guide
- Rally tolerance
- The share of points a player wins past shot eight. Read the guide
- RAMP
- A four-stage warm-up: Raise, Activate, Mobilize, Potentiate. Read the guide
- Random practice
- Practice where the shot required changes from ball to ball, often called at the last moment. Read the guide
- Rate of force development
- How quickly a muscle reaches force, which matters in tennis because strokes end before maximal force arrives. Read the guide
- Reaction time
- The minimum delay between seeing the ball and starting to move, about 200 milliseconds. Read the guide
- Reactive agility
- Changing direction in response to a cue you didn't know in advance, as on court. Read the guide
- Recovery step
- The first step back toward position after contact. Read the guide
- Release point
- The height and position where the ball leaves the tossing hand, ideally from a straight arm at eye level. Read the guide
- Restitution
- How much vertical energy a ball gets back from the court at the bounce, which sets how high it bounces. Read the guide
- Retirement
- A player retires when they stop playing during a match, usually through injury or illness. Their opponent wins, and the score is recorded with "ret."
- Return +1
- The returner's first shot after the return. Read the guide
- Return cone
- The fan of returns a receiver can reach from where the serve lands, narrowest from a T serve and widest from a wide serve. Read the guide
- Return position
- Where you stand relative to the baseline before the server's toss. Read the guide
- Rhythm
- The same ball arriving at the same height and the same time, shot after shot, so the hitter can groove the stroke. Read the guide
- Run-around forehand
- Moving around a ball on the backhand side to hit a forehand instead, often inside-out. Read the guide
- Scissor kick
- A jumping overhead where the legs switch in the air, used for lobs too deep to reach on your feet. Read the guide
- Second-serve points won
- The share of points a player wins when their first serve misses. Read the guide
- Seed
- Seeds are the highest-ranked players in a draw, placed so they can't meet each other in the early rounds.
- Semi-open stance
- The in-between stance that most rally balls end up being hit from. Read the guide
- Semi-western grip
- The forehand grip with the base knuckle on bevel 4, the tour's compromise between spin and reach. Read the guide
- Serve +1
- The server's first shot after the serve, planned together with the serve as one pattern. Read the guide
- Serve disguise
- Using the same toss and motion for every target so the returner can't read direction before contact. Read the guide
- Serve plus one
- Serve plus one is planning the serve and the server's next shot together, so the serve sets up the ball you want to hit third.
- Serve-and-volley
- A style where the server follows the serve straight to the net to volley the return. Read the guide
- Set
- A set is won by the first player to win six games with a two-game lead. At 6–6 most sets are decided by a tiebreak.
- Shamateurism
- The pre-1968 practice of paying top amateur players under the table while they kept their amateur status. Read the guide
- Short hop
- Taking the ball just after it bounces, the earliest possible contact. Read the guide
- Shot quality
- A measure of where and how hard a ball lands, with deep and fast the most dangerous. Read the guide
- Shoulder internal rotation
- The upper arm rotating inward about its own axis, the biggest single source of serve racquet speed. Read the guide
- Shoulder-hip separation
- The angle between the shoulders and the hips as the trunk coils, also called the X-factor. Read the guide
- Skid
- The low bounce of a backspinning ball that slides off the court instead of gripping and climbing. Read the guide
- Slice (backspin)
- A slice is a shot hit with backspin: the racquet moves high to low and slightly under the ball, so it floats and stays low after the bounce.
- Slice serve
- A serve brushed around the outside of the ball so sidespin curves it. Read the guide
- Snapback
- The main strings sliding sideways during contact and springing back as the ball leaves, adding spin. Read the guide
- Soft hands
- A grip relaxed enough at contact to let the strings give and absorb the ball's pace. Read the guide
- Spacing
- The distance between your body and the ball at contact, set by your footwork. Read the guide
- Spider drill
- A timed, planned agility test used to retest court movement every few weeks. Read the guide
- Spin axis
- The line the ball spins around, whose tilt decides how much of the spin curves the ball and how much pulls it down. Read the guide
- Split step
- A split step is a small hop timed with the opponent's contact. It loads the legs so the first step toward the ball comes faster.
- Square stance
- Stepping across with the front foot so the weight moves forward through the ball, also called neutral. Read the guide
- Standard formation
- The server about halfway between the centre mark and the doubles sideline, and the partner at the net guarding the alley and looking to intercept the middle. Read the guide
- Stiffness (RA)
- A rating of how much the frame bends, typically between about 50 and 75. Read the guide
- Stretch-shortening cycle
- The stored stretch of a fast load that feeds the drive, lost if you pause at the bottom of the bend. Read the guide
- Strike zone
- The range of contact heights where a given grip lets you hit comfortably. Read the guide
- Surface Elo
- An Elo rating computed from matches on one surface only, such as clay or grass. Read the guide
- Surface split
- A head-to-head record broken down by court surface, such as clay, grass, hard and indoor. Read the guide
- Suspended match
- A suspended match has been stopped, usually for rain or darkness, and will resume later from exactly the same score.
- Swing path
- The direction the racquet travels through contact, from flat and forward to steep and upward. Read the guide
- Swingweight
- A racquet's resistance to being swung around the hand, set by both its mass and where that mass sits. Read the guide
- T serve
- A serve aimed down the centre line, where the service box meets the centre service line. Read the guide
- Takeback
- The backward movement of the racquet before the forward swing. Read the guide
- Taper
- Cutting training volume while keeping intensity in the one to two weeks before a priority event. Read the guide
- Temporal occlusion
- A training and research method that cuts video at points before or at contact to test what a player can predict. Read the guide
- The Code
- The USTA's guide to fair play and self-officiating in matches without an umpire. Read the guide
- Tiebreak
- A tiebreak decides a set at 6–6. The first player to seven points with a two-point lead wins it, and the set goes down as 7–6.
- Time to net
- A tracking metric for a ball's effective speed after spin and arc. Read the guide
- Tolerance
- The maximum error a line-calling system is allowed, 5 mm under the ITF standard. Read the guide
- Top hand
- The upper hand on the grip, your non-dominant one, which in the most common style drives through the ball like a forehand. Read the guide
- Topspin
- Topspin is forward rotation on the ball. It makes the ball dip down into the court and kick up higher after the bounce.
- Topspin lob
- An offensive lob that starts like a passing shot, dips behind the net player and kicks away after the bounce. Read the guide
- Toss apex
- The highest point the ball reaches before it starts to fall toward contact. Read the guide
- Transfer
- How much of what you practise in a drill shows up in a match. Read the guide
- Transition cue
- The sign that it's time to move to the next act: a short, high reply or an opponent off the bisector. Read the guide
- Triangulation
- Fixing a point in space by crossing the sight lines from two or more cameras at different angles. Read the guide
- Trigger
- The ball that tells you to switch from building to finishing: a bounce inside the service line or a ball slow enough to step in on. Read the guide
- Trophy position
- The loaded pose before the swing, with knees bent and the racquet laid back behind the shoulder. Read the guide
- Twistweight
- A racquet's resistance to twisting about its long axis on off-centre hits. Read the guide
- Unforced error
- An unforced error is a missed shot the player should have made: the ball was playable and they weren't under pressure.
- Unit turn
- The first move of a groundstroke, turning shoulders, hips and racquet together. Read the guide
- Vibration node
- The spot on the strings where an impact makes the frame vibrate least, giving the cleanest feel. Read the guide
- VO2max
- The maximum rate at which your body can use oxygen, a common measure of aerobic fitness. Read the guide
- Volley
- A volley is a shot hit before the ball bounces, usually close to the net. It's a short punch or block, not a full swing.
- Volume
- How much you hit or train, as opposed to how hard. Read the guide
- Waiter's tray
- A serve fault where the racquet face points to the sky on the drop, like a tray held overhead. Read the guide
- Walkover
- A walkover is when a player advances without playing because their opponent withdraws before the match starts.
- Western grip
- The forehand grip with the base knuckle on bevel 5, which closes the face and favours high balls and heavy spin. Read the guide
- Wide serve
- A serve aimed at the outer corner of the service box to pull the returner off the court. Read the guide
- Win probability
- A model's estimate of a player's chance of winning the match from the current score. Read the guide
- Winner
- A winner is a shot that wins the point without the opponent getting their racquet on the ball.
- Wiper finish
- A forehand finish in which the forearm rotates the racquet across the body like a windscreen wiper. Read the guide
- Work-to-rest ratio
- The time spent working compared with time spent recovering, about 1:2 to 1:5 in tennis. Read the guide
- Working memory
- The limited attention you hold a task in, which worry can crowd out. Read the guide
- WTA
- WTA stands for the Women's Tennis Association, which runs the women's professional tour and its rankings. It was founded in 1973.
- Yips
- Involuntary movement disruption on a skill, ranging from a neurological, dystonic type to an anxiety-driven type. Read the guide