Tennis is a popular sport that’s fairly easy to learn. All you need is a racquet, a can of balls, and some sneakers. Well, if you want to look the part, maybe invest in a crocodile polo shirt. Here are some tennis terms you can impress your doubles opponents with after a tough three setter. By the way, the name 鈥渢ennis鈥� is derived from the Middle English tenetz; the imperative plural of tenir, or “to hold.鈥�
We all know the conventional meaning of the word love. In fact, 亚洲网紅露点 has close to 30 different definitions/usages for the word. In tennis, it simply means that one player has no points during a game in a set. A player can lose a game, or a set, at love. If you want to think through a literal route, 鈥渓鈥檕euf鈥� means egg in French, and an egg does look a little bit like a zero. The New York Times says 鈥渟ome historians believe English mispronunciations corrupted the word.鈥� C’est incroyable!
A bagel is something you have with your coffee in the morning, but it also has a tennis context (although it鈥檚 very rare). This is when one player beats the other 6-0, 6-0. The two zeroes in the score resemble two bagels, and there you have it! There鈥檚 also, of course, a triple bagel鈥攍osing three sets by the same 6-0 score. Ouch! Time to take up golf instead?
This is a tennis-only term that you won鈥檛 need to use off the court, but if you get to use it in reference to yourself, we’re impressed. A golden set is when you win every point of every game. Four points per game, six 亚洲网紅露点 per set. Twenty-four straight points, which means some spectators are barely seated before the set is over.
One definition for poaching is illegally trespassing on someone’s property, to hunt or steal game without the landowner’s permission. And in tennis doubles, poaching is an aggressive tactic. One player strikes a shot towards a player on the opposite baseline, but the baseliner never gets a chance. His partner, hovering around the net, decides to intervene鈥攁nd sharply volleys the ball back. A poach is sharp, quick, and decisive.
Normally, the word let means to allow, or permit. If your serve touches the net but still lands in the service box, that鈥檚 known as a let, and you get to give it another try. Theoretically, this could happen over and over again on the same serve, but after the first let, or 鈥渓et cord,鈥� the serve generally clears the net, going either in or out, which is a 鈥渇ault.鈥�
Deuce has several meanings, all referencing 鈥渢wo鈥� of something. In tennis, if the score of the current game is 鈥渄euce,鈥� that stands for 40-all. In this instance, deux which means 鈥渢wo,鈥� is referring to the two points the player will need to win.鈥� But interestingly, the French don鈥檛 use deuce in their scoring, preferring 茅驳补濒颈迟茅, which means 鈥渆qual.鈥�
While your tennis 亚洲网紅露点 at the park will still have to rely on your own eyes, the Hawk-Eye is an extremely accurate computer system that is used to track the path of a ball for certain sports. Hawk-Eye is there to tell us whether a ball is in or out. If this had been in use when John McEnroe played, we may never have heard him yell his famous 鈥淵ou cannot be serious!鈥� at Wimbledon.
A theory about tennis scoring is it鈥檚 related to the hands of a clock. First point, you get 15. Second point, you get to 30. Logically, you鈥檇 think the next point in sequence would be 45, right? Nope. The next point is 40. While there are theories, the truth is that no one really knows why it is the way it is. It’s part of the charm of tennis! Or the confusion.
Food once again enters the picture. While we learned earlier that 鈥渓鈥檕euf鈥� means egg and two bagels look a lot like zeros, a breadstick is when you win or lose a set 6-1. The 1 in this case, you guessed it, resembles a breadstick. It could鈥檝e also been called 鈥渃elery鈥� or a 鈥渃arrot,鈥� one supposes.
A lob is when a player returns the ball to the other side of the court in a slow, high arch. You鈥檝e got your opponent well out of position, and they have to scramble back to try and put up a desperate return. This can lead to what鈥檚 known as a 鈥渢weener,鈥� which is a tricky shot, indeed…
One definition for tweener is an athlete who doesn鈥檛 possess 鈥渆nough size for one position, or enough quickness for another.鈥� But in tennis, this is also a real show-off shot, and a true crowd pleaser. Basically, a player has lobbed you when you鈥檙e out of position up by the net. You race backward and all you can do, besides praying, is flick the shot back between your legs. This must be attempted with extreme care, for obvious reasons. If you mess it up, that鈥檚 probably your last try.
The idea of a foot fault goes back to 1885, when tennis was quite the genteel sport. A foot fault is when the player鈥檚 foot lands on the baseline when serving the ball. You really don鈥檛 see this called a lot in tennis, but it does happen: Serena Williams was defaulted out of the 2009 U.S. Open when a foot fault call resulted in a profane tirade from the player. Love can’t always be the answer.
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