Tennis vocabulary is dense, and most of it goes unexplained because everyone assumes you already know. This glossary groups the terms by context — scoring, shots, the court, formats, and slang — so you can find what you need rather than reading an alphabetical list end to end.
Scoring terms
Love — Zero. "Thirty–love" means the server leads two points to none.
15 / 30 / 40 — The first, second, and third points won in a game. A historical convention, not a running total.
Deuce — 40–40. From here a player must win two consecutive points to take the game.
Advantage (ad) — The point won immediately after deuce. "Ad in" means the server has it; "ad out" means the receiver does.
Game point — A point that, if won, wins the current game.
Set point / match point — The same idea one and two levels up.
Break point — A point that, if won by the receiver, wins the game against the server's serve.
Break of serve — Winning a game in which your opponent served. The central currency of a set.
Hold — Winning your own service game, which is the expected outcome.
Tiebreak — Played at 6–6 to decide a set. First to seven points, win by two.
Match tiebreak — A first-to-ten tiebreak replacing a full deciding set. Common in club and doubles formats.
No-ad — A format where deuce is settled by a single deciding point instead of requiring two in a row.
For how these fit together in a live match, see how to keep score in tennis.
Serving terms
Ace — A serve the receiver does not touch. An outright winner.
Fault — A serve that misses the correct service box. You get two attempts.
Double fault — Both serves faulted, handing the opponent the point.
Let — A serve that clips the net cord and still lands in. It is replayed with no penalty. "Let" is also called when a point is interrupted and must be replayed.
First serve / second serve — The two attempts. First serves are typically hit harder; second serves prioritise reliability.
Foot fault — Touching or crossing the baseline before striking the serve.
Service box — The area the serve must land in, diagonally opposite the server.
Kick serve — A heavily topspun serve that bounces high, often used as a safer second serve.
Slice serve — A sidespin serve that curves and stays low, used to pull the receiver wide.
Shot names
Forehand — A groundstroke hit on your dominant side, palm facing the direction of the swing.
Backhand — A groundstroke on the non-dominant side, one- or two-handed.
Groundstroke — Any shot struck after the ball bounces.
Volley — A shot hit before the ball bounces, usually near the net.
Half volley — Struck immediately after the bounce, at the pick-up point. Difficult and usually defensive.
Overhead / smash — A powerful shot hit above the head, typically punishing a short lob.
Lob — A high ball played over an opponent at the net.
Drop shot — A softly struck ball landing just over the net, designed to pull a deep opponent forward.
Approach shot — A shot hit while moving forward, intended to set up a net position.
Passing shot — A groundstroke hit past a net-rushing opponent.
Topspin — Forward rotation that makes the ball dip into court and bounce high.
Slice — Backspin that keeps the ball low and slows the pace.
Winner — A shot the opponent cannot reach.
Unforced error — A missed shot with no real pressure from the opponent. The stat most club players should watch.
Court areas
Baseline — The back line, where most rallies are played from.
Service line — The line marking the back of the service boxes.
Centre mark — The small mark bisecting the baseline, defining which side you serve from.
Deuce court — The right-hand side of the court as you face the net. All deuce points are served here.
Ad court — The left-hand side, where advantage points are served.
Alley (tramlines) — The side strips that are in play for doubles but out for singles.
No-man's-land — The area between the service line and baseline. An awkward place to be caught.
Format and competition terms
Best of three / best of five — How many sets are needed to win the match.
Pro set — A single long set, usually to eight or ten games.
Round robin — Every player in a group plays every other player.
Seed — A ranked player positioned in the draw to avoid early meetings with other strong players.
Bye — Advancing a round without playing, due to draw size.
Wild card — A discretionary entry granted by the tournament.
Qualifying — A preliminary event awarding the last main-draw places.
UTR / NTRP — The two dominant rating systems in US tennis. Compared in UTR vs NTRP.
Slang you will hear courtside
Bagel — Winning or losing a set 6–0.
Breadstick — A set won 6–1.
Golden set — Winning a set without conceding a single point. Vanishingly rare.
Pusher — A player who wins by returning everything and waiting for errors rather than hitting winners.
Moonball — A very high, deep, heavily topspun shot used to disrupt rhythm.
Shank — A badly mis-struck ball off the frame.
Choke — Playing tightly under pressure, usually at the end of a set.
Tank — Giving up on a match or set.
Hitting partner — Someone you play with for practice rather than competition.
Sandbagging — Deliberately under-rating yourself to compete in an easier division.
Learning the vocabulary faster
Terminology sticks when it is attached to something that happened to you. The fastest route is simply playing and calling the score aloud every point — you will absorb "deuce," "ad out," and "break point" within a handful of matches, because you will be saying them. Keeping a record of your matches helps too: seeing your own unforced errors or break points converted written down attaches the word to a real memory rather than a definition.