1. Tennis Study Guide for Barrington Physical Education Classes

2. Basic Definitions of Skills  Forehand- –Player pivots the body so that the shoulder of the nonracket-bearing arm faces the net. The player then swings the racket forward to meet the ball.  Backhand- –Players turns so that the shoulder of the racket-bearing arm faces the net before bringing the racket forward and across the body to meet the ball.  Volley- –When a player strikes the ball before it bounces. The volley is most often employed when a player is playing close to the net.  Ground strokes- –a forehand or backhand shot that is executed after the ball bounces once on the court.  Rally- –a sequence of shots in tennis.  Serve- –a shot to start a point.  Mini Tennis- –Players rally from service line to service line using ground strokes and volleys.

3. Serves  A serve –(or, more formally, a service) is a shot to start a point. A player begins a serve by tossing the ball into the air and hitting it (usually near the highest point of the toss) into the diagonally opposite backside box. If the ball contacts the net on the serve, it is called a let. Players typically serve overhead, but serving underhand, although rare, is allowed. –For any given point, the server is permitted two attempts at a successful serve. A successful serve occurs when a legally-delivered ball lands in the cross-court backside box without touching anything in flight. If the ball lands outside the box, it is a fault. If both service attempts result in faults, it is a double fault and the point is awarded to the receiver.

4. Serving continued  A foot fault –takes place when the server assumes an illegal position while serving. A server's feet must not touch the baseline or the extension of the center line until the ball is struck. Running or walking while serving is not allowed.  If the server tosses and swings his racket but misses the ball, –it is a fault, but if a server is unsatisfied with his toss, and catches the ball or allows it to fall, there is no fault and the server may repeat the service attempt.

5. Serving Terminology  Ace- –a serve that is untouched by the opponent.  Break- –server losing his or her game.  Break point –one point away from a break.  Double Fault –hitting a fault on the second service. There server loses the point.  Fault- –an unsuccessful serve that does not start the pint because the ball does not land in the opponent’s designated service box.  Foot fault- –a fault caused by the server stepping across his baseline or the center line before striking the ball with her/his racquet.  Let- –when the ball touches the net but lands within the opponents designated service box. The serve is replayed.  Service winner- –a serve that is touched by the opponent, but not returned.

6. Parts of the Tennis Court  Alley- –zone between singles court and the doubles court. These are only used when playing doubles.  Baseline- –line marking the end of the court, at the back of the back court and the alleys.  Center line- –line dividing the two service boxes in the center of the court.  Service box –-area bordered by the net, the singles sideline, the service line, and the center line. There are a left and a right service box on each side of the court, separated by the center line.  Service line- –line located between the net and the baseline, parallel to the net, marking the end of the service boxes.

7. Tennis Score  A match –is won when a player or a doubles team wins the majority of prescribed sets. Traditionally, matches are either a best of three sets or best of five sets format.  A set –consists of a number of games (typically six to twelve), which in turn consist of points, with a tiebreak played if the set is tied at six games per player. Tennis scoring rests on the premise that serving is advantageous over receiving, hence it is only possible to win a set or match by breaking the opponent's service game at least once, before a tiebreak is required.

8. Tennis Score - Continued  A game –consists of a sequence of points played with the same player serving, and is won by the first player (or players) to have won at least four points by two points or more over their opponent. In scoring an individual standard game of tennis, the server's score is always called first and the receiver's score second. Score calling is unique to the sport of tennis in that each point has a corresponding call that is synonymous with that point value.  Point sequence- –0=“love” 1=“15 2= “30 3=“30” 4 = “40”,  If each player has won three points, –the score is described as "deuce" rather than "40–all". From this point on, whenever the score is tied, it is described as "deuce" regardless of how many points have been played.