Entertainment / Tennis Glossary

Big Serve: A forceful serve, usually giving an advantage in the point for the server.

Block: A defensive shot with relatively little backswing, usually while returning a serve.

Breadstick: Jargon for winning (or losing) a set 6-1, with the straight shape of the '1' being evoked supposedly by the straight shape of a breadstick. The term seems to be used relatively rarely.

Break: To win a game as the receiving player or team, thereby breaking serve. Noun: break (service break) (e.g. 'To be a break down' means 'to have, in a set, one break less than the opponent', 'to . . . View Full Definition

Break Back: To win a game as the receiving player or team immediately after losing the previous game as the serving player or team.

Break Point: One point away from a break (expressed as the score of 30-40 or 40-adv); a double break point (or two break points) is expressed as the score of 15-40; a triple break point (or three break p . . . View Full Definition

Buggy Whip: Describes a forehand hit with a follow through which does not go across the body and finish on the opposite side but rather goes from low to high and finishes on the same side (similar to th . . . View Full Definition

Bye: Refers to the round of tournament where a player advances automatically without facing an opponent.

Call: An utterance of a line judge declaring that a play was outside of the play area

Can Opener: A serve hit by a right-handed player with slice landing on or near the intersection of the singles tramline and service line in the deuce court (landing in the ad court for a left-handed player).

Cannonball: A somewhat older term used to define a hard flat serve.

Carve: To hit a groundstroke shot with a combination of sidespin and underspin

Challenge: To request the official review of the location where the ball has landed after a shot using the means of electronic ball tracking technology. See hawk-eye

Challenger: A tournament/tour which is one level below the atp tour. Players compete on the challenger tour in an effort to gain ranking points which allow them to gain entry to tournaments on the atp tour.

Change-Over: The rest time between certain games when the players change ends.

Chip: Blocking a shot with underspin

Chip And Charge: A play which involves hitting a slice shot while moving forward and following the shot into the net

Chop: A shot with extreme underspin

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