The term “long” refers to when a player hits the ball past the baseline, out of the court, or “long”.

A “rally”, not to be confused with a volley, is simply when players hit the ball back and forth over the net.

“No” is just another way to make a line call, meaning that you missed the shot or that it was out. No and out mean

Not really a term, but hand signals, when used to make line calls, are something you guys need to know about.

“Good” is just another way to call the ball in.

“Wide” is a term used when calling a ball out that has gone, as you might guess, wide of the lines.

Deep has a couple of meanings in tennis. One is a line call, another refers to shot placement on the court. Check out the vid

Maintaining a good “Active Ready Position” can help your game tremendously.

Ready position simply refers to your stance while you are waiting for the next shot. A good ready position is key to playing good tennis.

To “recover” means to get back into ready position after you hit your shot. That’s it, simple as that.

In tennis, F.B.I. means “first ball in” and is used when beginning a match without warming up serves.

A double fault is when a player misses both chances to serve, resulting in a point for their opponent.

The contact zone is the area in which your swing can make good contact with the ball. A longer contact zone gives you more consistent

Open, when referring to string position, simply means that your strings are leaning back in the direction the ball is traveling.

Closed, when refering to string position, simply means that your strings are leaning forward in the direction the ball is traveling.

Square, when referring to string position, simply means that your strings are set straight up and down, not leaning one way or the other.

An open stance, or modern stance, is a way of standing to address the ball when you are hitting a groundstroke. Your foot position is

A closed stance is a way of standing to address the ball when you are hitting a groundstroke. Your foot position is “closed” when you

Squared up means that you are facing where the ball is coming from. Being squared up puts you in good position and gives you a

A moonball is a shot that is hit excessively high, not as a lob, in order to help a player maintain consistency. Don’t be fooled

Margin for error refers to how much wiggle room you give yourself when hitting a shot. More margin for error means you can be a

The baseline is the back line on the court.

It’s exactly what you think it is – the line down the center of the court.

The doubles alley, only good when playing doubles, is the space in between the singles sideline and the doubles sideline.

This is the very outer sideline on the court, used when playing doubles, or two against two.

The center hash mark is that little mark in the middle of the baseline.

Yup. It’s that big, net-looking thing in the middle of the court.

The net posts are what hold the net up – those big metal (or sometimes wood) things on either end of the net. Avoid running

The backswing is the part of your swing where you take the racquet back. Easy as that.

Ball tracking, or tracking, refers to how you follow the ball, reading height, spin, pace and direction, then positioning yourself accordingly.

A clean winner is a ball you hit that wins the point without your opponent getting a racquet on it.

A dirtballer is someone who is a strong clay court player.

No man’s land is the space between the baseline and the service line. Contrary to what you may have heard, you CAN hit from no

The service box is the part of the court where serves must land. Remember, serves must be hit to the opposite service box to count.

The service line runs through the middle of the court, roughly half way between the baseline and the net. It is the back boundary of

The outside boundary of the singles court is the singles sideline. Remember that if even the tiniest bit of the ball touches the line, you

The contact point is where the ball and the racquet connect.

Angle of impact refers to the angle at which the flight of the ball and your string bed intersect. Who knew you had to be

Greatest Of All Time!

A forced error is when one player hits a good enough shot to force his or her opponent into an error.

Grip has multiple meanings in this game. Check out the vid to learn more.

Groundies is just another term for groundstrokes.

Strike Zone refers to the area where you make contact with the ball.

String Position refers to how your string bed lines up.

The Sweet Spot is the area in the center of your string bed where, when you hit it, you get the best results for your

Swing Path refers to how your racquet moves through your shot.

Unforced Errors are a huge deal in tennis. Check out the video to learn more about what an unforced error is, and why it’s important

A winner is when you hit a shot that wins the point. Not much more complicated than that.

The backhand is the shot you hit on your non-dominant side. In this video I am talking about backhand groundstrokes, another term you can find

Shuffle is a term used to describe how we move side to side on the court. Being able to shuffle on the court can add

Ball Tolerance refers to how long you are able to comfortably stay in a rally. This is a big factor in reducing unforced errors. A

The forehand is the shot you hit on the dominant side of your body.

A Drop Shot is a shot you hit that drops just past the net, landing short on the other side of the court.

The serve is the shot that begins every point.

A Lob is a shot you hit in an attempt to get the ball over your opponent’s head.