Know your bagel from your moonball? Everything you need to know about tennis terminology ahead of the US Open

Serve, stroke and hotdog… if you’ve just got into tennis, these key takeaway tennis tips for beginners cannot be missed as we teach you the basics ahead of the US Open.

Tennis has a diverse and varied glossary which can seem baffling to the casual observer. So how does tennis scoring work? And what does ‘love’ mean?

As we head towards the US Open – live on Sky Sports – why not brush up on your terminology and then join us from Flushing Meadows in New York for the biggest tennis event of the year.

ACE – A ball that is served so well the opponent cannot touch it with their racket. An ace always results in the server winning a point. Milos Raonic holds the record for most aces hit in a best-of-three-set ATP Tour match with 47, breaking the record previously held by Ivo Karlovic.

John Isner (113) holds the record for the most aces served in a five-set match, during his epic first-round encounter with Nicolas Mahut at Wimbledon in 2010.

Ace Queen Elena Rybakina is the first woman to hit 300 aces on tour this season, and the only one to do so in each of the last five years!

AD – Short for Advantage. It is the point after Deuce. It means the player will win the game if they win that point.

ALLEY OR TRAMLINES – The area between the singles and doubles side-line on each side of the court. (The singles court is made wider for doubles play by the addition of the alley).

BACKHAND – The stroke used to return balls hit to the left side of a right-handed player (or to the right side of a left-handed player). Backhands are hit either single-handed or two-handed. Roger Federer, Stan Wawrinka, and Justine Henin are examples of players who have a single-handed backhand.

BAGEL – The name given to the score of 6-0 in a set, due to a zero being shaped like a bagel. Losing a match 6-0 6-0 or 6-0 6-0 6-0 is known as a double or a treble bagel.

Iga Swiatek is known for delivering bagels in tennis and she’s claimed multiple double bagels in her career, including the Wimbledon final against Amanda Anisimova, becoming the first woman to win a Wimbledon final 6-0 6-0 since 1911.

BASELINE – The court’s back line that runs parallel to the net.

BREADSTICK – When a player wins a set 6-1, allowing just the single game by the opponent. A double breadstick means winning two sets 6-1 6-1.

BREAK POINT – A break point is a point which provides a player the opportunity to win a game on their opponent’s serve.

DEUCE – Tennis scoring advances in the following sequence; 0-0, 15-0, 15-15, 30-15, 30-30, 40-30, deuce, advantage and game. Deuce, therefore, is the name given to a score of 40-40 in any game.

DEUCE COURT – The right side of the court, so called because on a deuce score, the ball is served there at the start of each game.

DOUBLE FAULT – When a serving player commits two consecutive service faults, awarding a point to their opponent.

DROP SHOT – A softly-hit ball that lands near the net after crossing it.

FOOT-FAULT – A fault called against the server for stepping on or over the baseline with either foot during delivery of the serve.

FOREHAND – The stroke used to return balls hit to the right side of a right-handed player (or to the left side of a left handed player). Forehands are commonly hit single-handed.

GOAT – It’s an acronym that stands for Greatest Of All Time. Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic are often referred to as the GOATs of men’s tennis, while Serena Williams is often seen as the GOAT of women’s tennis.

GRAND SLAM – The name given to the four most prestigious tennis tournaments in the world. They are the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open.

GROUNDSTROKE – A stroke made after the ball has bounced; either a forehand or backhand.

HALF-VOLLEY – The stroke made by hitting a ball immediately after it has touched the ground.

HOT DOG – The between-the-legs shot (also known as a tweener) is a shot where a player hits the ball between his or her legs. Roger Federer was a master of this particular type of shot…

LET – A point played over because of interference. Also, a serve that hits the top of the net but is otherwise good, in which case the serve is taken again.

LOB – A stroke that lifts the ball high in the air, usually over the head of the opponent at the net.

LOVE – A term used in tennis instead of the word ‘nil’ or ‘zero’. It is used to describe a lack of score in either points, games or sets. i.e. a game score of 30-0 is given as ’30-love’ and a set score of 6-0 is given as ‘six-love’.

MOONBALLING – Refers to a tactic used by tennis players to hit a high, looping shot over the net that lands deep in their opponent’s court.

NO MAN’S LAND – A slang term for the area between the service line and the baseline.

OVERHEAD – During play, a stroke made with the racket above the head in a motion similar to that of an overhand serve.

RALLY – Players hit the ball back and forth to each other. A series of hitting.

RECEIVER – The player who receives the serve. Also known as the returner.

SEEDING – This is used to separate the top-ranked players in a draw in order that they do not meet in the early stages of a tournament and create a fair draw. The top seed is determined based on current rankings, being the strongest player.

SERVE – Short for service. It is the act of putting the ball into play for each point.

SERVER – The player who serves.

SERVICE-BREAK – A game won by the player receiving serve.

SERVICE LINE – The line 21 feet (6.4 metres) from the net which divides the forecourt from the backcourt.

SET – A scoring unit awarded to a player who or team that has won: (a) six or more games and has a two-game lead; or (b) six games and the tie-break game when played at 6-6.

To win a set in tennis, six games must be won, and two or three sets win a match. Most matches are played as best-of-three or five sets.

SLICE – A shot that imparts backspin on the ball by hitting it with a high-to-low motion.

SMASH – A hard overhead shot.

SPIN – The rotation of the ball. (i.e. topspin or backspin)

STRAIGHT-SETS – The name given to a win in a tennis match without losing a set. 2-0 or 3-0 scores, therefore, are straight-sets wins in best of three and best of five-set matches respectively.

STROKE – The act of striking the ball with the racket.

TIE-BREAK – A tie-break is a method of deciding a set when the game score reaches 6-6. Players contest a first to seven-point game or 10-point game in a final set of a Grand Slam, with the serve changing over after the first point and then every two points. To win a tie-break, a player must be two clear points ahead of their opponent.

TOP-SPIN – Forward rotation of the ball caused by hitting from low to high.

VOLLEY – During play, a stroke made by hitting the ball before it has touched the ground.

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