TENN360 | THE FAN'S GUIDE TO THE TOUR
tennis is more than the score.
STRATEGY
ATTACK
Playing aggressively with the intention of taking control and winning the point.
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Stop waiting for the opening. Go and create one.
ATTACKABLE BALL
A ball that gives a player a realistic opportunity to attack.
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This is the invitation you've been waiting for.
BASELINE GAME
A style of play centred around hitting groundstrokes from near the baseline.
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Stay back, hit hard and make your opponent run for their dinner.
BREAK SERVE
Winning a game while your opponent is serving.
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You've just taken something that wasn't yours. And in tennis, that's very good news.
CHANGE DIRECTION
Hitting the ball into a different area of the court to move or wrong-foot an opponent.
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Just when they think they know where the ball is going — change the plan.
COUNTERPUNCHER
A player who uses an opponent's attacking pace and pressure against them.
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You hit hard? Fine. I'll send it back even harder.
DEFENCE
Using positioning and shots to survive an opponent's attack and stay in the point.
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Sometimes winning the point starts with refusing to lose it.
GETTING ON TOP OF THE RALLY
Beginning to control the exchange and dictate where and how the point is played.
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The rally has a boss now — and it's starting to look like them.
GETTING THE FIRST STRIKE
Playing the first aggressive shot that puts an opponent under pressure and begins to take control of the point.
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The rally has barely started and someone's already throwing the first punch.
HOLES IN HIS/HER GAME
Weaknesses or areas of a player's game that an opponent can exploit.
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Every player has a few gaps. The clever opponent goes looking for them.
NEUTRAL BALL
A shot that neither player clearly controls the point with.
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Nobody is winning the argument yet. Keep going.
OPEN COURT
An area of the court left uncovered by the opponent.
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See that empty space? That's where the ball wants to go.
PATTERNS OF PLAY
Recurring tactical sequences a player uses to create or exploit opportunities.
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Watch closely and you'll start seeing the plan hiding inside the points.
PLAYING PERCENTAGES
Choosing higher-percentage shots and tactics that reduce unnecessary risk.
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Sometimes the smartest shot isn't the spectacular one.
PUT PRESSURE ON THE SERVE
Return and play aggressively enough to make it difficult for the server to comfortably hold.
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Make the server think about every single ball. That's pressure.
RALLY
A sequence of shots exchanged between players before a point ends.
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The bit where both players refuse to give the ball back.
RALLY PATTERN
A repeated sequence of shots or tactics a player uses to construct points.
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Good players don't just hit balls. They build points.
RALLY TOLERANCE
A player's ability to maintain consistency through long exchanges without making an error.
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How long can you keep hitting the ball before someone blinks?
REDIRECTION
Using an opponent's pace or direction to send the ball somewhere else on the court.
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Why fight the pace when you can simply borrow it?
SERVE + 1
A planned first shot after the serve, designed to take control of the point.
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The serve starts the conversation. The next shot makes the point interesting.
SERVE AND VOLLEY
A tactic where a player serves and immediately moves towards the net to volley.
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Serve, charge forward and don't hang around at the back.
SERVE PATTERN
A planned combination of serve placement and the following shot.
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The serve is only the opening move. There's usually a plan for what comes next.
SERVE PLACEMENT
Choosing where within the service box to direct a serve.
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It's not just about how hard you serve. It's about where you put it.
SHORT BALL
A ball that lands relatively close to the net and gives the opponent an opportunity to attack.
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The invitation your opponent has been waiting for.
TAKE THE BALL EARLY
To hit the ball soon after it bounces, giving the opponent less time to react.
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Don't wait for the ball to come to you. Meet it before it gets comfortable.
TARGETTING THE BACKHAND
Repeatedly directing shots towards an opponent's backhand side to create pressure or an opening.
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Find the weakness. Then, politely but repeatedly, go there.
TRANSITION GAME
The phase of play where a player moves from defence into attack.
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The clever bit where surviving suddenly turns into taking control.
WRONG-FOOT
Hit the ball in the opposite direction to where the opponent is moving or expecting it.
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They've gone left. The ball goes right. Thank you very much.
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