Glossary of Tennis Terms - A

A

• ace: Serve where the tennis ball is served in and not touched by the receiver. Aces are usually powerful and generally land on or near one of the corners at the back of the service box.
• action: Synonym for spin.
• ad court: Left side of the court of each player, so called because the "ad" ("advantage") point immediately following a deuce is always served to this side of the court.
• advantage: When one player wins the first point from a deuce and needs one more point to win the game; not applicable when using deciding points.
• advantage set: Set won by a player/team having won at least six games with a two-game advantage over the opponent(s). Final sets in the singles draws of the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon, and the tennis Olympic event, as well as the Davis Cup, are all advantage sets.
• all: Used by the chair umpire to announce scores when both players have the same number of points or the same number of games: 30–all (30–30), 15–all (15–15), two games all, four games all, etc. When both players are at 40, the preferred term is deuce.
• all-court: Style of play that is a composite of all the different playing styles, which includes baseline, transition, and serve and volley styles.
• alley: Area of the court between the singles and the doubles sidelines, also known as the tramlines, especially in Australia.
• alternate: Player or team that gains acceptance into the main draw of a tournament when a main draw player or team withdraws, when there is no qualifying tournament which could provide a lucky loser instead.
• approach shot: Shot used as a setup as the player runs up to the net, often using underspin or topspin.
• ATP: Association of Tennis Professionals, the main organizing body of men's professional tennis; governs the ATP World Tour with the largest tournaments for men.
• ATP Champions Race: ATP point ranking system that starts at the beginning of the year and by the end of the year mirrors the ATP entry system ranking. Prior to 2009, the top eight players at the end of the year qualified for the Tennis Masters Cup.
• Australian formation: In doubles, a formation where the server and partner stand on the same side of the court (deuce or advantage court) before starting the point.