Glossary of Tennis Terms - L

L

• lansdorp shot: Stroke popularized by Robert Lansdorp where ball is hit flat with lots of pace, close to the net, targeted to a specific spot. Intention is to win the point outright in doing so either with this one action, or with this one act and the next, to end the point.
• lawn tennis: "Regular" tennis, as opposed to table tennis or real tennis, the game from which tennis is derived. Reflects the fact that the game was first played on grass.
• let (do-over): Call that requires the point to be replayed. This typically occurs when an otherwise valid serve makes contact with the net. However, a let call can also be made when there is some distraction to either player not caused by the players themselves, such as a ball boy moving behind a receiver, debris flying across the court in windy conditions, or a ball accidentally falling out of a player's pocket or entering from a neighboring court. The call is made by the chair umpire when one is assigned to the match, as in professional matches, or one of the players when there is no chair umpire. When a receiver is legitimately unprepared for a serve, a let is technically the result, even if the word goes unspoken.
• let-check: Electronic sensor on the net that assists chair umpires in calling lets by detecting vibration. Typically, it is used only on show courts in professional matches, like electronic review. Players and commentators occasionally complain that such devices are too sensitive, that is, indicate too many false positives.
• line judge: Person designated to observe the passage of tennis balls over the boundary lines of the court. A line judge can declare that a play was inside or outside the play area and cannot be overruled by the players. Line judges must defer to an umpire's decision, even when it contradicts their own observations.
• lob: Stroke in which the ball is hit high above the net. If the opposing player or players are up at the net, the intention may be an offensive lob in order to win the point outright. In a defensive lob, the intent is to give the player time to recover and get in position, or, if the opponents are at the net, to force them to chase down the lob.
• "lingering death" tie-break: Version of the tie-break played as the best of twelve points, with a two-point advantage needed to clinch the set.
• love: Zero (score) (e.g. "15-0" is spoken "fifteen-love"; "to hold to love" means "to win the game when serving with the opponent scoring zero points"; "to break to love" means "to win the game when receiving with the opponent scoring zero points"). Thought to be derived from the French term, l'oeuf, literally the egg, meaning nothing.
• love game: Shutout game, won without the opponent's scoring.
• lucky loser ("LL"): Highest-ranked player to lose in the final round of qualifying into a tournament, but still ends up getting qualified due to a sudden withdrawal by one of the players already in the main draw. In Grand Slam events, one of the four highest-ranked losers in the final qualifying round is randomly picked as the lucky loser.