Tennis, like all sports, has its own unique vocabulary to describe its rules, scoring system, and shots. The game is thought to have originated in 12th-century France, which explains why some English tennis terms are particularly unusual, as they come from Old French. If you’re new to tennis, the table below contains a list of 20 essential terms to help you follow TV commentaries and join in conversations about the sport.
TipIf you’re confused about the meaning of a tennis term, why not ask QuillBot’s free AI chat for a definition?
List of 20 essential tennis terms
Tennis term
Definition
Game
In tennis, you play points to win games; you need at least four points to win a game.
Set
You have to win at least six games to win a set. The first player to win an agreed number of sets is the winner of the whole match; in professional tennis, this is usually two or three sets (i.e., “best of three sets” or “best of five sets”).
Love, 15, 30, and 40
You don’t count points in the usual way in tennis: Zero points is called “love,” one point is 15, two points is 30, and three points is 40.
All
You can say that the score in a game is equal by saying “15 all,” “30 all,” etc.
Deuce
When both players reach 40, the score is “deuce.” From deuce, a player must win one point to gain the “advantage” and then win the next point to take the game.
Advantage
At deuce, the player who wins the next point has the advantage. If they win the following point (a game point), they take the game. If they lose it, the score returns to deuce. Play continues until one player wins a game point.
Tiebreak
If the score in a set reaches “six all” (6-6), you play a special game called a “tiebreak” (or “tiebreaker”). The winner of the tiebreak game wins the set. The points are counted normally in a tiebreak. You win the tiebreak if you have at least seven points and two more than the other player (e.g., 7-3, 7-5, 8-6, or 13-11). In some tennis tournaments, if there is a tiebreak in the final set—which therefore decides the whole match—you have to win at least 10 points.
Serve (service)
The player with the “serve” (or “service”) starts all the points in a game. The serve then switches to the other player for the next game and continues to alternate like this.
Break serve
If you “break serve,” you win a game when the other player has the serve.
First serve (first service), second serve (second service)
The player with the serve has two chances to start the point by hitting it into the correct box on the other side of the net. These chances are called “first serve” (or “first service”) and “second serve” (or “second service”). If the server misses a second serve, they lose the point.
Double fault
It’s a “double fault” when you lose the point because you make mistakes on both your first and second serves (e.g., hit the serves “out” or into the net).
Ace
An “ace” is a serve that the other player is not able to hit (e.g., because the serve is very fast and difficult to reach).
Rally
A “rally” is a series of shots. For instance, if each player hits the ball two or three times during a point, this is considered a “short rally.” If they each hit it ten times, then it’s considered a “long rally.”
Forehand
A “forehand” is a shot hit with the front of the racket, where the ball is to the right of a right-handed player or to the left of a left-handed player.
Backhand
A “backhand” is a shot hit with the back of the racket, where the ball is to the left of a right-handed player or to the right of a left-handed player.
Volley
A shot where the player hits the ball before it bounces, typically played when a player is near to the net.
Topspin
If you hit a “topspin” shot, then the top of the ball is spinning in the same direction as the shot. Topspin lets you hit the ball hard while keeping control because the spin makes the ball dip quickly after it goes high over the net.
Backspin (slice)
If you hit a “backspin” (or “slice”) shot, then the ball is spinning in the opposite direction to the shot. Backspin shots are typically slow and low and don’t bounce as high as topspin shots.
Baseline
The “baselines” are the two lines at either end of the court.
Smash
A “smash” is a powerful shot where a player hits the ball when it is high in the air above their head.
Language proficiency levels—such as “Intermediate High,” “B1,” or “Professional Working Proficiency”—describe your practical abilities in a language on a clearly defined scale. They’re used by employers and educational institutions to specify language requirements for jobs and academic programs. You can take a standardized test to certify your proficiency level in a language and include the result on your resume.
TipQuillBot’s free AI cover letter generator can help you craft a cover letter that includes clear and compelling descriptions of your language proficiency levels.
In language learning, speaking is one of the four core skills, along with writing, reading, and listening. Lessons and courses typically include activities designed not only to present and practice vocabulary and grammar but also to practice “doing” one or more of these skills.
If your goal is to improve your English speaking skills, focusing only on vocabulary and grammar isn’t enough. To build English speaking fluency, you need English speaking practice—opportunities to actually use what you know in meaningful ways as part of spoken interaction.
TipQuillBot’s Translate is a powerful tool that language learners can use to help them with their self-study and supports over 50 different languages.
The question Is English hard to learn? doesn’t have a simple answer. When considering whether English is a difficult language (and therefore how long it takes to learn a language like English), much depends on the learner’s first language: If English is relatively “close” to someone’s mother tongue, learning it will typically be relatively easy.
Like every language, English has both complicated and simple features, with the more difficult ones balanced out by the easier ones. As the well-known linguist David Crystal observes:
“All languages have a complex grammar: there may be relative simplicity in one respect (e.g. no word endings), but there seems always to be relative complexity in another (e.g. word position). People sometimes think of languages such as English as ‘having little grammar’, because there are few word endings. But this is once again the unfortunate influence of Latin, which makes us think of complexity in terms of the inflectional system of that language.”
Motivation also plays a key role in how easy a language is to learn. For many learners, English isn’t just another foreign language—it’s a necessity. Its role as the world’s predominant lingua franca provides a powerful incentive, and its global reach makes it easy to find engaging learning resources and opportunities to practice.
TipQuillBot’s Translate is a powerful AI tool for language learners and supports over 50 different languages.
Published on
September 30, 2025
by
Tom Challenger, BA
Revised on
November 4, 2025
The time it takes to learn a language can vary a lot, but if you’re an English speaker tackling a fairly similar language (like French, Italian, or Swedish), a good ballpark figure is:
190–250 hours to reach CEFR A2 level (roughly equivalent to Intermediate Low on the ACTFL scale)—a level where you can understand sentences and frequently used expressions about familiar topics, handle simple routine exchanges of information, and describe basic aspects of your life and environment in simple terms
530–750 hours to reach CEFR B2 level (roughly equivalent to Advanced Mid on the ACTFL scale)—a level where you can understand the main ideas of complex texts, interact fluently and spontaneously with native speakers, and produce clear, detailed writing or speech to explain viewpoints and discuss advantages and disadvantages of different options
These figures come from a Cambridge University Press research paper called How long does it take to learn a foreign language? (2018). The hours include both class time and self-study, and they assume good levels of motivation, an effective teacher, and solid learning materials. To put it into perspective, 250 hours is the same as doing two hours of class plus two hours of homework each week for about 63 weeks, while 750 hours works out to about 188 weeks.
TipLearning a language takes time, and QuillBot Translate—with support for over 50 languages—can help you make the most of the valuable time you set aside for self-study.
A strong thesis statement communicates the purpose of your essay or research paper, engages the reader, and anchors the structure of your writing. Learning how to write a thesis statement—and how to refine it as your argument develops—will help you stay focused and express your ideas with clarity.
AI thesis statement generators, like QuillBot’s free thesis statement generator, are useful tools for developing your thesis and expressing it as a well-crafted statement.
Thesis statement exampleWhile social media has democratized access to political information and broadened participation, it has contributed to the degradation of political debate by fostering misinformation and privileging emotional appeals over substantive policy discussion.
Published on
September 4, 2025
by
Tom Challenger, BA
Revised on
November 4, 2025
The internet is often the first port of call for language teachers and learners looking for resources like vocabulary and grammar activities and worksheets, lesson plans, and teaching and learning tips. However, the quality of online resources can be very mixed.
This list of 10 top English learning websites will help you find reliable, high-quality resources to support your teaching or learning.
The word into is a preposition that can mean “to a place within something” or “in the direction of something.” It can also indicate the result of a transformation or what something is about. When it’s part of a phrasal verb, “into” is a particle.
QuillBot’s free Grammar Checker can help you use “into” correctly in your writing.
Into in a sentence examplesThe cat jumped into the box. [Preposition]
Look into the camera, please. [Preposition]
Now chop it into pieces. [Preposition]
The results of a study into the long-term benefits of the treatment were inconclusive. [Preposition]
Rising inflation is eating into people’s hard-earned savings. [Particle of the phrasal verb “eat into,” meaning “deplete”]
Published on
August 14, 2025
by
Tom Challenger, BA
Revised on
October 23, 2025
Knowing how to revise your academic writing will help you produce clearer, more cohesive, and more persuasive texts. The revision stage of the writing process involves stepping back to evaluate the bigger picture and consider elements such as the logical flow of your arguments, the consistency of your thesis, and the clarity of your ideas.
QuillBot’s free AI writer can help you identify potential changes to implement when revising your texts.
Published on
August 14, 2025
by
Tom Challenger, BA
Revised on
December 17, 2025
Knowing how to write key takeaways enables you to capture the most important points from a talk, presentation, or meeting to share with others—helping to reinforce understanding, support decision-making, and ensure your main messages land.
TipYou can use QuillBot’s free Summarizer tool to help you extract key takeaways from a text or transcript.
