Tennis shot

In tennis, there are a variety of types of shots (ways of hitting the ball) which can be categorized in various ways. The serve is the opening shot of a point. Groundstrokes are hit after the ball has already bounced, and can be either forehands or backhands depending on which direction the racket is swung relative to the body. A lob is a groundstroke hit well over the head of an opponent who is positioned at the net. A passing shot is a groundstroke that is hit out of reach of an opponent at the net far to his left or right. A cross-court shot is a shot hit from the left (or right) side of one player's court to the left (or right) side of the other player's court (from each player's own point of view), so that it crosses the lengthwise centerline of the court. A down-the-line shot is one that is hit more or less parallel to, and near to, one of the sidelines, so that it never crosses the centerline.

Shots hit during a point without the ball having bounced are called volleys, while shots hit just a split second after the ball bounces are called half volleys. A smash is hit with the racket well above one's head with great velocity. A drop shot is a groundstroke or volley that is hit lightly so that it barely goes over the net.

A slice is a groundstroke or volley hit with backspin, while a topspin shot is a groundstroke or occasionally a volley hit with topspin.

Thus tennis shots can be categorized according to when they are hit (serve, groundstroke, volley, half volley), how they are hit (smash, forehand, backhand, flat, side spin, block, slice, topspin shot), or where they are hit (lob, passing shot, dropshot, cross-court shot, down-the-line shot).

All shots that pass either over or around the net and land anywhere within the confines of the court, lines included (except for serves, which need to land inside the designated service box), are considered good.

A serve (or, more formally, a service) in tennis is a shot to begin the point. The most common serve is used is an overhead serve. It is initiated by tossing the ball into the air over the server's head and hitting it when the arm is fully stretched out (usually near the apex of its trajectory) into the diagonally opposite service box without touching the net. The server may employ different types of serve: a flat, a top-spin, an American twist (or kick), or a slice serve. A severely sliced serve is sometimes called a sidespin. Some servers are content to use the serve simply to initiate the point; advanced players often try to hit a winning shot with their serve. A winning serve that is not touched by the opponent is called an ace.

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Wikipedia