Tennis shots

There are eight basic shots in the game of tennis: the serve, forehand, backhand, volley, half volley (pick-up ball), overhead smash, drop shot, and lob.

erve

:"Main article: Serve"

A serve (or, more formally, a service) in tennis is a shot to start a point. The serve is initiated by tossing the ball into the air and hitting it when the arm is fully stretched out and pointing up in the air (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".

Forehand

:"Main article: Forehand"

The "forehand" is made by swinging the racquet across one's body in the direction of where the player wants to place the shot. It is considered the easiest shot to master, perhaps because it is the most natural stroke. Beginners and advanced players often have better forehands than any other shots and use it as a weapon.

There are various grips for executing the forehand and their popularity has fluctuated over the years. The most important ones are the "Continental", the "Eastern", and the "Western". For a number of years the small, apparently frail 1920s player Bill Johnston was considered by many to have had the best forehand of all time, a stroke that he hit shoulder-high using a "western" grip. Few top players used the "western" grip after the 1920s, but in the latter part of the 20th century, as shot-making techniques and equipment changed radically, the "western" forehand made a strong comeback and is now used by many modern players. No matter which grip is used, most forehands are generally executed with one hand holding the racquet, but there have been fine players with two-handed forehands. In the 1940s and 50s the Ecuadorian/American player Pancho Segura used a two-handed forehand to devastating effect against larger, more powerful players, and many female and young players use the two-handed stroke today.

Backhand

:"Main article: Backhand"

The "backhand", which is struck by swinging the racquet away from one's body in the direction of where the player wants the ball to go, is generally considered more difficult to master than the forehand. It can be executed with either one or both hands. For most of the 20th Century it was performed with one hand, using either an "eastern" or a "continental" grip. The first notable players to use two hands were the 1930s Australians Vivian McGrath and John Bromwich. The Two handed backhand was used more often since it allowed easy access to power and control. Players like the Williams Sisters, Sharapova, and Andre Agassi use this stroke to its highest potential to win some grandslams. Two hands give the player more power so it provides the player with an advantage on power-focused shots. However, one hand is useful in that it can generate a slice shot, applying backspin on the ball to produce a low trajectory bounce. The player long considered to have had the best backhand of all time, Don Budge, had a very powerful one-handed stroke in the 1930s and '40s that imparted topspin onto the ball. Ken Rosewall, another player noted for his one-handed backhand, used a deadly accurate slice backhand with underspin through the 1950s and '60s. A small number of players, notably Monica Seles, use two hands on both the backhand and forehand sides.

Other shots

A "volley" is made in the air before the ball bounces, generally near the net, and is usually made with a stiff-wristed "punching" motion to hit the ball into an open area of the opponent's court. The "half volley" is made by hitting the ball on the rise just after it has bounced, once again generally in the vicinity of the net. From a poor defensive position on the baseline, the "lob" can be used as either an offensive or defensive weapon, hitting the ball high and deep into the opponent's court to either enable the lobber to get into better defensive position or to win the point outright by hitting it over the opponent's head. If the lob is not hit deeply enough into the other court, however, the opponent may then hit an "overhead smash", a hard, serve-like shot, to try to end the point. Finally, if an opponent is deep in his court, a player may suddenly employ an unexpected "drop shot", softly tapping the ball just over the net so that the opponent is unable to run in fast enough to retrieve it.