The Game and Its Formats

Singles pits one player against one. Doubles puts a pair on each side.

Source: General tennis reference (ITF formats of play) · recall

A mixed doubles pair always combines one woman and one man, and the two pairs meet each other.

Source: General tennis reference (ITF formats of play) · recall

In a standard knockout, one defeat ends a player's event. Only the winners reach the next round.

Source: General tennis reference (ITF formats of play) · recall

A round robin lets everyone in a group meet everyone else, so one bad day does not end the event.

Source: General tennis reference (ITF formats of play) · recall

Junior tennis is organised by age, so young players compete against others of a similar age.

Source: ITF, Junior tennis · recall

Seniors and veterans events let older players compete against others of a similar age.

Source: ITF, Masters Tour (seniors tennis) · recall

The draw is the bracket or group list that fixes the pairings of an event.

Source: General tennis reference (ITF formats of play) · recall

A wall session needs one player, singles two, and doubles four.

Source: General tennis reference (ITF formats of play) · recall

Junior events are for young players, open events for adults, and veterans' events for older adults.

Source: General tennis reference (ITF formats of play) · recall

Two players on each side of the net means doubles.

Source: General tennis reference (ITF formats of play) · applied

The return is the receiver's reply to the serve and is the first shot after it.

Source: General tennis reference (vocabulary of a point) · recall

A rally is the exchange of shots that follows the serve and return until the point ends.

Source: General tennis reference (vocabulary of a point) · recall

An ace is a serve the receiver fails to touch, so the server wins the point at once.

Source: General tennis reference (vocabulary of a point) · recall

A winner ends the point because the opponent cannot get a racket on it. An ace is the same on a serve.

Source: General tennis reference (vocabulary of a point) · recall

An unforced error is a miss the opponent did not cause. It is the opposite of an error forced by good play.

Source: General tennis reference (vocabulary of a point) · recall

One player serves to start the point and the opponent receives. They swap these roles between games.

Source: General tennis reference (vocabulary of a point) · recall

A net cord is a ball that touches the net tape and still lands in play. It often wrong-foots the opponent.

Source: General tennis reference (vocabulary of a point) · recall

A point starts with the serve, the return follows, then the rally continues until someone wins it.

Source: General tennis reference (vocabulary of a point) · recall

An unforced error loses the point, a good rally shot keeps it alive, and a winner wins it.

Source: General tennis reference (vocabulary of a point) · applied

Every point starts with the serve, hit from behind the baseline by the server.

Source: General tennis reference (vocabulary of a point) · applied

Brad Parks, a former freestyle skier, started wheelchair tennis in 1976 with Jeff Minnebraker.

Source: Paralympic.org, Sport Week: 10 things to know about wheelchair tennis · recall

Wheelchair players may let the ball bounce twice. The first bounce must be in the court.

Source: Paralympic.org, Sport Week: 10 things to know about wheelchair tennis · recall

Wheelchair tennis was a demonstration sport in Seoul in 1988 and a full medal sport from Barcelona in 1992.

Source: Paralympic.org, Sport Week: 10 things to know about wheelchair tennis · recall

Seoul 1988 featured wheelchair tennis as a demonstration sport, four years before it earned medal status.

Source: Paralympic.org, Sport Week: 10 things to know about wheelchair tennis · recall

Quad players have substantial loss of function in the upper limbs and at least three extremities affected. The division debuted at the Paralympics in Athens in 2004.

Source: Paralympic.org, Sport Week: 10 things to know about wheelchair tennis · recall

Blind tennis uses a ball that rattles or rings, so players track it by sound.

Source: USBTA, History of blind tennis · recall

The Japanese blind player Miyoshi Takei created blind tennis in 1984.

Source: USBTA, History of blind tennis · recall

The sequence runs 1976, 1988, 1992 and 2004.

Source: Paralympic.org, Sport Week: 10 things to know about wheelchair tennis · recall

Wheelchair tennis began in 1976, blind tennis in 1984, and the International Blind Tennis Association in 2014.

Source: USBTA, History of blind tennis · recall

Wheelchair players get two bounces. The first must land in the court, the second may land anywhere.

Source: Paralympic.org, Sport Week: 10 things to know about wheelchair tennis · applied

Padel is played on a court enclosed by glass and mesh walls, and shots may be played off them.

Source: International Padel Federation, Rules of padel · recall

Pickleball uses a lightweight plastic ball with holes, hit with a solid paddle.

Source: USA Pickleball, Official rulebook · recall

Badminton is played with a shuttlecock, which has a feather or plastic skirt and is not allowed to bounce.

Source: Badminton World Federation, Laws of badminton · recall

Squash is played with a small rubber ball inside a four-walled court, with no net.

Source: World Squash, Rules of squash · recall

In padel the server bounces the ball and strikes it underhand, below waist height.

Source: International Padel Federation, Rules of padel · recall

Table tennis is played on a table divided by a net, with small paddles and a light ball.

Source: ITTF, Laws of table tennis · recall

Players may not volley inside the no-volley zone, which pickleball players call the kitchen.

Source: USA Pickleball, Official rulebook · recall

A tennis court is about 23.8 m long, padel 20 m, badminton 13.4 m, squash 9.75 m and a table 2.74 m.

Source: ITF, International Padel Federation, BWF, World Squash and ITTF dimensions · recall

Squash began at Harrow in the 1800s, lawn tennis in 1874, pickleball in 1965 and padel in 1969.

Source: World Squash, ITF, USA Pickleball and International Padel Federation histories · recall

A net court fully enclosed by walls, with play allowed off them, is padel.

Source: International Padel Federation, Rules of padel · applied