Association of British Scrabble Players

Culture > Sport > Tennis


Now updated for CSW19. New words, if any, and new inflections of existing words, are shown in red.


ace the one in cards; (verb) to play a winning serve in tennis.
backcourt in lawn tennis, that part of the court lying behind the service line.
backspin a backward rotation.
ballboy a boy who retrieves balls during a game.
ballgirl a girl who retrieves balls during a game.
baseliner a tennis-player who stays on or near the baseline.
breakpoint a point at tennis that if won gives the player a service break.
dedans (Fr.) spectators at a court tennis match.
deuce the two in cards and dice; (verb) to bring a tennis score to a tie.
dink trim; neat (noun) in tennis, a drop shot; (verb) to play such a shot
dropshot a type of shot in tennis.
footfault a serving fault at tennis; (verb) to commit a serving fault at tennis.
forehand a type of tennis stroke; (verb) to play a shot forehand.
hardcourt of tennis, played on a hard surface. No -S.
overseed to seed excessively.
racquet a lightweight implement used in various ball games; (verb) to strike with a racquet.
runback the area behind the base line at either end of a tennis court.
sphairistike (Greek) a ball game that developed into lawn tennis.
tennis an outdoor ball game.
tennist a tennis player.
tiebreak a deciding game in a drawn match.
tiebreaker a deciding game in a set at tennis.
topspin a forward spin imparted to a ball.
volleyer one who volleys eg in tennis.
wristy played with the wrist eg a tennis shot.