Name for a Tennis Shot

Eddie   Mon Apr 06, 2009 1:23 am GMT
The tennis shot he just performed was a ...

"Jumping one-handed topspin backhand drive volley short angle cross court passing shot on the run"

Credited to RoddickAce.

Do you need to be good at English to fully understand this or be good at English and have a specialised tennis knowledge?
Bob   Mon Apr 06, 2009 4:39 am GMT
Specialised tennis knowledge more than anything.
Robin Michael   Mon Apr 06, 2009 10:25 pm GMT
I think anyone would have difficulty in understanding this sentence. However if you break it up into smaller units it becomes much easier to understand without a specialised knowledge of tennis.


Jumping - one handed - topspin - backhand - drive - volley - short angle - cross court - passing shot - on the run

Each of the individual components is easy enough to understand.
Bob   Tue Apr 07, 2009 4:21 am GMT
Not really. Most of those terms are specific to tennis even if they appear as general sporting terms when isolated. When combined they do create a unique context in a tennis environment.

It looks like three proper sentences that have collided:
1. "Jumping one-handed topspin backhand drive"
2. "volley short angle"
3. "cross court passing shot on the run"

Those indifferent to tennis would guess what topspin of a ball is but not specifically how it got that way or its implication. A ball simply spinning in a certain direction wouldn't mean much to the average joe. The other terms around it also add meaning to it in tennis.

The other obvious generic sporting terms are "jumping" and "on the run" though "on the run" takes on its own nuanced characteristic when combined with "passing shot".

So yes a good English speaker would have heard of all those terms but not necessarily "fully understand" them without sufficient tennis knowledge.
Tim Henman   Fri Apr 17, 2009 9:35 am GMT
I didn't understand what RoddickAce said. Personally, I just hit the ball as hard as I can and try to get it over the net. When it works I scare my opponent by making a fist and looking down at the court.