tennis

Everyday

1. Tennis is a sport for two or four players who hit a small ball over a net with rackets on a court. tree →
2. Table tennis is a different game played on a table with small bats and a light ball. tree →

In the lessons

In PE and sport, tennis teaches hand-eye coordination; scores go love (0), 15, 30, 40, then game. Famous tournaments include Wimbledon in England, the US Open and the Australian Open. In maths, tennis scores are a fun puzzle because they do not go up by the same amount each time. Phrases: «play tennis», «tennis ball», «tennis racket», «tennis court».

Examples

• We play tennis in the park after school. tree →
• Pass me the tennis racket. tree →
• The tennis ball bounced over the net. tree →
• Wimbledon is a famous tennis tournament. tree →
• In tennis, «love» means zero. tree →
• She hit the ball hard with her tennis racket. tree →
• They played doubles tennis, two against two. tree →
• My brother plays table tennis at the club. tree →
• ‘Sire, this morning we were all playing tennis in the court, the prince and this gentleman with the rest, when there broke out some dispute about the game. tree →

Note

Uncountable: «play tennis», not «play a tennis» and not «play the tennis». In tennis scoring, the steps are 15, 15, then 10 (0 → 15 → 30 → 40), which can trap you in a maths question. Spelling: two n's in the middle, then -is.