Short explanations of the words that come up in the lessons and on the sand. Every term has its own link.
The overhead attacking shot on a high ball that finishes the rally. Hit with an almost straight arm from the shoulder, with contact in front of you and above your fully extended reach.
In lessons: Smash: the basics
See also: From the shoulder, Contact point, Block
A high ball over the opponents at the net, deep into the court. Used defensively to buy time and offensively to push a pair away from the net.
Also called: Drop
A soft short ball landing just past the net. It forces opponents to run forward through the sand, which is harder than moving back.
See also: The net, Deceptive shot
Also called: Drive
A fast flat drive at net height whose whole purpose is to deny the opponents time to prepare.
A shot with almost no spin: the ball travels straight and fast. The simplest and most predictable trajectory, and the basis of the fast game.
In lessons: Serve: numbering and positioning, Smash: the basics
See also: Spin shot, Power shot
Also called: Topspin, Slice
A shot with rotation on the ball. Topspin drops the ball into the court and lets you hit harder; backspin shortens the bounce.
See also: Flat shot, From the wrist
Also called: Disguised shot
A shot whose preparation looks like a different one: you wind up for a smash and play short instead. It works because the opponent starts moving too early.
A defensive reply with no backswing: the racket is placed under the ball and the opponent's own pace sends it back over the net.
In lessons: Moving together as a pair
Also called: Diagonal
A shot along the diagonal of the court. The longest trajectory, therefore the safest — over the middle of the net and with margin to the lines.
See also: Down the line, Moving as a pair
Also called: Line
A shot along the sideline. Shorter and riskier than cross-court, but it reaches the opponent sooner — the punishment for a pair that has slid too far to one side.
See also: Cross-court, The rope rule
A shot played on the racket-hand side. Usually stronger and steadier than the backhand, which is why a contested ball down the middle belongs to whoever gets it on the forehand.
In lessons: Smash: the basics
A shot played across the body on the closed side of the racket. In beach tennis it is played one-handed and needs an earlier shoulder turn.
See also: Forehand
How you hold the racket. A universal grip lets you play forehand and backhand without switching — there is almost no time to change grips in beach tennis.
Also called: Preparation
The preparation for a shot: shoulder turn and racket taken back. The earlier the backswing, the more time is left to choose a direction.
See also: Contact point, Deceptive shot
Where the racket meets the ball. For most shots it sits in front of the body: behind you, both power and control are lost.
The net position is the main attacking position in beach tennis. A pair that has moved up takes the ball earlier and plays downward.
See also: Baseline, Moving as a pair
The back edge of the court and the defensive zone. From here you lob and keep the rally alive until a chance to move forward appears.
The area you aim the serve at. In beach tennis the serve goes from the baseline to anywhere in the opponents' half — there are no fixed service boxes as in tennis.
In lessons: Serve: numbering and positioning
See also: Serve numbering
Swapping sides within the pair mid-rally: the players change places to cover the zone that just opened instead of leaving it empty.
In lessons: Moving together as a pair
See also: Moving as a pair, The rope rule
The principle that a pair moves as one unit: the centre of the pair always shifts toward the ball, and both players go there together.
In lessons: Moving together as a pair
See also: The rope rule, Rotation
A mental image: a rope half a court long is stretched between the partners. One moves left, the other follows; they never move in opposite directions at the same time.
In lessons: Moving together as a pair
See also: Moving as a pair, Down the line
An agreed set of numbers for serve directions, signalled with fingers behind the back. The partner knows the direction in advance and takes position before the hit instead of reacting to the return.
In lessons: Serve: numbering and positioning
See also: Serve zone, Calling
Short spoken signals during a rally: "mine" / "yours", "out", "my left". They settle almost every contested ball down the middle.
See also: Forehand, Moving as a pair
A shot driven by the whole arm from the shoulder with an almost straight elbow. It gives the most power — this is how the smash and the serve are hit.
In lessons: Smash: the basics
See also: From the elbow, Smash
A shot driven by extending the elbow while the shoulder stays relatively quiet. A compromise between power and preparation speed, and the default in fast exchanges at the net.
See also: From the shoulder, From the wrist
A short wrist action with almost no backswing. Little power, but the direction stays hidden until the last moment — this is how deceptive and short balls are played.
See also: From the elbow, Deceptive shot, Spin shot