In
tennis, there are a variety of types of shots (ways of hitting the ball) which can be categorized in various ways. The
serve is the opening shot of a point.
Groundstrokes are hit after the ball has already bounced, and can be either
forehands or
backhands depending on which direction the racket is swung relative to the body. A
lob is a groundstroke hit well over the head of an opponent who is positioned at the net. A
passing shot is a groundstroke that is hit out of reach of an opponent at the net far to his left or right. A
cross-court shot is a shot hit from the left (or right) side of one player's court to the left (or right) side of the other player's court (from each player's own point of view), so that it crosses the lengthwise centerline of the court. A
down-the-line shot is one that is hit more or less parallel to, and near to, one of the sidelines, so that it never crosses the centerline.