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tennis

/ˈtɛnəs/
/ˈtɛnɪs/
IPA guide

Other forms: tennises

Tennis anyone? Tennis is a sport that's played with a small, felt-covered rubber ball and rackets. The basic goal in tennis is hitting the ball across a net.

There are two types of tennis: singles, when two individuals face off, and doubles, which involves teams of two players. If you can hit a tennis ball with a racket, you can play tennis. Historians believe that tennis grew out of a 12th century French game called la paulme, "the palm," in which players hit a ball with their hands. The word tennis comes from the Anglo-French tenetz, "Hold! Take! Receive!" which players called out before serving.

Definitions of tennis
  1. noun
    a game played with rackets by two or four players who hit a ball back and forth over a net that divides the court
    synonyms: lawn tennis
    see moresee less
    types:
    professional tennis
    playing tennis for money
    singles
    tennis played with one person on each side
    doubles
    tennis played with two players on each side
    court tennis, real tennis, royal tennis
    an ancient form of tennis played in a four-walled court
    type of:
    court game
    an athletic game played on a court
Pronunciation
US
/ˈtɛnəs/
UK
/ˈtɛnɪs/
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