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                                | Glossary of Tennis 
                        Terms |  
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                          Tennis 
                          - Glossary of Terms follows below: |  
                          
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                          O
 
 
                          
                          Offensive lob – played from an intermediate or 
                          offensive position, usually hit with a lower 
                          trajectory than the defensive lob, and intended to win the point. 
                          Often hit with topspin.
 
 Open stance – any hitting stance where the back 
                          foot is closer to the path of the ball than the front 
                          foot.
 
 Overhead smash – stroke played above the head 
                          with a service-type action, usually from near the net
 and in response to a lob.
 
 Offensive lob A lob that is an attempt to 
                          score, rather than being purely defensive. It's 
                          typically hit very deep into the opponent's court when 
                          the opponent is at the net. See also defensive lob.
 
 
                          
                          Offensive volley A volley, usually hit from above 
                          the net, that's meant to score a point. See also 
                          defensive volley.
 Open tournament In the early days of tennis, clubs 
                          held two types of tournaments: Closed, to which only 
                          club members were admitted, and open, which 
                          non-members could also enter. With the advent of 
                          professionalism, "open" came to mean a tournament that 
                          could be entered by amateurs and professionals alike. 
                          Today, all major tournaments are opens.
 
 Open grip A grip in which the racket face is 
                          tilted upward, away from the court.
 
 Open racket A racket held with an open grip.
 
 Out
                           
                          Descriptive of a shot that lands outside the 
                          playing area, wide and/or long.
 
 Overhead A shot hit much like a serve, when the 
                          ball is above the player's head, usually a smash. It's 
                          often used by a player at net or in the forecourt 
                          against a lob that hasn't been hit deep enough.
 
 Overspin Topspin.
 
 
                          
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