After a few bouts of tennis in my friend’s tennis court (yes, he’s rich), I decided that the game was a lot of fun and that I’d like to start learning it for myself. Once I’ve gotten the gist of it, who knows, I may even place a few bets if I’m feeling lucky. Here’s a few terms that I’ve learnt on the way: Ball boy One of my other friends was conscripted into this role, as he only wanted to watch our game. This is usually a kid’s job; it’s typically a child who’s task it is is to retrieve any stray balls that have left the play area, as well as supplying fresh balls to keep the flow of the game running smoothly. There’s usually two per player, so four in total in bigger games. We just had to make do with one. A small, but vital role. If you’ve been examining the ATP tour odds, or even just watching tennis on television, watch out for these little guys. Backhand This is is probably a little self-explanatory, but here goes: a backhand is a type of strike in which the player uses the reverse side of the racket to hit the ball. It’s usually an involuntary movement that’s used as a last resort, when it’s just to late to use a standard stroke. My friend was using a lot of these, and very well too, much to my annoyance. The Aussies seems to love this technique and tend to punish the opposition, which you’ll soon notice if you’re into watching professional tennis tournaments, or even Australian open betting. Cross-over This one is a little iffy in that it can invoke a foul if done incorrectly. It literally means crossing over the net into the other player’s zone, which can be done in a non-threatening manner, in which it is not seen as a foul. If, on the other hand, you cross over with hostile intent, then you will be penalised with a foul and punished accordingly. This is, of course, up to the umpire’s discretion.