Both groundstrokes and volleys can be further classified as either forehands or backhands, with the classification determined by the side of the body on which the ball is hit.
Certain kinds of groundstrokes and volleys have specific names, so that tennis players can better communicate about the points they play.
Shots that touch the net and then land in their designated area are also considered good, with the exception of serves.
It is initiated by tossing the ball into the air over the server's head and hitting it when the arm is fully stretched out (usually near the apex of its trajectory) into the diagonally opposite service box without touching the net.
The forehand is struck from the dominant side of the body by swinging the racquet in the direction of where the player wants to place the shot.
For a number of years the small, apparently frail 1920s player Bill Johnston was considered by many to have had the best forehand of all time, a stroke that he hit shoulder-high using a western grip.
However, one hand is useful in that it can generate a slice shot, applying backspin on the ball to produce a low trajectory bounce.
The player long considered to have had the best backhand of all time, Don Budge, had a very powerful one-handed stroke in the 1930s and '40s that imparted topspin onto the ball.
A volley is made in the air before the ball bounces, generally near the net or inside of the service line.
The half volley is made by hitting the ball on the rise just after it has bounced, once again generally in the vicinity of the net.
The "tweener" is a rarely used shot in which a player hits the ball between his/her legs, generally with their back facing the net.
Also known as the between-the-legs shot or the Gran Willy (after Guillermo Vilas, an early pioneer), it is generally performed when the player must run to recover a lob and has no time to turn back to face the net before attempting their return.
[2][3] The shot was pioneered in the 1970s by Guillermo Vilas and Yannick Noah, both of whom claimed to have invented it; later players to use it include Ilie Năstase, Boris Becker, Gabriela Sabatini (whose version was called the "Sabatwini"), Andre Agassi, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Nicholas Kyrgios who helped popularize the shot.
Tennis writer Bud Collins named it in honor of Romanian player Ilie Năstase, who popularized it.