Ace
A serve that the receiver fails to touch, winning the point outright for the server.
Definition
In racquet sports such as tennis, an ace is a legal serve that lands in the correct area of the court and is not touched by the receiver, so the server wins the point immediately. The same idea appears in volleyball, where a serve that lands in play untouched, or that the opponent cannot return, counts as an ace.
An ace is a scoring highlight because the point is won without a rally, usually thanks to the speed, spin, or placement of the serve. In golf the word "ace" has a different meaning entirely, referring to a hole completed in a single stroke.
Where you’ll hear “ace”
Sports that use this term:
Tennis
A singles or doubles racquet sport that blends agility, strategy and stamina on court.
Volleyball
A non-contact team sport of rallies, jumps and teamwork — indoors or on the beach.
Badminton
A fast indoor racquet sport played with a shuttlecock that rewards agility and touch.
Pickleball
A friendly, easy-to-learn paddle sport played on a small court with a solid paddle and a light, perforated ball.
Explore across the knowledge base
Follow the threads that connect Ace to the rest of SocialSportHub.
Equipment
- Tennis ballA hollow rubber ball covered in felt used in tennis and related racquet sports.
- Padel racketA solid, stringless perforated racket used to play padel.
- Tennis racquetA strung frame with a handle used to hit the ball in tennis.
- VolleyballA soft, inflated ball struck with the hands and arms in volleyball.
- BasketballA large, inflated ball with a dimpled surface used to play basketball.
Rules
- Tennis serving rulesThe rules governing how a tennis point begins, including where the server stands and where the serve must land.
- Foot faultA serving fault called when the server's foot touches the baseline or court before striking the ball.
- LetA call that stops a point and has it replayed without penalty, used across several racket sports.
- Touching the netA net-play rule that penalises a player for contacting the net during a rally in net-divided sports.
- Three-hit ruleThe volleyball rule that a team may contact the ball at most three times before it must cross the net.
Scoring systems
- Tennis scoringTennis is scored in points, games and sets, using the distinctive 15–30–40 point sequence and a win-by-two margin at every level.
- Volleyball scoringVolleyball uses rally scoring, in which a point is won on every rally, and matches are decided over a best-of-five sets.
- Football (soccer) scoringFootball is scored by goals, with each goal worth one point and the team scoring the most goals winning the match.
- Padel scoringPadel borrows tennis scoring, counting points as 15–30–40 within games and playing sets to six games decided by a tiebreak.
- Table tennis scoringTable tennis is scored on every rally to 11 points per game, won by two clear points, over a best-of odd number of games.
Skills
- ServingThe skill of putting the ball or shuttle into play to start a point or rally.
- Net playThe skill of controlling points close to the net with volleys and touch shots.
- RallyingThe skill of exchanging shots back and forth to build and win a point.
- Ball controlThe skill of receiving and settling the ball quickly so it is ready to use.
- SettingThe volleyball skill of accurately placing the ball for a teammate to attack.
Tactics
- Serve and volleyAn attacking tennis tactic where the server follows their serve to the net to finish the point with a volley.
- Serve-receive formationHow a volleyball team arranges its passers to receive the serve and set up a clean first attack.
- Baseline playA patient tennis style built around rallying from the back of the court and constructing points with groundstrokes.
- Net playControlling the point from close to the net with volleys, smashes and touch shots to cut down an opponent’s time.
- Counter-attackWinning the ball and moving forward at speed to attack before the opponent can reorganise their defence.