🎾 Essential German Words and Phrases for Tennis Lovers

Are you a tennis fan following Wimbledon or the clay season? Do you play tennis yourself and want to chat about it with German friends or while on holiday? Learning tennis-specific German vocabulary will help you follow matches, talk tactics, and maybe even coach a friend auf Deutsch!

In this post, you’ll discover practical German words, phrases, and cultural tips to talk about tennis matches, equipment, playing styles and scores. So grab your racket — it’s time to ace your German tennis vocabulary!

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🏆 1️⃣ Essential Tennis Vocabulary in German

English	German
Tennis	das Tennis
Tennis player	der Tennisspieler / die Tennisspielerin
Court	der Tennisplatz
Grass court	der Rasenplatz
Clay court	der Sandplatz
Hard court	der Hartplatz
Match	das Match / das Spiel
Set	der Satz
Game	das Spiel
Tie-break	der Tie-Break
Point	der Punkt
Serve	der Aufschlag
Rally	der Ballwechsel
Forehand	die Vorhand
Backhand	die Rückhand
Volley	der Volley
Smash	der Smash
Drop shot	der Stoppball
Lob	der Lob
Spin	der Drall
Racket	der Schläger
Strings	die Saiten
Grip	der Griff
Tennis ball	der Tennisball
Net	das Netz
Umpire	der Schiedsrichter
Line judge	der Linienrichter
Ball boy/girl	der Balljunge / das Ballmädchen
Crowd	das Publikum

🎾 2️⃣ Key Verbs for Tennis Players

• aufschlagen – to serve

• returnieren – to return

• punkten – to score a point

• spielen – to play

• schlagen – to hit

• treffen – to hit (the ball)

• wechseln – to switch (sides)

• gewinnen – to win

• verlieren – to lose

• üben/trainieren – to practise/train

• zuschauen – to watch

• anfeuern – to cheer on

📝 Example:

Er hat den Ball perfekt getroffen.(He hit the ball perfectly.)

🏅 3️⃣ Common Tennis Phrases — Watching & Playing

• Wer führt? – Who’s ahead?

• Wie steht es? – What’s the score?

• Er hat den ersten Satz gewonnen. – He won the first set.

• Das Match ist sehr spannend. – The match is very exciting.

• Ein Ass! – An ace!

• Doppelfehler. – Double fault.

• Er hat Matchball. – He has match point.

• Sie hat gut aufgeschlagen. – She served well.

• Spiel, Satz und Sieg! – Game, set, and match!

• Willst du eine Runde spielen? – Want to play a set?

• Lass uns ein Doppel spielen. – Let’s play doubles.

🎾 4️⃣ Tennis Scoring in German

Here’s how to talk about points and scores:

• Love – Null (but “Liebe” is sometimes jokingly used!)

• 15 – fünfzehn

• 30 – dreißig

• 40 – vierzig

• Deuce – Einstand

• Advantage – Vorteil

📝 Example:

Einstand! – Deuce!Vorteil für Federer. – Advantage Federer.

🎾 5️⃣ Talking About Wimbledon in German

Use these phrases when discussing Wimbledon or any big tournament:

• Guckst du Wimbledon? – Are you watching Wimbledon?

• Wer ist dein Favorit? – Who’s your favourite?

• Ich hoffe, er gewinnt. – I hope he wins.

• Ich liebe das Spiel auf Rasen. – I love grass court tennis.

• Wimbledon ist mein Lieblingsturnier. – Wimbledon is my favourite tournament.

🎾 6️⃣ German Tennis Fun Facts

💡 Did you know?

• Germany has produced tennis legends like Boris Becker, Steffi Graf, and more recently Alexander Zverev and Angelique Kerber.

• Tennis clubs (der Tennisverein) are very popular, and courts are easy to book via local sports centres.

• After a match, it’s polite to say Gutes Spiel! (good game) or simply Danke fürs Spielen! (thanks for playing).

✏️ 7️⃣ Practice Tip: Write a Short Tennis Chat in German

Try this mini dialogue:

A: Spielst du Tennis?(Do you play tennis?)B: Ja, ich trainiere zweimal pro Woche im Verein.(Yes, I practise twice a week at a club.)A: Wollen wir am Samstag ein Match spielen?(Shall we play a match on Saturday?)

🎓 8️⃣ Ready to Practise? Learn German Properly with Us!

Feel comfortable talking about your hobbies and daily life in German — tennis included:

👉 Join our Weekly German Classes (A1–C2) — clear explanations, real-life topics.

👉 Try an Intensive German Course for fast progress — adults and children welcome.

✨ New students get 15% off their first trial lesson — just use code EARLYBIRD!

💻 All lessons are online — learn comfortably, maybe during a rain delay at Wimbledon!

📚 Keep Learning with Our Free German Blog!

Check out our German language blog ‘Auf Deutsch, bitte!’ — 500+ posts full of useful vocabulary, grammar tips, idioms, and cultural insights for everyday conversations.

🎾 Game, Set, Match — And Great German!

Next time you watch or play tennis, you’ll have all the right words and phrases to chat with German-speaking friends and fellow fans.

✨ Ready to practise? Book your German lesson today!