The Oxford English dictionary defines the word “ace” as: “A service that is too good for the opponent to return”.

In the world of professional tennis, the fastest serve recorded by a male player, was in 2012 by Sam Groth (Australian) with a speed of 163.7 miles per hour. The women’s record is held by Sabine Lisicki (German) with a speed of 131 miles per hour clocked in 2014.

Many of us would love to emulate the pros in this field; and my observations thus far would indicate that it is the female gender of our club members who are “dishing up” most of the blistering serves, sans riposte.

Fire an ace, and the perpetrator will be rewarded with a warm, smug feeling of euphoria; followed by a few moments to bask in the ensuing accolades.

For the unfortunate soul at the other end however, this can be a real test of moral fibre; and a variety of responses noted below bear testament to this :-

-The ultra sports person will happily acknowledge when beaten by fire power and proffer deserved congratulations.

-Then there are those who display a sheepish grin and gasp with exaggeration at having been caught “napping” – preoccupied by thoughts of what to cook for supper later.

-“Sun was in my eyes!” Oh that old chestnut. This is when players’ abilities to accept with grace starts to degenerate.

-“OUT!”

Well, if you choose to adopt this tactic every time, do so at your peril. Bear in mind your tea may not taste so good at the half time break and you may find yourself omitted from the cake tin when passed around.

Of course not every ace is dished up like a cannon ball. There are some who have an uncanny knack of being able to issue what can best be described as the “dribbler”.

There you are, positioned two paces behind the baseline, bent over almost double, concentration furrowed on your brow. Meanwhile, your opposite number pontificates with a pre-serve ritual – a tweak of the panty line, the interminable juggle of balls before releasing the most pathetic dolly of a serve.

Your options are twofold:

• Remain rooted to the spot, observe ball as it bounces thrice or more before reaching your domain, when you can then kick the offending article with disdain into the garden next door.
• Embark on the mother of all sprints and with Herculean effort, reach the target and make good your return, to much applause.

Next time I will be exploring language and behaviour on court.

Written by Annette Court; Edited by Miss Ena Racquet; Illustrations by Nicholas Player

Did you know?

Former Wimbledon champion Andy Murray announced back in September 2015 that he would donate £50 for every ace he hit in competition until the end of the calendar year, to UNICEF, to assist children whose lives have been torn apart by the Syrian conflict. In January 2016, the Daily Telegraph reported that he had raised more than £80,000.

You do the maths!