Sidespin

A term that is used to describe the spin around the ball's vertical axis, imparted by drawing the racket sideways across the ball at impact.

Sidespin will make the ball curve in the air to the right or left. If the right side of the ball is moving in the opposite direction to the motion of the ball, the ball will curve to the right, and vice versa. A ball with sidespin will also tend to bounce sideways on the playing surface a little instead of straight forward, and do the same when hitting a racket.