double fault
1
2.8
- noun
- /ˈdʌbəl fɔlt/
- Jargon
:
doble falta
- In the crucial game, he worried that a double fault could cost him the set.
- double faults in a match
- committed a double fault
- points lost to double faults
Examples
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During the tense match, she lost the point after committing a double fault on her serve.
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But Ferrer had been able to capitalize and earn breaks on only two of them—and one through no great play of his own, as it was a Stepanek double fault that gave the Spaniard his first break.
Blog text (5) -
So what happens on a double fault?
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For example, the player with the lower mood disturbance score may have been able to come back and win the next game after a break of serve or the next point after a double fault.
Academic text (2004) -
On a double fault you go to sudden-death elimination.
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It was hardly surprising when he delivered three double faults and dropped serve to go down 3-5.
Blog text (5) -
The Russian led 18-7 in winners, but also 39-14 in errors (with 7 double-faults).
Blog text (5) -
In actual play, that difference could lead to fewer points lost to double faults or more points won due to placing the serve to the backhand (usually the weaker side) of a right-handed player receiving serve.
Academic text (2008) -
With the score tied, she felt the pressure mount as she faced her second double fault in a row.
Surface Forms
Morphology
The noun is transparently compositional: 'double' means twofold and 'fault' (in tennis) means an invalid serve, so a B1 learner who knows both words can infer it means two successive serving faults. This compound follows a common numeric + event pattern (e.g. Spanish 'doble falta'), so the logic is cross-linguistically accessible and not idiomatic.
Etymology
Double fault comes from a simple tennis image: a player makes two bad serves in a row, where double means two and fault means a failed serve. So a double fault means 'to lose the point' because of two failed serves.