play tennis vs play the tennis

The correct phrase is 'play tennis.' In this context, including 'the' before 'tennis' is not grammatically correct. 'Play tennis' is the commonly used expression to refer to engaging in the sport of tennis.

Explained by Gregg
Editor at TextRanch

Last updated: October 06, 2024 • 13272 views

play tennis

This is the correct and commonly used phrase in English.

Use 'play tennis' to indicate engaging in the sport of tennis.

Examples:

I love to play tennis with my friends on weekends.
She has been playing tennis since she was a child.

Show examples from the web [+]

You can't go play tennis.
I learned to how play tennis by watching Wimbledon on TV.
I play tennis with David, occasionally.
I play tennis, run cross-country.
You play tennis, right, Trent?
Handsome, self-confident... does he play tennis?
I would love to see you play tennis.
And Lucy could swim or play tennis.
You and I really should play tennis sometime.
To play tennis for americana day.
I usually play tennis on my morning off.
I know he went to the club this afternoon to play tennis.
No, l plan to play tennis again.
To play tennis, we went outside and swung a racket.
Not being able to play tennis is huge.
I play tennis with Sting, for Christ's sake.
He can play tennis very well.
It is easy for me to play tennis.
I play tennis an hour a day.
Tom has a sister who likes to play tennis.

Alternatives:

participate in a tennis match
engage in a game of tennis
hit the tennis ball
have a tennis game

play the tennis

This is not a correct phrase in English. 'The' should not be used before 'tennis' in this context.

Show examples from the web [+]

OCH, BUT, ANGUS YOU KEN FULL WELL THAT SCOTSFOLK DON'T KNOW HOW TO PLAY THE TENNIS
You shouldn't play with the tennis guy.
His father plays tennis at the club.
Play tennis against the computer or a friend
- And I even play the piano and tennis.
Now, I been saving this favor, but... my cousin plays tennis with the dog groomer who leases his truck from Stedman's estranged brother.
Only a pair of cretins would play tennis in the midday sun.
I play tennis all the year around.
My job is to enforce the law, to make sure money isn't being wasted, or people go to prison for a quarter of a century because some woman who plays tennis in the middle of the day calls you by your first name, Aaron.
Play tennis with friends who play tennis.
Some boys play tennis and others play soccer.
You can't go play tennis.
I learned to how play tennis by watching Wimbledon on TV.
We are going to play tennis all weekend.
I just wanted my son to play tennis.
I would love to see you play tennis.
I play tennis with David, occasionally.
And Lucy could swim or play tennis.
I play tennis, run cross-country.
You and I really should play tennis sometime.

What Our Customers Are Saying

Our customers love us! We have an average rating of 4.79 stars based on 283,125 votes.
Also check out our 2,100+ reviews on TrustPilot (4.9).

"Thank you!"
Sachi Nakama July 2024
"I have literally been through chat, PI, claude, bard and bing and I got conflicting answers! Thank you! Human intelligence reigns!"
Retha July 2024
"Faster than AI"
CYNTHIA December 2023
"This was very helpful and I personally think this site is the best."
Kaden October 2023
"It was extremely thorough and very helpful!"
imperialelisa October 2023
"7 years without any disappointment. Always 100% satisfied. You guys are the best in the world at what you do. Thank you so much :)"
Zubair Alam October 2023
"In a world of text messages and online communication, this is great to have as a live tool. Thank you."
Selena October 2023
"Without textranch I would be stuck!"
宏祐 October 2023
"Accuracy and fast response. Personal comments from editor. Thank you."
Clh September 2023
"I wasn't aware of this service, it's fascinating and more reliable than standard IA tools available on the internet"
Arturo September 2023
"The fact that you can get reliable fast feedback on your texts."
Vinicius Antonio August 2023
"you guys are better than grammarly i'm being honest here"
ordinary July 2023
"OMG! This is really good than any other text correction tools I've used so far. Highly recommend this."
Vehan July 2023
"Very fast and accurate. thank you."
mojtaba July 2023
"I love this app because it's help to writing skills all of students ♥️"
Tarisini July 2023
"This was exactly the mistake I was looking for, the wording dind´t sound right at first. Better than grammarly!"
Ente July 2023
"The immediate help that I received was reassuring and very satisfactory. Thanks."
priiiyanshuu July 2023
"this helps A LOT for my studies."
kathnunez02 June 2023
"Woow!! I would never have expected such precision! Thank you soooo much!!"
Berta June 2023
"Real Time Editor and not AI. Many Thanks."
Priya June 2023
"The very first thing excites me about Textranch is how much your editors care."
sepideh June 2023
"The fact that texts are checked by human editors rather than by AI, etc. I appreciate this!"
Анна June 2023
"Feel welcome, immediate response, high quality feedback"
martin.roy June 2023
"This is the best app that I have ever seen"
Burulai May 2023

play tennis vs play the tennis

play tennis

play the tennis

Related Comparisons

What Our Customers Are Saying