ball girl
Americannoun
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Tennis. an attendant, usually a girl or young woman, employed to retrieve balls and supply players with them.
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Baseball. an attendant, usually a girl or young women, who retrieves foul balls and brings the umpire new balls during the game.
Etymology
Origin of ball girl
First recorded in 1925–30
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Firstly, fourth seed Djokovic had a narrow escape when he recklessly cracked a ball close to a ball girl during his third-round win over Botic van de Zandschulp.
From BBC ● Jan. 27, 2026
As Alexandrova was serving for the second set to level the tie, the ball girl - stood beside the umpire's chair - fell flat on her back before quickly getting back up.
From BBC ● Jan. 18, 2026
Thibault-DuDonis became a ball girl on her dad’s team and became friends with players such as Lindsay Whalen and Brooke Wyckoff, who eventually became coaches themselves, and mentors to Thibault-DuDonis.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 21, 2024
The pair progressed Sunday after their opponents were forced to forfeit a match when Miyu Kato accidentally hit a ball girl in the neck with a ball after a point.
From Washington Times ● Jun. 5, 2023
Bouzkova said she did not see the ball hit the ball girl, but “she was crying for like 15 minutes.”
From Washington Times ● Jun. 4, 2023
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
