No man's land

That portion of a court just about midway between the net and the baseline. The term, borrowed from military vernacular, depicts the area on a court where one ought not to encamp, because it's a hazardous position. A person standing flat-footed there is too far forward to take a ball comfortably on the bounce, but not far enough forward to be able to volley one effectively. He/she is often forced to play a half-volley, usually a defensive shot that is more likely to lead to a losing point than a winning one.