Jucătorii reiau schimbul de mingi.

Because jucătorii is the definite plural form of jucător.

• jucător = player
• jucători = players
• jucătorii = the players

In this form:

• the first i belongs to the plural ending
• the second i is the attached definite article

This is very common in Romanian masculine nouns.

It is the subject of the sentence, so it is in the nominative.

The sentence structure is:

• Jucătorii = the players
• reiau = resume / take up again
• schimbul de mingi = the rally / the exchange of shots

So jucătorii are the ones doing the action.

Reiau comes from the verb a relua, which means to resume, to take up again, or to restart.

It looks irregular because a relua is built from a lua = to take, which is an irregular verb. The prefix re- adds the idea of doing something again.

Some present-tense forms are:

• eu reiau = I resume
• tu reiei = you resume
• el/ea reia = he/she resumes
• noi reluăm = we resume
• voi reluați = you all resume
• ei/ele reiau = they resume

So reiau here means they resume, because the subject is jucătorii.

Yes. Reiau can mean either:

• I resume
• they resume

The form is the same for eu and ei/ele in the present tense. Romanian often relies on the subject to make the meaning clear.

Here, because the subject is jucătorii, it must mean they resume.

Literally, it means the exchange of balls.

But in sports language, it usually refers to a rally or an exchange of shots. So the phrase is more idiomatic than literal in English.

Word by word:

• schimbul = the exchange
• de = of
• mingi = balls

In context, it is best understood as the rally.

Because de + noun is very common in Romanian to show the type or content of something.

So schimb de mingi means something like:

• exchange involving balls
• ball exchange
• rally

Using schimbul mingilor would sound more like the exchange of the balls, with stronger possession or reference to specific balls. That is not the usual idea here.

So for sports language, schimbul de mingi is the natural expression.

Schimbul is the definite form of schimb:

• schimb = exchange
• schimbul = the exchange

Romanian often uses the definite article where English might be more flexible. In a sports context, schimbul de mingi can refer to the specific rally or the rallying action that the players are resuming.

So even if English might sometimes say simply resume play or resume the rally, Romanian naturally uses schimbul here.

Because mingi is part of the phrase schimb de mingi, where de introduces a general noun after another noun.

Compare the pattern:

• o cană de apă = a mug of water
• un schimb de mingi = an exchange of balls / a rally

Here mingi is not meant as the balls in particular, but as a general plural noun inside the expression. That is why it stays indefinite.

It would be Jucători reiau schimbul de mingi, but that is not natural standard Romanian in this context.

Romanian usually wants either:

• Jucătorii = the players
• or a determiner such as niște jucători = some players

So Jucătorii reiau schimbul de mingi is the normal form if you mean the players resume the rally.

A simple learner-friendly pronunciation guide is:

ju-că-TO-rii re-IAU SCHIM-bul de MINGI

A few helpful notes:

• jucătorii has the stress on to
• reiau has the stress on iau
• schimbul has the stress on schimb
• mingi sounds roughly like meenj with a soft final sound

The full sentence flows quite smoothly once you group it like this:

Jucătorii | reiau | schimbul de mingi