Captains, would you default this match?

[drivophd]

In my experience, it comes down to communication. If the opposing captain is up front in saying “John Doe is running 25 min late,” I generally won’t take a penalty if we have the court time and my players are ok with it.

In this case, however, it sounds like there was zero communication from this player, who just showed up after 25 min without anyone knowing where they were. In that case, you have no idea where they are or if they will show up at all. You need to get the default sorted out in order to handle lineup adjustments and get the rest of the courts started.

 

[ChaelAZ]

We've never had anyone have that kind of issue. We start texting players 10 minutes before if they haven't showed up, and ALWAYS tell them the courts we are on. So if the captain didn't make every effort to ensure their player was at the right court, to me the default is justified.

If the opposing captain is up front in saying “John Doe is running 25 min late,” I generally won’t take a penalty if we have the court time and my players are ok with it.

And this too. We've had this come up often enough and understand traffic, work, etc. 25 mins is pushing it, but understandable at times.

 

[Vicious49]

I would normally side with the OP but there's too many holes in his partners story.

- 25 minutes? What local club takes 25 minutes to walk around? Unless you're playing at Flushing Meadows or Wimbledon it's not taking 25 minutes to walk to every single court at the club
- There was zero communication during this time?? Her phone was in her bag is a crap excuse. I would have immediately pulled out my phone and been like "I'm here but am an idiot and can't figure my way around this tiny club so please come and find me"

My guess is she showed up late but doesn't want to accept the responsibility. So in this case as a matter of principle she deserves the loss. Even if she had texted and said 'I'm in traffic, there's an accident, be there shortly' I would have given her the leeway. But to be late and not communicate is just rude and narcissistic behavior as someone else already mentioned.

 

[kylebarendrick]

Captain sends text, "hey the match is starting, where are you?"
Player responds, "court 2 where the receptionist sent me"
Captain "we are on court 7"
Player "be there in a minute"

Problem solved

 

[travlerajm]

Captain sends text, "hey the match is starting, where are you?"
Player responds, "court 2 where the receptionist sent me"
Captain "we are on court 7"
Player "be there in a minute"

Problem solved

The other court 7.

 

[ttwarrior1]

could she not find anyone else on the team there , should of called or called you

 

[jimmy8]

Captain sends text, "hey the match is starting, where are you?"
Player responds, "court 2 where the receptionist sent me"
Captain "we are on court 7"
Player "be there in a minute"

Problem solved

Apparently the female in this story doesn't know how to do that. Even though she has a phone in her bag. Even though it's 2023. Even though pretty much everyone looks at their phone at least every 5 seconds. Even though any sane person would take out their phone if it seems they are on the wrong court and they've been sitting at the wrong court for about 20 minutes. But this person couldn't figure it out for 25 minutes. Even if it was 1980 and no one had a phone, any person with a brain would be able to figure out that they are at the wrong court. OP said she didn't know anyone on her own team, that would make it more likely that she would talk to someone on the court she was sent to. And that would make it more likely that she didn't show up on time and that she didn't just quietly sit at a court for about 20 minutes watching 4 other players play on that court and not talk to anyone on that court. How likely is that? It's zero. I guarantee if you talk to the front desk of that club, they will tell you she showed up late. I guarantee you if you ask everyone else who was at the club that day if they saw her sitting at a court for about 20 minutes they would all say no.

Who goes to a USTA match, sits at a court for 20 minutes and just watches, then finally finds the correct court after 25 minutes? Nobody.

 

[Jono123]

If she's at the front desk she is on time. Many clubs have barriers and you cant just stroll in unescorted. Oppo team should show better sportsmanship. Perhaps that's the only way they can get a win.

 

[motherofdragons]

I’d never default a match if person was in transit. Especially if all players willing to proceed. Now if I had someone with a babysitter waiting at home who really couldn’t stay, I’d go with that player decision. Captains who default courts forget that we pay USTA to play and not the other way around.

 

[WYK]

Show up early to be on time. If I were the Captain I would have done the same thing. She wasted everyone's time(though I suspect it is the OP that actually was late).
Now, if I were the opposing team, and you showed up late, I would definitely have a few snarky things to say, but I would then ask the Captain let us play.
I came to play tennis and let my tennis speak for itself. I HATE walk overs or DNF's or Defaults, whether mine or my opponents.

 

[JordanWinning]

Show up early to be on time. If I were the Captain I would have done the same thing. She wasted everyone's time(though I suspect it is the OP that actually was late).
Now, if I were the opposing team, and you showed up late, I would definitely have a few snarky things to say, but I would then ask the Captain let us play.
I came to play tennis and let my tennis speak for itself. I HATE walk overs or DNF's or Defaults, whether mine or my opponents.

Why would I lie?

 

[badmice2]

on paper captains goes into default mode after 15 minutes. If captains are sticklers or are working within a time constraint they can play the rule. Additionally if all players gets there early and agrees to start the match, they may do so. Captains cannot force matches to start early.

On that note, it’s on the players to communicate. A little surprise there was no text or phone call to check. While the opposing captains comes across as offbased, I think your teammate did it to herself by her lack of communication.