Obliged to "cheat"?

[michael_1265]

Originally Posted by InspectorRacquet

What I'm really saying is that I try to be as fair as possible and I don't intentionally cheat. If you need to cheat to win, you don't deserve to win. And tennis is the prime sport to cheat in.

Agreed. My point is that there is a margin of error to what you see, and there are a lot of factors that play into it. Place 10 balls close to and touching the baseline, and then have a friend standing on the opposite baseline guess whether the balls are on, long, or short of the baseline. And those balls are stationary!

[Big_Dangerous]

Originally Posted by Caesar

So you called balls out that were in because you didn't like the promptness of his calls? Sounds like there was only one cheat on that court.

Personally if I was playing someone in league tennis who actually fist pumped after winning points I'd probably make late calls too. Its fun to mess with people who take things hyperserious. Doesn't mean I wouldn't make the calls accurate.

It seems you missed a lot of my post, and you certainly missed the thread where a roving official gave the point to the other person when her opponent didn't make a prompt and immediate out call... And it was a ball that was several feet out... The majority of these balls were ridiculously close..


This guy did it to me the entire night and he would wait until after he picked up the ball at the back fence to come back and say it was out... Come on, that's shitty sportsmanship anyway you want to look at it.

I also said that I felt like at least 4 shots I hit were absolutely in and he didn't give any one of them to me... Maybe they were, maybe they weren't, but the fact that he didn't make calls until way late is inexcusable...


I wasn't fist pumping after winning every point, just on shots that looked like winners and he called them out way late....

Reading comprehension FTL buddy... Next time, don't make a comment until you fully understand what the other person is saying...

[Bedrock]

Originally Posted by Big_Dangerous

This guy did it to me the entire night and he would wait until after he picked up the ball at the back fence to come back and say it was out... Come on, that's shitty sportsmanship anyway you want to look at it.

This is real sportsmanship.

[BMC9670]

Originally Posted by Bedrock

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Been trying to figure out what this means, but my age-to-emoticon ratio must be too high! Lil' help?

[DeShaun]

My current nemesis seems to possess the keenest eyesight of any of the numerous guys against whom I regularly play matches. He alone will almost always call a hot serve of mine out when it lands close to a line. He really seems to me to be giving himself the benefit of his own doubts routinely, he does not give me very many line calls when (I believe) he feels that my serve is picking up and about to get going for some cheap points. I realize that visual perceptions are subject to distortion given the distance between my baseline and his service box, and that sometimes a serve that looks like it's IN really isn't, while other times a serve that looks like it's OUT is actually in. Against this one guy, though, such close-to-a-line balls are almost always called "out" by him which isn't the case against all the other opponents that I play regularly. When I'm serving, their calls are more random and less uniform than those my nemesis makes. I do not accuse him of purposefully hooking, but I am certain that he is extremely competitive and these people sometimes see only what they need to in order to win.

[ttbrowne]

I am overly fair. My wife *****es at me for playing serves that seem in to me but she (a spectator) can see them as out. But this happens all the time, ya can't get every call right.

I'll only hook a person if I KNOW that they've made the wrong call on purpose. Such as a doubles opponent who is right on top of the line, the ball is clearly in and he calls it out. I'll wait for an in ball and call it out. What goes 'round comes 'round.

[dennis10is]

Originally Posted by ttbrowne

I am overly fair. My wife *****es at me for playing serves that seem in to me but she (a spectator) can see them as out. But this happens all the time, ya can't get every call right.

I'll only hook a person if I KNOW that they've made the wrong call on purpose. Such as a doubles opponent who is right on top of the line, the ball is clearly in and he calls it out. I'll wait for an in ball and call it out. What goes 'round comes 'round.

You need to think about your children. You winning a tennis match will benefit your children hence, you need to do everything you can for the benefit of your children. If this means you cheat to win, you must do it for your family.

[ttbrowne]

Originally Posted by dennis10is

You need to think about your children. You winning a tennis match will benefit your children hence, you need to do everything you can for the benefit of your children. If this means you cheat to win, you must do it for your family.

Ha! I can't stand my children (well, all but one) so I wouldn't do anything for them. My wife...that is a different story. Sometimes I need a ride home from the match so you might have a point.

[jdubbs]

I played a match Saturday, my first at 4.5.
I was getting beat pretty good, and I hit a netcord that dropped right in front of his side.
Somehow, my opponent got to it, and hit it back just over the net, but wide.
I called it out and he blew up at me. Really let loose and got very angry.

He was up 6-1, 3-1 at the time. Our next opponent was watching, and he told me later that it was out, he even pointed that out to my opponent.

I felt bad about the call, even though I was right. But it definitely put a chill on our friendly banter up to that point.

I guess that's the thing with me, I try to be a nice guy out there and pride myself on calling fair calls. And I'm nice to my opponent always, usually with a little banter.

It was kind of a bummer he thought I was hooking and I definitely wasn't.

[fuzz nation]

Didn't really read all the responses, but I'll throw in my $.02 in simple terms.

Tennis is special because when it's played without an official, the opponents must exhibit a significant level of integrity and mutual respect. We call our opponent's shots out there, not our own. That's a rare thing in sports, but it's also especially worthwhile. As a "tennis person", I take some extra pride in my sport because of the sportsmanship that's woven into the fabric of the game. According to its code, points are only earned and opponents receive the benefit of the doubt without hesitation.

Anyone willing to take up these responsibilities as a participant at least earns that extra measure of respect from his or her peers. Those who cheat in an attempt to get by out there are frankly disgusting. They have no respect for the effort and skill of their opponents OR the benefit of the doubt which those opponents are willing to extend them. They also don't respect a sport which spans the globe. I have no tolerance for such arrogant turds.

Anyone who believes they're "obliged to cheat" are cop-outs who are lying to themselves to justify their conduct. They have no interest in a true sporting contest where they're willing to put their skills and tactics up against those of a worthy opponent. They're bad for tennis. They deserve no respect or courtesy from other players if they think that they can chronically cheat. They'd be better off in some other athletic endeavor where their responsibilities are managed by a third party who carries a whistle.

On a lighter note, the cool people rarely invite the cheaters or weasels to their parties, so there's that...

[slice bh compliment]

Yes. Good point about parties. Nobody likes a liar/thief....or a hyper-competitive freak who will cheat to win.

I told both my sons when they were just starting with foam balls that fair play leads to more ladies and lots of drinks. Priorities, people. Priorities.

[USERNAME]

If I see the ball out, I call it, I don't hesitate even on very close balls. I have missed a few but they were honest mistakes, I've never intentionally hooked anyone. Now in dual matches and tournaments it's another story... I've seen it get really ugly, one guy makes a bad call then the other guy retaliates with a bad call and tempers catch fire.

[SirGounder]

I'm sure calling everything as honestly as possible can put me at a disadvantage. It has everything to do with a person's character in my opinion. Honest people are going to be honest in all situations.

When I play, I'll usually concede the close calls to my opponent, especially if I can barely get a racquet on it. I just hope that the same courtesy will be extended to me. It almost always works out. Occasionally my opponent has corrected me, or we play the point over.