A towel too far

[woodrow1029]

In Brisbane, ATP is 25 seconds with the new rule. WTA is 20 seconds with the old rule. Unless the WTA changed their rule before this week, that is my understanding.

[Relinquis]

Originally Posted by Bartelby

It could also penalize people who can't toss a ball into the air - V Williams and Ivanovic come to mind - which surely is fair.

I don't understand this reference. I'm not very familiar with the women's game.

[Bartelby]

Their ball toss is so shaky that they end up having to do it again at least once a game or so.

[Relinquis]

haha. that makes sense. thanks for clarifying.

[Bobby Jr]

Originally Posted by woodrow1029

I just hope it doesn't cause players to abuse the ballkid, start stupid arguments with te umpire, or make more dumb challenges.

This makes me think of an interesting avenue players could go down... as they're nearing their serve each time they could look up and ask the umpire to remind them the score.... Hey presto another 5-10 second leeway created.

[klementine79]

Originally Posted by vandre

it does seem like players are getting stupid about toweling. i know its hot in austrailia this time of year but i've seen players go for the towel after an ace. really???? one shot (or no shots if you're the receiver) and you're so sweaty you need a towel because your wristband and/ or your bandana have been completely overwhelmed??? heck, i remember lendl used to use his shirt sleeves! when did this toweling thing start?



i don't generally like the idea of more rules (especially when there's the possibility they might not be enforced uniformly) but i think it has gotten ridiculous and won't get any better if left to the players' discretion (i'm afraid). it seems like the kind of thing that started to help players be more comfortable on the court (which i don't have that much of a problem with) but its been abused to the point of being silly.

there's a huge opportunity here for sham-wow to get into the headband/ wristband game! someone call vince!

He shoots....... he scores!
+1

[sureshs]

None of you have ever played at any significant level, so you really are not is a position to comment on intimate stuff like sweating and toweling and their impact on performance at the pro level. If a rule is not working out, it has to be changed.

[cork_screw]

They use the towel not to just wipe off sweat, but to buy time to deconstruct the last point won/lost, buy time as a breather, clear your mind if it was an important point lost, think about the placement of the next serve. It really has more applications than just for wiping off sweat.

[vandre]

Originally Posted by sureshs

None of you have ever played at any significant level, so you really are not is a position to comment on intimate stuff like sweating and toweling and their impact on performance at the pro level. If a rule is not working out, it has to be changed.

yup, you're right. you got me. you've pegged the fact that i down a bag of doritos and a big gulp of mt. dew on every changeover and keep hohos in my racquet bag to munch on at my lowly club "hit and giggles"

really dude, if the rule is you have to have played tennis "at a significant level" (nice and vague term isn't it?) before you can have an opinion about anything, they'd better just shut this place down now! but since you brought it up, what would you say is a "significant level"? it must not be the ncaa because i've watched tons of DI ncaa men's tennis and those guys don't towel off after every point. the futures must not be significant either because those guys don't towel off after every point either.

since no one has really said it before, i wonder how much $$$ came into play here? were the powers that be somewhat concerned about sponsorship dollars? if so, could that possibly been a consideration?

[Virginia]

Originally Posted by sundaypunch

I may be in the minority, but I think that ball kids should not have to deal with towels. Leave one at the back of the court or on their chair and let the player be in charge of it. If they want to walk back and use it as part of their 25-sec. that is fine. This way there is no complaining about the ball kids taking too long.

Not to mention that it's not the most pleasant thing for a ball kid to have to handle a sweat soaked towel.

I've thought this for a long time. It's not just sweat either (which in itself can be pretty disgusting), but they sometimes even sneeze or blow their noses into it.

Originally Posted by Relinquis

why don't they just keep the towels on a chair/stool at the back of the court. that way, any time wastage is player related and the ball boys/girls can't be blamed.

In some tournaments they do have a box at the back of the court and some players do use it. I think they should have them everywhere and insist that the players stop signalling the ballboys to hand them their towels. Some players are downright disrespectful in the way they do it.

The ballboys are there to look after the tennis balls - not act as personal valets to the players.