What to do with "stallers"

[crosbydog]

So my daughter played up in a girls 14s tournament, made it to the finals against someone of similar ability. Whenever my daughter won a point or was serving and the score was ad in this person would turn her back and go hang out at the back fence for 8-10 seconds. My daughter did it back once and when the opponent turned around to see my daughter copying her she turned back to face the fence

Of course there was no official present, nor was there at the last tournament when this person walked off the court in the middle of a match.

According to Friend of the Court " the receiver should play at the reasonable pace of the server.".

[jonnythan]

You know, the rules already tell you how to handle this.

[crosbydog]

[quote=jonnythan;7032343]You know, the rules already tell you how to handle this.[/QUOTE


Uh, where do the rules tell you how to handle it when there are no officials present? I rarely post here any more because of the snarkiness of responses

[woodrow1029]

There is no set rule as to define "reasonable pace of the server"; however, the guideline we use is 12-15 seconds is considered reasonable. Of course, it varies. If a player is serving consistently at 8-10 seconds, and the receiver is consistently ready, and not complaining, then that could be considered reasonable pace for that match. If a player is consistently serving at 18 seconds or so, then, I would say reasonable pace for that match would be 15 second or so. And the player wouldn't then be able to quick serve and expect that to be reasonable.

8-10 seconds isn't really stalling at all. If this was a USTA sanctioned tournament, there would have been at least one official. If your daughter was bothered by timing, she is free to leave the court to seek out an official.

[10ismom]

Originally Posted by woodrow1029

There is no set rule as to define "reasonable pace of the server"; however, the guideline we use is 12-15 seconds is considered reasonable. Of course, it varies. If a player is serving consistently at 8-10 seconds, and the receiver is consistently ready, and not complaining, then that could be considered reasonable pace for that match. If a player is consistently serving at 18 seconds or so, then, I would say reasonable pace for that match would be 15 second or so. And the player wouldn't then be able to quick serve and expect that to be reasonable.

8-10 seconds isn't really stalling at all. If this was a USTA sanctioned tournament, there would have been at least one official. If your daughter was bothered by timing, she is free to leave the court to seek out an official.

It was a receiver who turned away to the fence and paused for a long time. Wasn't the receiver supposed to play at the server's pace?
My daughter faced similar situation a few times. It annoyed her but she usually just waited. Sometimes the receiver stalled to interrupt server's rhythm and she double faulted. Would you recommend getting an official if the person keeps doing that?

[woodrow1029]

Yes she should get an official, but like I said, reasonable pace isn't always the same. And if she's back there for 10 seconds and ready to receive at 15, that is usually a "reasonable pace". Now, if she's there for 20 seconds and the server is ready to serve for a while, that's different.

[woodrow1029]

Duplicative post.

[10ismom]

Originally Posted by woodrow1029

Yes she should get an official, but like I said, reasonable pace isn't always the same. And if she's back there for 10 seconds and ready to receive at 15, that is usually a "reasonable pace". Now, if she's there for 20 seconds and the server is ready to serve for a while, that's different.

Thanks for the answer.

[sundaypunch]

Originally Posted by woodrow1029

Yes she should get an official, but like I said, reasonable pace isn't always the same. And if she's back there for 10 seconds and ready to receive at 15, that is usually a "reasonable pace". Now, if she's there for 20 seconds and the server is ready to serve for a while, that's different.

This is within the rules, but will delay many servers. Some consider it gamesmanship. In my view, it is the smart play for the receiver to slow things down when things are going badly. I have seen some coaches recommend other delay tactics. Another classic is to hit a long first serve into the net and slowly walk up to clear the ball before the second serve.

[lala28m]

"Whenever my daughter won a point or was serving and the score was ad in this person would turn her back and go hang out at the back fence for 8-10 seconds."
If your daughter is serving... It's at her pace. I've seen girls just go ahead and serve when the receiver is stalling. Valid tactic. It worked. The statler was ready next time.

[lala28m]

*staller was ready next time.

[woodrow1029]

Originally Posted by sundaypunch

This is within the rules, but will delay many servers. Some consider it gamesmanship. In my view, it is the smart play for the receiver to slow things down when things are going badly. I have seen some coaches recommend other delay tactics. Another classic is to hit a long first serve into the net and slowly walk up to clear the ball before the second serve.

But it doesn't matter if it delays the server if the receiver is playing to a "reasonable pace".

[woodrow1029]

Originally Posted by lala28m

"Whenever my daughter won a point or was serving and the score was ad in this person would turn her back and go hang out at the back fence for 8-10 seconds."
If your daughter is serving... It's at her pace. I've seen girls just go ahead and serve when the receiver is stalling. Valid tactic. It worked. The statler was ready next time.

No it's not a valid tactic as the rule is that the server has to wait for the receiver to be ready.

[anhuynh16]

I know, it's a terrible feeling waiting for the person to return your serve when you're already ready.

Give them a stare or something when your ready..

[Rattler]

Originally Posted by anhuynh16

I know, it's a terrible feeling waiting for the person to return your serve when you're already ready.

Give them a stare or something when your ready..

Say the score, this simple (and required action) prompts the receiver that the server is ready.

[crosbydog]

Originally Posted by Rattler

Say the score, this simple (and required action) prompts the receiver that the server is ready.

My daughter said the score multiple times to encourage the receiver to turn around. She didn't. She also did the s-l-o-w walk to retrieve a ball she hit into the net.

Also even though it was a USTA tournament there were no officials and the TD didn't know the rules (as evidenced by his not allowing 2 other competitors to be coached prior to a third set tie breaker). I heard him tell his friend " the kids should just be allowed to play and told what they did wrong after the match".

Thanks for everyone's responses.

[woodrow1029]

What section was this? I have a very hard time believing there was not a tournament referee available.

[woodrow1029]

Also when talking about the third set tiebreak, do you mean a third set tiebreak, or a 10 point match tiebreak in lieu of a third set?

[sundaypunch]

Originally Posted by woodrow1029

But it doesn't matter if it delays the server if the receiver is playing to a "reasonable pace".

Yes, that is exactly my point. It is perfectly valid for the receiver to take 10-seconds to gather their thoughts and slow the pace of the server.

[sundaypunch]

Originally Posted by lala28m

"Whenever my daughter won a point or was serving and the score was ad in this person would turn her back and go hang out at the back fence for 8-10 seconds."
If your daughter is serving... It's at her pace. I've seen girls just go ahead and serve when the receiver is stalling. Valid tactic. It worked. The statler was ready next time.

If the receiver makes no attempt to return the serve then the serve doesn't count.