Surely there must be a rule against this

[CaldwellYSR]

Originally Posted by Cindysphinx

Tapping the ball into the net is fine, but I personally don't do that. I would rather not have a ball lying near the net during the point, especially outdoors where the wind might blow it.

If you want to look ultra-cool and dead sexy, backspin the serve to yourself and then pocket it. The women will go wild.

Typically I just miss the ball completely and drop my head in shame maybe that's just me though

[OrangePower]

Originally Posted by Cindysphinx

Tapping the ball into the net is fine, but I personally don't do that. I would rather not have a ball lying near the net during the point, especially outdoors where the wind might blow it.

If you want to look ultra-cool and dead sexy, backspin the serve to yourself and then pocket it. The women will go wild.

Ha, that's what I do But only on the BH side. On the FH side I block the ball directly downwards so that it bounces into my hand. Can't block downwards on the BH side though because of the grip I use, so instead I block-slice it 5-10 feet up and in front of me and have it come back to me on the bounce.

Now, can someone please point out all the women who are supposedly going wild while I'm doing this?

[Jack the Hack]

Originally Posted by Cindysphinx

Since so many people have mentioned that they would respond with some form of violence, I guess we should talk about that.

I'm not like that. I do not punch people. I do not get up in their faces, flip people off, toss around the F bomb. I have never been in a fight. When someone is aggressive with me, my first reaction is to laugh. I have never hit another human being other than the rare occasion when I swatted my child on the bottom and then abandoned the tactic because it didn't even work.

Maybe this means I am a victim waiting to happen. So be it. I work things out or ignore them.

It did not occur to me to retaliate in any form. The most I would do if this lady had continued doing this is that I would approach the net and calmly explain why I would prefer that she refrain.

Maybe it is a chick thing, but that's how I roll.

Rather than resort to physical violence, why not use a different "chick thing" tactic by calling her fat instead?

For instance, you make comments out loud about how embarassing it must be to play tennis being so large, or how you can't understand why people can't keep themselves fit any more. You could give your opponent helpful fitness advice, and talk about how you would hit the panic button if you ever weighed as much as her.

This would get in her head psychologically, distract her from the tennis, and probably hurt more than pegging her with an overhead!

(Given the recent thread where you felt free to criticize Melanie Oudin - a world class athlete that is 1000X the player you will ever be - for being fat, I would think that this is how you roll. Roll on, sister! If an opponent or team member does something you don't like, just smile sweetly and inform them that it looks like they've put on some extra weight recently and you are concerned about their health! Huzza! )

[OrangePower]

^^^^^

"Are you sure you're ok to be playing, seeing as you're expecting and all?"

[Cindysphinx]

Originally Posted by OrangePower

Now, can someone please point out all the women who are supposedly going wild while I'm doing this?

Found 'em for you:

[corbind]

In my normal life outside the courts I'm a very mellow guy and don't like confrontation at all. On the court I'm much more vocal and will not take much crap before I say something.

Cindy, in your instance, there is NO WAY you should roll with it and let that jerk get away with such an outrage. Walk up to the net and get a conversation / interrogation going. What comes out of her mouth is a bag of excuses & justifications. Her crushing an out ball past you that was never hers to hit anyway is just crazy stuff. I'm pretty disjointed thinking about it.

[blakesq]

Melanie may be world class, a world class eater of Domino's Pizza. i couldn't believe how fat she was at the French, and the coomentators had said she had LOST weight! She looked like a sausage in her tennis dress.

Originally Posted by Jack the Hack

Rather than resort to physical violence, why not use a different "chick thing" tactic by calling her fat instead?

For instance, you make comments out loud about how embarassing it must be to play tennis being so large, or how you can't understand why people can't keep themselves fit any more. You could give your opponent helpful fitness advice, and talk about how you would hit the panic button if you ever weighed as much as her.

This would get in her head psychologically, distract her from the tennis, and probably hurt more than pegging her with an overhead!

(Given the recent thread where you felt free to criticize Melanie Oudin - a world class athlete that is 1000X the player you will ever be - for being fat, I would think that this is how you roll. Roll on, sister! If an opponent or team member does something you don't like, just smile sweetly and inform them that it looks like they've put on some extra weight recently and you are concerned about their health! Huzza! )

[MesQueUnClub]

You should sue her for such atrocities and penalize them atleast one game.

[Cindysphinx]

Originally Posted by corbind

In my normal life outside the courts I'm a very mellow guy and don't like confrontation at all. On the court I'm much more vocal and will not take much crap before I say something.

Cindy, in your instance, there is NO WAY you should roll with it and let that jerk get away with such an outrage. Walk up to the net and get a conversation / interrogation going. What comes out of her mouth is a bag of excuses & justifications. Her crushing an out ball past you that was never hers to hit anyway is just crazy stuff. I'm pretty disjointed thinking about it.

What can I say? I play better if I don't have to deal with confrontation on the court. I know confrontation or conflict fires other people up, but it doesn't work for me.

I have some partners who don't understand this. Like, they are unhappy if I am chatty with our opponents. Well, if the opponents happen to be friends of mine, I might want to talk to them on changeovers (esp if we are winning). For me, a bit of small talk eases the tension, and tension is my biggest enemy.

This is especially so if my partner wants to "coach" me on changeovers and tell me everything I am doing wrong. I'd rather ask my opponent how her new puppy is doing rather than listen to that.

[skiracer55]

Originally Posted by Cindysphinx

What can I say? I play better if I don't have to deal with confrontation on the court. I know confrontation or conflict fires other people up, but it doesn't work for me.

I have some partners who don't understand this. Like, they are unhappy if I am chatty with our opponents. Well, if the opponents happen to be friends of mine, I might want to talk to them on changeovers (esp if we are winning). For me, a bit of small talk eases the tension, and tension is my biggest enemy.

This is especially so if my partner wants to "coach" me on changeovers and tell me everything I am doing wrong. I'd rather ask my opponent how her new puppy is doing rather than listen to that.

...baffling Cindysphinx thread. I'm not understanding your approach to a tennis match at all. Here's what you said in your OP:

"My partner was serving to the deuce court. She has what I will cheerfully call an "anti-gravity" server. Let's just say there isn't much pace on her serve. Her serve landed in the ad service box, about six inches into the wrong service box. Clearly a fault.

The returner's partner was standing near the T. She said, "Out" and returned the ball straight at me, hard. I ducked, so I didn't get hit.

What the -- ?

Not only did she return an obviously out serve, she wasn't even the returner (!). This is dangerous and annoying.

Just on general principal, shouldn't there be a rule against this?"

I don't know it for a fact, but there's got to be either a USTA rule, a Nick Powell "The Code" rule, or both. So at a minimum, you had every right to point this out to the returner.

Above, you talk about how you avoid confrontation on the court. That's fine, but a tennis match, by its nature, is confrontational, as opposed to say, birdwatching. You're trying to confront the other team with your skills, strategy, and determination to win the next point, the next set, and the match.

We're probably alike in one respect, which is that I'd rather just play tennis and avoid any interpersonal confrontation with the other team, but in my experience, that's often unavoidable. In the above instance, you talk about the return, straight at you, as being dangerous. I totally agree.

This is not an academic discussion for me. I almost lost my left eye due to an errant bungy cord thanks to a bonehead move by one of my ski racing teammates. Obviously, I wasn't very happy with him, and it took two surgeons and a 5 1/2 hour lensectomy to restore my vision, which I'm thankful for. I now have 20/25 vision in both eyes, but I will never, however, be able to contract or dilate my left pupil again because all the muscles that control it are shot. I have a full range of sunglasses, and always wear one of them outdoors. So if anybody hits anything any where near my eyes, I tend to get real mad, real fast.

You're a different person, and you have to handle conflict your way. All I can say is that, given the circumstances you presented in your OP, I don't know how you were able to just let it go without at least saying something.

And again, you have to deal with match tension your way. If you want to talk with your opponents about their daily lives on changeovers...while your partner tells you all the stuff you did wrong...I guess that's okay, if it works for you. It wouldn't work, at all, for me...

[Cindysphinx]

^I don't know what to tell you beyond what I have said.

I guess we are different people.

Maybe I can explain it this way. Sometimes people do things that are unexpected or shocking. Some folks react with anger and express that anger. Other people don't know what to say but think of the perfect comeback later.

I tend to be in the latter category. There have been many times when people have said slurs or unbelievably rude or inappropriate things to me. I don't pop off with the first thing that comes into my head. I just don't.

Maybe next time I will have to be ready with:

[skiracer55]

Originally Posted by Cindysphinx

^I don't know what to tell you beyond what I have said.

I guess we are different people.

Maybe I can explain it this way. Sometimes people do things that are unexpected or shocking. Some folks react with anger and express that anger. Other people don't know what to say but think of the perfect comeback later.

I tend to be in the latter category. There have been many times when people have said slurs or unbelievably rude or inappropriate things to me. I don't pop off with the first thing that comes into my head. I just don't.

Maybe next time I will have to be ready with:

...I think my only point was there's a big difference between "rude" and "dangerous"...but you're gonna have to deal with it your way...

[tennis_ocd]

Originally Posted by Cindysphinx

: narrows eyes :

Do not bunt a first-serve obvious fault back. Catch it and put it in your pocket, or let it go behind you. Then raise your racket while you check the ball's position; clear if necessary.

If it is a second serve, do not bunt it back in doubles -- your partner at net might be turning around, the opposing net player may relax her guard. Again, just control the ball and send it back over at an appropriate time.

Personally, I do not like people who rain tennis balls all over the place in the mistaken belief that this somehow speeds up the game.

Raining balls? If I let it go to the fence it will rebound to another court or back unseen into ours. I want it at the net where I can see it. Players on adjacent courts are also grateful. I've never seen hitting other players with a bunt back as an issue. This is simply the local convention.

That said, perhaps once every 300 sets I'll run into someone new who wants every ball picked up before proceeding. I accommodate.... now off to practice this driving women wild thing....

[Cindysphinx]

^The Code says you are not to hit obvious faults *back over the net.*

If you aren't doing that, you're fine.

[OrangePower]

Originally Posted by Cindysphinx

What can I say? I play better if I don't have to deal with confrontation on the court. I know confrontation or conflict fires other people up, but it doesn't work for me.

Originally Posted by skiracer55

You're a different person, and you have to handle conflict your way. All I can say is that, given the circumstances you presented in your OP, I don't know how you were able to just let it go without at least saying something.

Well, if you are going to confront your opponent in this or any other scenario, you have to ask yourself, what are you hoping to achieve?

There are two possible positive reasons why you would confront:

(1) Confrontation fires you up. This is true for some people, not so for others. I personally fall into the latter camp.

(2) You think confronting them will change their future behavior. This is valid, if you think their behavior was intentional and somewhat systemic. I am not convinced this was the case in Cindy's situation. (Cindy, was this person repeatedly returning obviously out serves?)

So, unless you enjoy the confrontation, in this particular case I don't think it would have served any positive purpose. I'm not saying you would be in the wrong to say something, just saying it would be pointless, so why do it, since there are of course possible negative consequences also.

Now, if this (or similar) happened a second time, then I would say something, because I would suspect that not saying anything would result in it happening yet again.

[Steady Eddy]

Originally Posted by Cindysphinx

Around here, you can tell the newbies. They routinely return obvious faults, annoying people and slowing down the game The experienced players handle it like pros -- they control the ball and pocket it.

Here's why newbies do this. They don't know The Code. Instead, they watch tennis on tv and listen to the commentators. They hear stuff like this:

"It appeared that Sharapova let that serve go believing it to be long. See, never do that. Always return every serve that you can reach, the linesman might make a mistake and rule it in."

They hear this and adopt it for non umpired matches, which is a totally different thing. First, there are no ball-boys, so hitting the out serve means that the server has to fetch the loose ball between serves. Also, since they make the call on the serve, there's no way the call can go against what they thought.

I've noticed that at the 4.5 levels, people know this stuff. But I hack around with the 3.5s. When their serve goes long, I courteously, block it back into the net, so as not to interrupt their serve. But I'm way in the minority. The goofuses I play with blast the out serve even though they know it's out. They think, "The pros do that, why shouldn't I?"

[CaldwellYSR]

Originally Posted by Cindysphinx

Around here, you can tell the newbies. They routinely return obvious faults, annoying people and slowing down the game The experienced players handle it like pros -- they control the ball and pocket it.

My dad and I started playing a few months ago (well he played some recreationally in college but it's been years). Anyways he has this weird bad habit. He hits back faulted serves but the way he hits them back it really funny because he doesn't hit that great but when it's a fault he can slice the ball right to my feet and have it bounce into my hand 99% of the time. It's a running joke that we have that he can only hit faults well

[fuzz nation]

Hi Cindy. I know that you're among some of the folks around here who "care a lot", so I'll offer a little more than my $.02.

*** cue symphonic background music ***

In general, I'd bet that most of our pals here honestly appreciate your endeavors to walk the Earth as a more civilized human and I respect your preferred methods for dealing with things. I'm a rather non-confrontational person myself, but bad sportsmanship on the tennis courts is a sore spot for me, maybe because I'm a high school coach, etc.

*** build the tension in a minor key ***

That rip that this returner's partner took at you was atrocious behavior. In that instant of action in a doubles match when a serve lands out, everyone relaxes and lets their guard down. She could have easily hurt you with that unexpected crack from close range. Think about it - you probably would have had trouble even getting a racquet on that ball if it was actually in play, right? Heck, the NHL often hands out suspensions for players who take runs at defenseless opponents. This is a doubles match!

*** build urgency toward the big crescendo ***

I'm not telling you to go medieval on someone like this and turn your tennis outing into a war - that's just not why we play the game (at least you and I). But what do you expect will change if you offer no reaction, even if it's to merely put a small light on the issue. She clearly put you at risk. Regardless of what's in the rules, you need to stick up for yourself enough to simply say, "Don't do that!" When people decide to act like 5-year-olds, they need to be addressed as such.

*** I suppose the theme to Rocky will suffice ***

If this person is bent on behaving like a butt-hole, you can't cure that. If the knucklehead is merely acting out of ignorance though, you just might fix that "unfortunate conduct" forever... and save the rest of us from getting whacked by a ball that's not in play (Bonus Points!!!). Don't think so hard - after all, if her aim was really that bad and that's why she nearly pezzed you in the x-ring, she has no business hitting the ball like that.

The rules are in your favor, but so are the laws of self-preservation.

[skiracer55]

Originally Posted by fuzz nation

Hi Cindy. I know that you're among some of the folks around here who "care a lot", so I'll offer a little more than my $.02.

*** cue symphonic background music ***

In general, I'd bet that most of our pals here honestly appreciate your endeavors to walk the Earth as a more civilized human and I respect your preferred methods for dealing with things. I'm a rather non-confrontational person myself, but bad sportsmanship on the tennis courts is a sore spot for me, maybe because I'm a high school coach, etc.

*** build the tension in a minor key ***

That rip that this returner's partner took at you was atrocious behavior. In that instant of action in a doubles match when a serve lands out, everyone relaxes and lets their guard down. She could have easily hurt you with that unexpected crack from close range. Think about it - you probably would have had trouble even getting a racquet on that ball if it was actually in play, right? Heck, the NHL often hands out suspensions for players who take runs at defenseless opponents. This is a doubles match!

*** build urgency toward the big crescendo ***

I'm not telling you to go medieval on someone like this and turn your tennis outing into a war - that's just not why we play the game (at least you and I). But what do you expect will change if you offer no reaction, even if it's to merely put a small light on the issue. She clearly put you at risk. Regardless of what's in the rules, you need to stick up for yourself enough to simply say, "Don't do that!" When people decide to act like 5-year-olds, they need to be addressed as such.

*** I suppose the theme to Rocky will suffice ***

If this person is bent on behaving like a butt-hole, you can't cure that. If the knucklehead is merely acting out of ignorance though, you just might fix that "unfortunate conduct" forever... and save the rest of us from getting whacked by a ball that's not in play (Bonus Points!!!). Don't think so hard - after all, if her aim was really that bad and that's why she nearly pezzed you in the x-ring, she has no business hitting the ball like that.

The rules are in your favor, but so are the laws of self-preservation.

...there's breaking the rules, and there's breaking the rules in a way that can cause serious injury to somebody on the other side of the net. As I said in an earlier post, I almost lost an eye because somebody did something stupid in a similar situation, and believe it, I let this clown know what a jerk he was and how unhappy I was with him. Somebody endangers you, rule or no rule, on purpose or not, you better let him or her know you're aware of what a bonehead play they just made...or, it's likely to happen again...

[spiderman123]

I am sure Cindy did a Nadal style fist pump then and when asked said "Excellent new thread material!!"

"I had three days with no on court drama and this will do...this will do." She then thanked the returner, but shook her hand by mistake and as a result conceded the match in spite of being 2-0 up as the opponents were 7.5 minutes late.