Broken Strings And Cell Phones

[Cindysphinx]

Two of my teammates had a weird situation in a match on Saturday. They told the following story after the match.

They were playing doubles inside the bubble; the rest of the team was playing outdoors. Ninety-minute unofficiated timed matches.

One teammate broke a string. She only had one racket. Her other racket was in the possession of the captain (in the trunk of her car -- why, I do not know), who was watching the outdoor courts play. The teammate picked up her cell phone, told one opponent she was going to call the captain to have her bring her the spare racket, and started dialing.

Seeing this, the other opponent came over and said she wasn't allowed to use a cell phone during a match. The teammate said she was going to do it anyway because she needed the racket and because one opponent had said it was OK. I assume the captain brought the racket.

Afterward, we were talking about how this should have been handled by all involved.

My recollection was that you cannot leave the court to get a replacement racket, and if you do, time penalties accrue. I do not know if any time penalties are spelled out in our local rules. The tardiness penalties are 5 minutes = 1 game; 10 minutes = 2 games; 15 minutes = 3 games; 15+ = default.

I told them I thought the rule was different if you need to leave the court for some other reason, like a wardrobe malfunction. In that case, I thought you could take a reasonable amount of time to address the problem, but rackets are the exception. Then again, maybe that only applies in officiated matches?

I have no idea what the penalty is for using a cell phone during a match and whether it matters that one lady said it was OK and one said it was not. Would the penalty be a default? Could it be addressed by grievance after the match?

Personally, I would find it highly irritating if an opponent brought one racket to a timed match and then needed to waste time securing a replacement. I always bring two rackets, and if one of my rackets is being strung, I bring a crummy racket from the garage.

Still, I cannot imagine imposing such severe time penalties on an opponent who broke a string. Then again, I guess I could offer her my spare racket. Then again, what if she broke that one and I needed it myself . . . .

[ollinger]

Any delay, short of an obvious significant medical problem, during a timed match should be unacceptable. You'll have people keeping tiny folding knives in their back pocket so they can break a string if ahead with 15 minutes left to play.

[Mike Y]

I can't imagine stopping someone from using a cell phone so they can get a racket so they can continue the match.

[Angle Queen]

What did we do before there were cellphones?

Not sure what I would have done. The angel on my shoulder says no-harm, no-foul, especially if the racket was brought promptly and play wasn't affected. The devil, though, says...read the Boy Scout motto. Either bring a spare or acquire one (from your partner, courtside teammate or even an opponent).

[mikeler]

C'mon, a league match and you bring only 1 racket! Maybe it is just me but I hate when people don't bring everything they need to a match.

[floridatennisdude]

She wasnt making a call. She was posting on TT to see whether or not 2 back doubles was a winning strategy.

[zcarzach]

I can certainly see the point about no phone calls (who's to say your player wasn't getting coaching on that phone call?), but at the same time its pretty ridiculous to object to a person getting another racquet. If there is an established penalty for delaying the match, then so be it, regardless of the source of delay.

[Douggo]

This woman's partner couldn't offer a backup?

[Taxvictim]

Originally Posted by Douggo

This woman's partner couldn't offer a backup?

Lou Grant is right. The issue is not a small delay to get a racquet, it's that she took a longer delay to get exactly the backup racquet she wanted. No doubt there was some other racquet she could have used immediately handy.

Unless her partner has left-handed racquets...

[OrangePower]

Not sure what the rules say, since (thankfully) I don't play timed matches here. But applying some common sense, I can see two issues:

1. The delay caused by waiting for the replacement racquet
2. The potential use of the cell phone to get coaching

I would not object based on 2. That just seems mean-spirited. Clearly there was an obvious reason for making the call, and if the opponent was really worried about coaching, she could have just 'supervised' the call being made to ensure no funny business.

The delay is more of an issue, especially if the team with the broken string was ahead at the time. If behind, a delay would not be in their favor.

So were I the opponent, I would have done the following:

If my team was ahead, I would let broken-string-gal do whatever she wants.
If behind, I would let the phone call be made, but then insist that play resume immediately using any other racquet (surely between the three other people on the court there had to be at least one spare?), until the replacement racquet arrives.

[cll30]

Once when I was young and poor I only had one racquet, and during a match I broke a string at the beginning of the second set. Since I had no replacement I played the second set with the broken string and still won!

[Alchemy-Z]

No one else had a raquet she could borrow?
I played a guy who had two sticks in his bag broke strings in both and I let him borrow my wifes raquet (that was in my bag) just to finish the match.

[jdubbs]

Cindy sure has some weird situations come up in her matches.

Next up: "My lob hit off a seagull and in for a clean winner. Let or my point?"

[OrangePower]

Originally Posted by jdubbs

Cindy sure has some weird situations come up in her matches.

Next up: "My lob hit off a seagull and in for a clean winner. Let or my point?"

Haha... but... true story:

I had an opponent once call a let on me after I had hit a lob... he started backing up for the overhead, and then let it go by and called a 'hindrance' let, claiming that a low-flying seagull (or some other big bird - I'm no expert) that had just passed over the court had distracted him because he thought the ball was going to hit it (it didn't).

No idea what the actual rule is for that, but I'm not the confrontational type on the court, so whatever... I gave him the let.

[spiderman123]

Originally Posted by OrangePower

I would not object based on 2. That just seems mean-spirited. Clearly there was an obvious reason for making the call, and if the opponent was really worried about coaching, she could have just 'supervised' the call being made to ensure no funny business.

This was a one off phone call during a 4.0 level recreational league played by enthusiasts with no prize money on the line, right?

[Cindysphinx]

Hey, don't look at me. We didn't have any drama in our match. We just lost and went down without much of a fight.

A squabble broke out on the adjacent court, however, and the league coordinator yelled at the top of his lungs, "Play on, ladies" a couple of times. Kind of distracting, but small potatoes, really.

[spiderman123]

Originally Posted by Cindysphinx

Still, I cannot imagine imposing such severe time penalties on an opponent who broke a string.

NO WAY! Rules are rules!! Especially in timed matches. Next time you would say you cannot imagine imposing penalties on a player who was 5 min late because he/she was told an incorrect location for the match, by mistake.

Originally Posted by Cindysphinx

Then again, I guess I could offer her my spare racket. Then again, what if she broke that one and I needed it myself . . . .

Yes, a very valid concern. Breaking strings of three rackets in a 4.0 match is a very common scenario.

[jdubbs]

This kind of reminds me why I didn't enjoy league play last year. Too much drama, too serious, too much doubles (I'm more of a singles player), too much politics. Adults taking a game way too seriously. This was at 4.0 as well so the level wasn't that high. I beat everyone on my team and still couldn't play singles.

Let her make the damn call and get a racket. Come on.

[spiderman123]

Originally Posted by jdubbs

Let her make the damn call and get a racket. Come on.

Not if this was against the team that imposed a game penalty on them when they were late because of a speeding ticket.

This is how tensions escalate. One team is ultra strict enforcer of every rule, with a justification, but expects leniency when they are at the receiving side. It would not be "just follow the rules" "but the rule is..." in that case.

[Cindysphinx]

Originally Posted by spiderman123

NO WAY! Rules are rules!! Especially in timed matches. Next time you would say you cannot imagine imposing penalties on a player who was 5 min late because he/she was told an incorrect location for the match, by mistake.




Yes, a very valid concern. Breaking strings of three rackets in a 4.0 match is a very common scenario.

Wow, chill man. I use a gut hybrid, so it could break. Even in a 4.0 match.

In fact, my partner broke her frame in a match last week. She had a spare, but she was out of sorts for the rest of the match.