Steady Eddy
Legend
Check out what happens at 0:36
OMG! Pancho Gonzales got gets on his partner's side!
- Thread starter Steady Eddy
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Check out what happens at 0:36
styksnstryngs
Professional
Why is this in this subforum?
Steady Eddy
Legend
I know. Friday in mixed this happened to me twice, leading to confrontations from my partners about "staying on my side". Then I accidentally saw this video. I'd like to show those partners this.
Raul_SJ
G.O.A.T.
I was playing mixed and my partner was standing at the service line on my serve. I was serving well and she was getting a lot of weak floating returns but hitting into the net because ball was dipping low. I said it is actually much easier if you stand closer to the net before the ball dips down.
She said, "But I'm not a good volleyer".
2nd Serve Ace
Hall of Fame
Ok I thought the Latins were defeated 1500 years ago.
Sent from my LG-LS993 using Tapatalk
Sent from my LG-LS993 using Tapatalk
r2473
G.O.A.T.
I don’t blame Laver for losing. No one likes to teach Latin
Steady Eddy
Legend
Probably. I talked about it at work Monday. (I don't think anyone was interested.) But I'm over it now.
5263
G.O.A.T.
yes, don't you love the stupid partner who sees you are getting the ball, but still continue to run at it as though to make a point that it was theirs? Even if they are right, they just ruined the court coverage and got in the way. So what if you went for a ball that turned out to be not such a good decision....got to adapt and make it work folks! If it isn't happening some, then you are too passive.
Steady Eddy
Legend
Yes, why did they continue to run after it when they could see I went there? We don't need two players on one ball. So now I see that they were making a point, i.e. "You stay in your zone, I'll stay in my zone."
My decision to go after a drop shot had nothing to do with them. If I see a drop shot I can get to, I'm going to get it, not try to figure out who it 'belongs' to. It's like if there's a fire in the kitchen, spreading to the drapes. I'm going to put it out, pronto. Not think, "Hmmm, who's job is it to put fires out in the kitchen?"
Won't hit with that group again.
C
Chadillac
Guest
5263
G.O.A.T.
If you are playing dubs with me and you are at net when they hit a dropper, then it is yours to get if I have not come in yet. Instead of sides, we are using 'up and back' at that point.
Steady Eddy
Legend
You are right. The reason they continue to run is to make a point. So this has happened to you?
If your partner gets to the ball before you, don't "double team" the ball, cover some part of the court. This thing of running up from behind, sometimes screaming "Mine! Mine!" is very rude. I thought that I'd figured out how to be extra polite and avoid any weirdness during a doubles mixer.
I don't think it's ever a good idea to discuss a lost point for the purpose of figuring out who is to blame. I don't know how to deal with someone who wants to say, (whether outright or only by body language), "That was my ball, it was on my side, it was in my territory."
Maybe saying, "Oh, so you're saying what I did was stupid?" puts the burden back on them. They're the one being critical. Leave that on them. I don't criticize partners. But if they bring something up, I've got to respond.
5263
G.O.A.T.
Sure, happens way too often, but it doesn't take a lot to irratate me, lol. Seems to me that people who have played this games for decades in many cases, should have a few more things worked out and understood. Also, it happens a bit more to me as I often get invited as that forth to fill in for a regular player, then get partnered with the weakest of the 3 to even things out. Always...or at least quite often, getting newly paired with the weakest of the 4 will give you lots of ways to deal with struggling partners, but can also lead to bad habits. I almost have quit using the serve and volley since they will just hit to my net guy and remove me from the point altogether. If I stay back, then often they will come back to me to avoid the net man, which allows me to get in some points.
Steady Eddy
Legend
This is something I never hear addressed. Suppose the balls come to weak and strong player equally. Then, if the stronger players encroaches, the weaker player is getting less play, and cries "Unfair!". But since the stronger player get removed from points so often, the weaker player gets more action to begin with.
So this attitude that we're 'homesteading', instead of playing a game, is completely wrongheaded. You don't own part of the court, and trespassers aren't 'stealing' shots from you. If someone is closer to the ball, it is their ball. If someone is quicker, it's also their ball. Also, if one player is closer to the net, it is still their ball. A shot cannot be 'stolen' from you. You and your partner are partners, not rivals.
5263
G.O.A.T.
Imo this is the main key....closer to net with the ability to be decisive....
somebody should always be closer whenever possible, and that guy is the leader or QB for that exchange
just being closer, but then executing a very avg or weak shot means you should have left it alone if your partner has a good play on it. Hopefully he can be more decisive, but at the very least, the coverage stays intact.
Steady Eddy
Legend
I was once playing with a husband wife team. On the first point, she serves, he poaches, they win the point. But she was still steamed at him. And loudly complained that he stole her shot. The mind set is "This is mine, over there is yours.", instead of seeing themselves as a team.
Not only will you win more playing as a team, it's so much more fun if try to confuse your opponents, instead of, predictably, staying in one place.
Poaching is good. At the same time if your partner is weaker and you feel that you need to get anything near her, then I can see why she'd be upset. Maybe it's not even about you or this particular point which has upset you so much that you've opened multiple threads on this, but about her experiences with others and she's just tired of it.
Steady Eddy
Legend
It's interesting you say that. Because when the husband, (on another occasion), poached after his wife served and she went nuts on him, I wondered, "Well, I don't know their history. Maybe he does that too much."
But this has caused me to notice a pattern after looking back. Myriad problems with f players. None with m. So what's going on? I think this comes from the media with its m = evil or dumb, w = good and smart. So they've got a chip on their shoulder before the set even starts. (There's another issue about believing you should never let anyone get hit by a volley). Maybe MTOW needs to come to tennis?
user92626
G.O.A.T.
Steady,
Frankly I think you ran into this problem because you haven't established the pecking order, the alpha male's status, the respect you deserve.
I tend to be the more aggressive one in any doubles partnerships, male and female, and I notice that they give me "room" just the same. Only during one time I was being very nice and calm with a woman, eventually she snapped at me for something completely innocuous on my part. I got upset and told her off at the point, stopped playing with her for months. She's got the message and now has become very nice to me.
If you're the better player in the partnership, act like it. You'll get respect. If you're equal or lesser, adopt an arrogant attitude which people kinda fear or don't think it's worth their trouble to deal with. I play at several courts. I know these personalities. Being nice in a competitive sport sucks.
Frankly I think you ran into this problem because you haven't established the pecking order, the alpha male's status, the respect you deserve.
I tend to be the more aggressive one in any doubles partnerships, male and female, and I notice that they give me "room" just the same. Only during one time I was being very nice and calm with a woman, eventually she snapped at me for something completely innocuous on my part. I got upset and told her off at the point, stopped playing with her for months. She's got the message and now has become very nice to me.
If you're the better player in the partnership, act like it. You'll get respect. If you're equal or lesser, adopt an arrogant attitude which people kinda fear or don't think it's worth their trouble to deal with. I play at several courts. I know these personalities. Being nice in a competitive sport sucks.
Steady Eddy
Legend
Thank you for your thoughtful response. You told that one off at the time. See...I'm too slow witted to figure out when I've been dissed. In this case, I didn't figure it out until a day and a half later. So at first I decided not to play there. Now I'm like, "No. Not while I'm one down."Steady,
Frankly I think you ran into this problem because you haven't established the pecking order, the alpha male's status, the respect you deserve.
I tend to be the more aggressive one in any doubles partnerships, male and female, and I notice that they give me "room" just the same. Only during one time I was being very nice and calm with a woman, eventually she snapped at me for something completely innocuous on my part. I got upset and told her off at the point, stopped playing with her for months. She's got the message and now has become very nice to me.
If you're the better player in the partnership, act like it. You'll get respect. If you're equal or lesser, adopt an arrogant attitude which people kinda fear or don't think it's worth their trouble to deal with. I play at several courts. I know these personalities. Being nice in a competitive sport sucks.
That's not my better judgement, though. I've found a more pleasant group. I should just play tennis with them.
Why're you even playing mixed doubles then? Just stick to doubles or better yet, singles.
Steady Eddy
Legend
I like doubles way more than singles. Where I show up, it's simply doubles, you might get an m or f for a partner.
The tennis center by me will be having men's day drop in for doubles soon. They'll also have one for mixed, (how do they know they'll get equal numbers of m and f?) Maybe I should just do the former?
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