Was I in the Wrong Here? Or Justified?

T

travlerajm

Talk Tennis Guru
Last night I was in the middle of a closely contested league singles match.

Serving at 4-3, in the middle of a point, I start hearing a very loud banging noise, with bangs happening every 2-3 seconds as I’m trying to hit the ball. I finished the point through the distraction.

After the point ended, I looked over at the next court, and I see that a group of soccer players has set up on both sides of the net, and they are booting the soccer ball back and forth to each other over the net. The banging is an order of magnitude louder than the sound of a tennis ball hitting a racquet.

I asked them to please leave. I told them that the courts are for tennis use only, and that the loud banging of the soccer ball was a huge distraction for people trying to play a tennis match on the next court. I’m not sure exactly what language is posted on the rules outside the courts, so I can’t confirm what the official rules are.

Was I justified in giving the soccer group the boot?
 
Cashman

Cashman

Hall of Fame
If what they were doing risked damaging the net or court surface, or there was a posted rule against it, I think you are justified.

If your only objection was that it was disturbing you, I think it was a bit mean.

There are a lot of fun improvised games you can play on a tennis court. In fact, football tennis is actually a sport in its own right. The fact someone can’t play tennis shouldn’t exclude them from being able to enjoy public facilities - as long as they aren’t harming anyone else.
 
Last edited:
Z

zipplock

Hall of Fame
travlerajm said:
Last night I was in the middle of a closely contested league singles match.

Serving at 4-3, in the middle of a point, I start hearing a very loud banging noise, with bangs happening every 2-3 seconds as I’m trying to hit the ball. I finished the point through the distraction.

After the point ended, I looked over at the next court, and I see that a group of soccer players has set up on both sides of the net, and they are booting the soccer ball back and forth to each other over the net. The banging is an order of magnitude louder than the sound of a tennis ball hitting a racquet.

I asked them to please leave. I told them that the courts are for tennis use only, and that the loud banging of the soccer ball was a huge distraction for people trying to play a tennis match on the next court. I’m not sure exactly what language is posted on the rules outside the courts, so I can’t confirm what the official rules are.

Was I justified in giving the soccer group the boot?
Click to expand...
JUSTIFIED!!!
What kind of courts are they, oh, maybe TENNIS courts? You don't go setup a tennis net in the middle of a soccer pitch on Sunday day morning to practice your grass-court game, right? People are idiots, environmental awareness is less than zero.
 
G

golden chicken

Hall of Fame
zipplock said:
JUSTIFIED!!!
What kind of courts are they, oh, maybe TENNIS courts? You don't go setup a tennis net in the middle of a soccer pitch on Sunday day morning to practice your grass-court game, right? People are idiots, environmental awareness is less than zero.
Click to expand...

I once rented court time at an indoor soccer place that had nets set up on the turf for tennis at certain times of the week. That was some fast, low bouncing stuff. Made for an ugly day for both of us. :-D
 
esgee48

esgee48

G.O.A.T.
The rules are posted in my area at the entrance to the courts. No roller skates, skateboards, bikes, etc are allowed. No Dogs allowed. Only Tennis. We have had incidents of REALLY STUPID parents allowing their kids to use the tennis and basketball courts as chalkboard designscapes. That did not go over very well as it makes the footing slippery. That too has now been banned.
 
N

nicklane1

Rookie
Cashman said:
If what they were doing risked damaging the net or court surface, or there was a posted rule against it, I think you are justified.

If your only objection was that it was disturbing you, I think it was a bit mean.

There are a lot of fun improvised games you can play on a tennis court. In fact, football tennis is actually a sport in its own right. The fact someone can’t play tennis shouldn’t exclude them from being able to enjoy public facilities - as long as they aren’t harming anyone else.
Click to expand...
Soccer balls are heavy and damaged all the nets on high school courts near me. My buddy had to repair all of them so that the school tennis team could host other schools.
 
Z

zipplock

Hall of Fame
golden chicken said:
I once rented court time at an indoor soccer place that had nets set up on the turf for tennis at certain times of the week. That was some fast, low bouncing stuff. Made for an ugly day for both of us. :-D
Click to expand...
That's great, but you rented the courts AND they were set up tennis. You're no hooligan.
 
Cashman

Cashman

Hall of Fame
nicklane1 said:
Soccer balls are heavy and damaged all the nets on high school courts near me. My buddy had to repair all of them so that the school tennis team could host other schools.
Click to expand...
Sure. The OP doesn’t give a lot of details, but I imagine if it was adults kicking a full sized ball hard it could do a lot of damage to a tennis net. Playing soccer on a clay or grass court is also terrible for the surface.

On the other hand a bunch of ten year olds bunting a junior ball on a hardcourt probably aren’t going to hurt anyone.
 
Cashman

Cashman

Hall of Fame
zipplock said:
You don't go setup a tennis net in the middle of a soccer pitch on Sunday day morning to practice your grass-court game, right?
Click to expand...
This wouldn’t really be physically possible. Grass courts are very different from soccer pitches.
 
Papa Mango

Papa Mango

Professional
Completely justified.
I once almost got into fisticuffs with a group of people doing the same at the famous SPP.
At first they were just kicking the ball around on one side of the court. But when they started with the "soccer tennis" thing kicking the ball over the net, I politely asked them not to do that but they can keep playing on one side of the court if they wanted. Couple of them then got in my face but luckily there were a bunch of regulars at the time and they were asked to leave a little less politely.
 
Fedinkum

Fedinkum

Legend
One of my local court is opened to the public. Every time we played on a Friday morning, adjacent to us, there would be a yoga class with the same group of young MILF doing their half-moon pose with Tibetan meditation music. Certainly disruptive to our tennis, but is quite an eye feast.

Sorry, I could not provide any useful moral guidance for your query. Just wish you would have the same luck that I had : )
 
J

jmnk

Hall of Fame
Ok, I'm going to admit, I did play with a soccer ball on a tennis court, it is a good warm up actually. Next time I'll do that I'm going to measure noise level. Because i can't imagine it is any louder than regular grunting, if that.
 
Dartagnan64

Dartagnan64

G.O.A.T.
I think it's fine to kick them off if they were making noise and didn't ask for permission to use the courts for other purposes.
I've kicked kids playing music or playing fetch with their dogs off the courts before. And we were just playing socially. Tennis courts are for tennis.
 
S

sureshs

Bionic Poster
travlerajm said:
Last night I was in the middle of a closely contested league singles match.

Serving at 4-3, in the middle of a point, I start hearing a very loud banging noise, with bangs happening every 2-3 seconds as I’m trying to hit the ball. I finished the point through the distraction.

After the point ended, I looked over at the next court, and I see that a group of soccer players has set up on both sides of the net, and they are booting the soccer ball back and forth to each other over the net. The banging is an order of magnitude louder than the sound of a tennis ball hitting a racquet.

I asked them to please leave. I told them that the courts are for tennis use only, and that the loud banging of the soccer ball was a huge distraction for people trying to play a tennis match on the next court. I’m not sure exactly what language is posted on the rules outside the courts, so I can’t confirm what the official rules are.

Was I justified in giving the soccer group the boot?
Click to expand...

I encountered this when I was playing at the courts of a local middle school towards the beginning of the reopening. There were 2 guys playing tennis soccer over the net, complete with comments about drop shots and lobs.

They were incredibly athletic and it reminded me why tennis players like Nads and Feds worship soccer players and not the other way around.
 
5sets

5sets

Hall of Fame
How did these soccer players even get access to an indoor tennis facility? There’s no front desk or anything? I’ve dealt with football players, bmx bikers, chalk fiends, cricket players, skateboarders, soccer players, pickle ballers ( yes I’m including them because when we want to play tennis we shouldn’t have to wait for pickleballers to be done playing on a tennis court) and the works but always at outdoor venues.
 
R

Robert F

Hall of Fame
Were these public courts?
If no posting limiting court use to tennis, then your argument loses some weight, especially if they were just using one court and not interfering with other courts.
What if they were just playing tennis but grunting extremely loud, singing between points and even had a stereo playing music? Could you kick them off?

Or what if they were playing soccer behind you on a field? If once in a while the ball hits the back fence, would you tell them to leave?

I play on several public courts in the area. Just off court my focus has to compete with blaring music, loud boisterous teens playing basketball on courts next to us, pickle ballers clacking etc.

I think you can always ask, but in the end you have to maintain focus on your court. If no posting, I might just ask them to be careful of the net. I don't know how many times I see kids jumping, swinging dancing on nets.
Personally, if I start on a court with a distraction, it doesn't bother me, I seem to accept it. But if it starts in the midst of my match it is much harder to stay on track. But again, I take responsibility for my focus.
 
5sets

5sets

Hall of Fame
Would they have bothered you if you were serving up two breaks at 4-1? Sometimes we seek outside excuses. If they weren’t leaning on the nets or being particularly loud it doesn’t seem so bad.
 
Jack the Hack

Jack the Hack

Hall of Fame
65896805.jpg
 
I

Idrayer

New User
I've got the WTT matches on right now, and in between sets of the 7/17/2020 Chicago - NY match they were highlighting the teams practicing soccer tennis. From personal experience, I've also hit on a court next to the UCLA team playing this on one of the courts. The footwork, agility, and body control skills must translate pretty well to racket tennis.
 
T

travlerajm

Talk Tennis Guru
5sets said:
Would they have bothered you if you were serving up two breaks at 4-1? Sometimes we seek outside excuses. If they weren’t leaning on the nets or being particularly loud it doesn’t seem so bad.
Click to expand...
I didn’t mention what happened in the match. It was an epic 2.5h war. No distractions after the soccer group departed.

I was counterpunching with conservative style most of the match. My opponent had huge lefty forehand and ran around his backhand. He was a difficult style match-up for me due to him being lefty, as my strokes have evolved to be effective targeting a righty’s backhand.

I won close first set 6-4, then went up 4-1. My opponent must have adjusted to my style, as he raised his game and started hitting almost every big forehand a foot inside the baseline. He roared back to win the second set 7-5.

In the super, I got up 5-2. But then my opponent went into beast mode and won 5 straight points painting the baseline multiple times to go up 7-5. I then switched strategies and started approaching the net on every single point. It worked to claw back to 7-7, but then my opponent ripped two perfect passing shots to earn double match point at 9-7. I stayed with attacking the net every point, and miraculously I executed 4 solid approaches and 4 athletic lunging stab volleys in a row to steal the match 11-9. I felt bad for my opponent, who looked stunned in shock after his last ripped pass attempt hit the tape.
 
Vanhalen

Vanhalen

Professional
Same situation here at the high school courts. Signs say..”Courts for tennis play only”. Kids came in with rollerblades and sticks, wouldn’t leave. Called our local police. Were there within 5 minutes. Had kids call parents. One father came and started in on the officer acting all aggressive. He got cuffed and driven away. It was awesome.
 
5sets

5sets

Hall of Fame
I’m still curious as how the got in if it’s an indoor facility. All the clubs here you pay a membership and then pay $40 odd for the hour. No way some futballer or hockey punks are strolling in making noises during someone else’s epic tennis league match.
 
T

travlerajm

Talk Tennis Guru
5sets said:
I’m still curious as how the got in if it’s an indoor facility. All the clubs here you pay a membership and then pay $40 odd for the hour. No way some futballer or hockey punks are strolling in making noises during someone else’s epic tennis league match.
Click to expand...
Who said anything about indoor? The league match was for a non-USTA singles league where weekly schedule is set and opponents arrange their own match times at agreed-upon location. If it was USTA indoor, there is no such thing as an epic 2.5h war anymore because all the matches are no-ad, which shortens the close matches by cutting down a lot on the total number of points played.
 
5sets

5sets

Hall of Fame
travlerajm said:
Who said anything about indoor? The league match was for a non-USTA singles league where weekly schedule is set and opponents arrange their own match times at agreed-upon location. If it was USTA indoor, there is no such thing as an epic 2.5h war anymore because all the matches are no-ad, which shortens the close matches by cutting down a lot on the total number of points played.
Click to expand...
Oh good. Then definitely you were justified. I’ve given the stink eye to plenty a dog walker, booted off BMXers and Cricketeers without a second thought. If they protest all you have to is point at the park sign that states “for tennis only”. Most outdoor courts have them.
 
J

Justagamefool

New User
Justified.
I've had no problem booting skater dudes.
If I was at a skate park with a tennis racket or on a soccer field, I'd expect to get my ass handed to me for being in the wrong...well, maybe not as it would be obvious I didn't have the sense to not be out there in the first place.
 
5sets

5sets

Hall of Fame
Kind of off topic but last weekend I was hitting with my buddy at an outdoor park court and a man jogged inside the through the door and tried to befriend us in the middle of our singles match. There was a very angry individual who jogged to the outside of the fenced in courts three minutes later and words were exchanged. Latter mentioned individual couldn’t get to him because it’s a set of two courts with two sets of doors, on on the sideline of each court. Finally the second individual gave up and sauntered off. The first one was very happy we had been there playing tennis. Lots of strange goings on at public parks.
 
Cashman

Cashman

Hall of Fame
Those who cried, are justified,
For wearing a badge, with their tennis whites
You justify, when you cry,
By wearing a badge, with your tennis whites
 
5sets

5sets

Hall of Fame
Cashman said:
Those who cried, are justified,
For wearing a badge, with their tennis whites
You justify, when you cry,
By wearing a badge, with your tennis whites
Click to expand...

What are the actual lyrics to that Rage song? I never could make it out in my junior high days.
 
am1899

am1899

Legend
Definitely justified. I’ve even seen these “soccer tennis” balloon heads show up wearing cleats! TF?

Just as an aside, one day at a collegiate practice (I’m an assistant coach for a local college), I watched as an individual approached the college tennis courts on rollerblades. As he drew closer, I could tell he was carrying a bag. At that point I had a pretty good idea he was planning to do something ill advised on the courts. Sure enough, as soon as he got down to the end bank of courts, he opens the bag to get his hockey stick and what looked like a lacrosse ball.

Shortly thereafter I walked out on the bank in question and said, “Excuse me, these courts are for tennis only,” as I pointed to the sign posted on each bank that clearly says, “tennis only.”

Initially he told me was going to do what wanted. But then let him know that I worked for the university, and I offered to have campus security come over. Naturally, he declined and quickly left. Never saw him back again.

Why do some players of other sports have this idea that tennis courts are fair game for anything they can think of? Do you see me showing up at soccer fields and hitting golf balls? I don’t think so!
 
R

Robert F

Hall of Fame
My experience is most non- tennis people will leave when asked nicely. We've had kids practicing MMA, skaters, kids playing stickball/baseball--most leave. The hardest ones to leave seem to be the dog people. On several different occasions and at different locations and countries, the dog folks say "Oh we'll just be a few more minutes...you don't mind waiting," or "We'll keep him over on this court he won't bother you." So many have given me the stink eye when I walk in the gate like I ruined their day because now they have to actually walk their dog.
 
5sets

5sets

Hall of Fame
am1899 said:
Definitely justified. I’ve even seen these “soccer tennis” balloon heads show up wearing cleats! TF?

Just as an aside, one day at a collegiate practice (I’m an assistant coach for a local college), I watched as an individual approached the college tennis courts on rollerblades. As he drew closer, I could tell he was carrying a bag. At that point I had a pretty good idea he was planning to do something ill advised on the courts. Sure enough, as soon as he got down to the end bank of courts, he opens the bag to get his hockey stick and what looked like a lacrosse ball.

Shortly thereafter I walked out on the bank in question and said, “Excuse me, these courts are for tennis only,” as I pointed to the sign posted on each bank that clearly says, “tennis only.”

Initially he told me was going to do what wanted. But then let him know that I worked for the university, and I offered to have campus security come over. Naturally, he declined and quickly left. Never saw him back again.

Why do some players of other sports have this idea that tennis courts are fair game for anything they can think of? Do you see me showing up at soccer fields and hitting golf balls? I don’t think so!
Click to expand...
Hey now, as an avid golfer a soccer field or baseball diamond is a great place to practice some wedge shots. I was guilty of this during the shutdown when all the golf courses and driving ranges were closed.
 
shamaho

shamaho

Professional
travlerajm said:
stayed with attacking the net every point, and miraculously I executed 4 solid approaches and 4 athletic lunging stab volleys in a row to steal the match 11-9.
Click to expand...

That is AMAZING!! congrats ! it takes huge balls... (errrm courage :) to keep at it, pushing probably the limits of your physical stamina, taking risks and lunging for the volleys... especially during those critical points in the decisive stage of the match. Only those who've been there win or loose know what it takes to push for those...

Did you feel like, it was the ONLY tactic you had working against your opponent ? ie. go forward to remove that killer lefty forehand out of the equation ?
 
shamaho

shamaho

Professional
travlerajm said:
Last night I was in the middle of a closely contested league singles match.

Serving at 4-3, in the middle of a point, I start hearing a very loud banging noise, with bangs happening every 2-3 seconds as I’m trying to hit the ball. I finished the point through the distraction.

After the point ended, I looked over at the next court, and I see that a group of soccer players has set up on both sides of the net, and they are booting the soccer ball back and forth to each other over the net. The banging is an order of magnitude louder than the sound of a tennis ball hitting a racquet.

I asked them to please leave. I told them that the courts are for tennis use only, and that the loud banging of the soccer ball was a huge distraction for people trying to play a tennis match on the next court. I’m not sure exactly what language is posted on the rules outside the courts, so I can’t confirm what the official rules are.

Was I justified in giving the soccer group the boot?
Click to expand...
Despite everything that was said which I agree generally - I wouldn't mind so much for them to be there if it were NOT a competitive match.

If it were a practice match, I'd use that annoying thing to practice my focus - it would not be pleasant but I would grind through it (for the focus practice you see?) - NOT during a comptetitve match though.

While I usually play on tennis clubs that would immediately prevent that from happening, I also think that hey... it might be a good soccer practice as well for them... we're all practicing.... so live and let live :) but NOT during a competitive match...
 
T

travlerajm

Talk Tennis Guru
shamaho said:
That is AMAZING!! congrats ! it takes huge balls... (errrm courage :) to keep at it, pushing probably the limits of your physical stamina, taking risks and lunging for the volleys... especially during those critical points in the decisive stage of the match. Only those who've been there win or loose know what it takes to push for those...

Did you feel like, it was the ONLY tactic you had working against your opponent ? ie. go forward to remove that killer lefty forehand out of the equation ?
Click to expand...
Getting more aggressive and offensive when I’m tired at the end of the match goes against my instincts. Usually I double down on playing conservative by hitting to larger targets and focusing on hitting high and deep.

But I’ve had the conservative endgame strategy backfire on me in tournament matches before. Sometimes my opponent adjusts and gains confidence in his strokes because I’m playing too safe and not pressuring him enough.

I was actually surprised that I was able to execute my offense so cleanly. Obviously it helped that I’ve been playing more tennis than usual the last several months, which changed the percentages compared to my usual state of semi-rust.

The other thing that helped me was that my opponent was tired. While he was the aggressor most of the match, he was running just as much as me because he was working hard to run around his backhand, sometimes all the way into his alley to rip his forehand. I doubt that my netrushing would have worked as well if my opponent had fresh legs.

Also, I had been underutilizing a couple of strategic edges. First, his 1hb, when I could make him hit it, was a weakness. He preferred to slice it safely in rallies. But he was clearly less confident hitting topspin drive passes. He did pass me with it a couple of times earlier in the match, but it was harder for him to do when he was running on fumes.

The other strategic edge was that when I hit a high deep topspin shot 15 feet above the net, my opponent sometimes backed up to line up his big forehand. In my last furious aggressive stand, I surprise approached the net behind moonballs and forced him to try to pass or lob me. I still had to execute tough volleys and overheads, but it worked.
 
5sets

5sets

Hall of Fame
shamaho said:
Despite everything that was said which I agree generally - I wouldn't mind so much for them to be there if it were NOT a competitive match.

If it were a practice match, I'd use that annoying thing to practice my focus - it would not be pleasant but I would grind through it (for the focus practice you see?) - NOT during a comptetitve match though.

While I usually play on tennis clubs that would immediately prevent that from happening, I also think that hey... it might be a good soccer practice as well for them... we're all practicing.... so live and let live :) but NOT during a competitive match...
Click to expand...
This is what I was trying to say earlier. Tennis takes priority without a doubt and if you get to a court and they are kids or people doing other things on it definitely give them the boot. But from the kids’ perspective they don’t know the difference between a league match or two adults just out playing practice sets and unless they’re doing Stone Cold Steve Austin bungee moves against the netcords and marking up the court in any other way, there are worse things.
 
5sets

5sets

Hall of Fame
Anyways when theyre are brats playing hockey or rollerblading on an adjacent court, it’s nothing a few errant flat first serves can’t fix, lol. They take the hint real quick.
 
shamaho

shamaho

Professional
Sidetracking a bit from the topic, but this too good to pass...

travlerajm said:
I was actually surprised that I was able to execute my offense so cleanly.
Click to expand...

Yeah! my last match I also had couple of those at important juncture of the match, business end of the match, high-tension, long rally and both running around, it feels like you're heart is pounding at your throat, but you push through anyway pressing on to the net and what do you know... the approach actually comes out so good the opponent can barely make a shot out of it...

in my case and in hindsight I can only assume it was adrenalin speaking louder than my mind...

Brings to mind something I heard by Tony Roche on a video, players of all levels tend to stop or hold-off well below of max effort in a sort of reserving something for later. and it pissed him off... which is something I was not aware of, and my coach also alluded to that in my particular case during practices...

Which means our bodies have plenty more to draw on in case of need, it's our minds we have to ignore....
 
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