Tennis court fight

ptuanminh · May 25, 2023

Today i had a bizarre experience on a tennis court. I took my ball hopper to a local tennis court that i frequent. I picked the furthest court in the corner so that i didn't have to go around pick up balls. That court also had a wall at the back. 2 other courts were empty, noone else was playing. I could practice my serves in peace. Or could i?
5 minutes into my practice session, an old guy walked into my court side with a tennis bag, put it down, and just stood there looking around, stretching and stuff. I guessed he was old and not all right in his head, since he didn't bother me, i wouldnt bother him, and kept serving. Then he walked a few steps into the court while i was serving and did his stretching. I stopped and told him nicely " Sir, you don't want to be in the court while i am serving. Some balls i can't control and i might hurt you." He withdrew to the court side. And i kept serving.
Now, he started walking towards the other side of the court and started hitting at the wall. I totally lost it, i started yelling at him that i got this court first, and if he wanted to use it, he had to wait. He started his rants about why i was taking the whole court to myself and he wanted to use the wall. At one point, he even hit a ball at me but missed. I was so close to walking towards him and hit a serve at his face. I thought twice about it. The guy was old and probably not ok in his head. I gained nothing from beating his old*ss. I shrugged and told him i would keep serving and if he got hit, thats on him. At one point, i tried to call park police but they told me to be nice and give him that court, which i think is ridiculous.
Eventually his friend came, told him to control himself, and dragged him to another court.
What would you do?

Jst21121 · May 25, 2023

I would just walk away. The world is a crazy place today. If you honk at a car, tell someone to not cut a grocery store checkout line, ….nowadays you never know what the lunatics might do. In this situation- the Old guy might escalate, and or you defend yourself and hurt him- well now you face charges of 10+ years etc.

It’s not worth it especially in todays day and age.

Now if you live in Europe or somewhere other than USA, I would ask to rally and or ask him to leave the court politely. But america? No way would I risk any argument nowadays in this country. It’s a lose lose situation even if you are in the right.

BlueB · May 25, 2023

More important question: had he asked nicely to use the wall and suggested that you used the other court for serving, would have you accepted?

ptuanminh · May 25, 2023

BlueB said:
More important question: had he asked nicely to use the wall and suggested that you used the other court for serving, would have you accepted?

Its 50/50. I would probably give it to people who ask nicely. But not if you just walked into my court like that. ALthough, i don't think its that important of a question. I have the right to use that court for an hour.

Jst21121 said:
I would just walk away. The world is a crazy place today. If you honk at a car, tell someone to not cut a grocery store checkout line, ….nowadays you never know what the lunatics might do. In this situation- the Old guy might escalate, and or you defend yourself and hurt him- well now you face charges of 10+ years etc.

My thought exactly. I can take a serve at him, but what if he fell, hit his head

. Ofc, he didn't think like that when he hit the ball at me.

milk of amnesia · May 26, 2023

You didn't need to be practicing your serves on the one court that had a practice wall when there were other courts available. There's no telling how many times in the past that guy went to use the practice wall only to find some inconsiderate person using that court to practice his serves when there were empty courts near by. Today was probably the day that he just got fed up. What if that guy had hit you with the ball? Would you have escalated the situation? That guy was rude but so were you. If you're not actually going to use the wall, show some courtesy and practice on a different court so the wall is available to people who want to use it.

ptuanminh · May 26, 2023

milk of amnesia said:
You didn't need to be practicing your serves on the one court that had a practice wall when there were other courts available. There's no telling how many times in the past that guy went to use the practice wall only to find some inconsiderate person using that court to practice his serves when there were empty courts near by. Today was probably the day that he just got fed up. What if that guy had hit you with the ball? Would you have escalated the situation? That guy was rude but so were you. If you're not actually going to use the wall, show some courtesy and practice on a different court so the wall is available to people who want to use it.

so usually there are coaches teaching their students on that court. they didnt use the wall. they only use one side of the court. were they rude too?
those coaches and i are actually being considerate. i dont want the balls to go all over places when people are enjoying their tennis. u dont think of that?
u havent seen people step on balls rolling from other courts and hurt themselves? u are so inconsiderate.

nintendoplayer · May 26, 2023

I'd propose a different solution. In the spirit of competition, you could actually play Tennis to resolve the conflict

"We play a set. Whoever wins, stays on this court. The loser has to leave."

And after re-reading your first post....the old guy seemed to be completely OK with you serving while he's hitting the wall....? Why not continue serving and he has to live with potential balls hitting his back? Older guys are usually quite robust and not very sensitive

There's also the "respect the elderly" aspect. From that perspective, you could've asked him "Sir, is it OK for you if I continue serving and some balls might be flying at you, potentially?" ...."Yeah, whatever".....
so be it

In Japan, you would've bowed in respect to the elderly and gladly left the court to continue serving on another court

WYK · May 26, 2023

You had your choice of courts, yet you wouldn't go to a different one to let an old man hit the wall?
Park police had a few special words about you they didn't share, btw.

Curtennis · May 26, 2023

You get honest feedback and then are upset by it. Tells us everything we need to know.

5sets · May 26, 2023

I was with you up to the point where the gentleman wanted to use the one court with the wall and you refused to slide over for him.

5sets · May 26, 2023

This “old guy” probably fought in Korea or Vietnam for us and you could probably dish him a little respect even he’s a nuisance to your alone time with the only wall court.

Bambooman · May 26, 2023

5sets said:
This “old guy” probably fought in Korea or Vietnam for us and you could probably dish him a little respect even he’s a nuisance to your alone time with the only wall court.

In reality the old guy was probably born in that era, not a young adult.

We need to move the War Hero goalposts up to at least the Gulf War.

optic yellow · May 26, 2023

He literally just expected you to have the awareness that you were taking up the one court with a wall doing something that did not need a wall and offer to move. He should have asked but you also should have used your brain.

5sets · May 26, 2023

Bambooman said:
In reality the old guy was probably born in that era, not a young adult.

We need to move the War Hero goalposts up to at least the Gulf War.

Yes and no. Reading OPs thread I pictured Gran Torino coming to the court with an old duffel bag with two Pro Kennexes, wearing knee braces and new balances looking for some exercise and having to deal with a millennial in the latest Rafa kit refusing to slide over a court so he could use the hitting wall.

TennisManiac · May 26, 2023

ptuanminh said:
Today i had a bizarre experience on a tennis court. I took my ball hopper to a local tennis court that i frequent. I picked the furthest court in the corner so that i didn't have to go around pick up balls. That court also had a wall at the back. 2 other courts were empty, noone else was playing. I could practice my serves in peace. Or could i?
5 minutes into my practice session, an old guy walked into my court side with a tennis bag, put it down, and just stood there looking around, stretching and stuff. I guessed he was old and not all right in his head, since he didn't bother me, i wouldnt bother him, and kept serving. Then he walked a few steps into the court while i was serving and did his stretching. I stopped and told him nicely " Sir, you don't want to be in the court while i am serving. Some balls i can't control and i might hurt you." He withdrew to the court side. And i kept serving.
Now, he started walking towards the other side of the court and started hitting at the wall. I totally lost it, i started yelling at him that i got this court first, and if he wanted to use it, he had to wait. He started his rants about why i was taking the whole court to myself and he wanted to use the wall. At one point, he even hit a ball at me but missed. I was so close to walking towards him and hit a serve at his face. I thought twice about it. The guy was old and probably not ok in his head. I gained nothing from beating his old*ss. I shrugged and told him i would keep serving and if he got hit, thats on him. At one point, i tried to call park police but they told me to be nice and give him that court, which i think is ridiculous.
Eventually his friend came, told him to control himself, and dragged him to another court.
What would you do?

I would've grabbed his gear and tossed it over the fence.

optic yellow · May 26, 2023

TennisManiac said:
I would've grabbed his gear and tossed it over the fence.

But remember you're in the wrong, occupying the one court with a wall while doing something that is not using the wall.

mcs1970 · May 26, 2023

One of the HS I practice at has the same configuration. 4 courts right next to each other. So I always prefer playing on the courts that have a side wall so I am not constantly having balls go to the other court. One of those side wall courts also has a wall to hit against.

It is very difficult to practice serve on the other courts. I would say first one in should get the court. The other guy doesn’t get his way. Plus some of these guys start hitting at the wall and 5 mins later a partner shows up and suddenly they have one of the prime courts.

ptuanminh · May 26, 2023

5sets said:
I was with you up to the point where the gentleman wanted to use the one court with the wall and you refused to slide over for him.

first thing i took that court first. how the hell do i know someone is gonna show up to use the court. corner courts are best to practice serves.
second i would give it up if asked nicely. but when he already stepped inside my court and used it like he

ptuanminh · May 26, 2023

5sets said:
Yes and no. Reading OPs thread I pictured Gran Torino coming to the court with an old duffel bag with two Pro Kennexes, wearing knee braces and new balances looking for some exercise and having to deal with a millennial in the latest Rafa kit refusing to slide over a court so he could use the hitting wall.

lol sounds about right. i also didnt mention that he told me he would get somebody to f me in the a. who would want to give the court to a person like that.

ptuanminh · May 26, 2023

Question for coaches: I see coaches teaching on the court with the wall all the time. Will you give it up for other people like this? There are other empty courts. Thats the only court with the wall, and you are only using half of the court.

Rosstour · May 26, 2023

optic yellow said:
He literally just expected you to have the awareness that you were taking up the one court with a wall doing something that did not need a wall and offer to move. He should have asked but you also should have used your brain.

Well then he should ask politely. You don't just saunter onto a court while someone is using it. That's the one thing that will get me really mad/tilted on a public court.

optic yellow · May 26, 2023

Rosstour said:
Well then he should ask politely. You don't just saunter onto a court while someone is using it. That's the one thing that will get me really mad/tilted on a public court.

Sure but if OP is sitting there repeatedly judging the old guy for "not being all right in his head" then OP has assumed the responsibility for being the adult in control of the situation.

Nostradamus · May 26, 2023

milk of amnesia said:
You didn't need to be practicing your serves on the one court that had a practice wall when there were other courts available. There's no telling how many times in the past that guy went to use the practice wall only to find some inconsiderate person using that court to practice his serves when there were empty courts near by. Today was probably the day that he just got fed up. What if that guy had hit you with the ball? Would you have escalated the situation? That guy was rude but so were you. If you're not actually going to use the wall, show some courtesy and practice on a different court so the wall is available to people who want to use it.

so practice wall court is only for practice wall hitting ?? is that a rule ?

mcs1970 · May 26, 2023

optic yellow said:
Sure but if OP is sitting there repeatedly judging the old guy for "not being all right in his head" then OP has assumed the responsibility for being the adult in control of the situation.

Would you just walk on to a court where someone is serving? I have had this happen to me a couple of times as well. Even when there is no practice wall involved . Where a group shows up, sees a court with a single person practicing serves, and assume they can just take over that court.

I also wonder at that time if these folks are just having no social etiquette at all or if something is wrong with them.

ptuanminh · May 26, 2023

mcs1970 said:
Would you just walk on to a court where someone is serving? I have had this happen to me a couple of times as well. Even when there is no practice wall involved . Where a group shows up, sees a court with a single person practicing serves, and assume they can just take over that court.

I also wonder at that time if these folks are just having no social etiquette at all or if something is wrong with them.

Thats exactly why i thought there was something wrong with the guy.

FuzzyYellowBalls · May 26, 2023

I'd probably try to tickle him

tennis3 · May 26, 2023

ptuanminh said:
Its 50/50. I would probably give it to people who ask nicely. But not if you just walked into my court like that. ALthough, i don't think its that important of a question. I have the right to use that court for an hour.

If Mrs Henry Lafayette Dubose wanted to use the court, Atticus would have had his son Jem politely apologize and deferentially let Mrs. Dubose have the court.

ptuanminh · May 26, 2023

FuzzyYellowBalls said:
I'd probably try to tickle him

I'd like to see a video of that.

chuckersthenut · May 26, 2023

mcs1970 said:
Would you just walk on to a court where someone is serving? I have had this happen to me a couple of times as well. Even when there is no practice wall involved . Where a group shows up, sees a court with a single person practicing serves, and assume they can just take over that court.

I also wonder at that time if these folks are just having no social etiquette at all or if something is wrong with them.

There is something wrong with them. As someone pointed out above, they are angry. Most folks in America are dizzied by anger. Too much social media too much television not enough touching earth and being still. They are dizzy. Spun around by their tails and set loose upon the world. Best to walk away.

Federev · May 26, 2023

ptuanminh said:
Today i had a bizarre experience on a tennis court. I took my ball hopper to a local tennis court that i frequent. I picked the furthest court in the corner so that i didn't have to go around pick up balls. That court also had a wall at the back. 2 other courts were empty, noone else was playing. I could practice my serves in peace. Or could i?
5 minutes into my practice session, an old guy walked into my court side with a tennis bag, put it down, and just stood there looking around, stretching and stuff. I guessed he was old and not all right in his head, since he didn't bother me, i wouldnt bother him, and kept serving. Then he walked a few steps into the court while i was serving and did his stretching. I stopped and told him nicely " Sir, you don't want to be in the court while i am serving. Some balls i can't control and i might hurt you." He withdrew to the court side. And i kept serving.
Now, he started walking towards the other side of the court and started hitting at the wall. I totally lost it, i started yelling at him that i got this court first, and if he wanted to use it, he had to wait. He started his rants about why i was taking the whole court to myself and he wanted to use the wall. At one point, he even hit a ball at me but missed. I was so close to walking towards him and hit a serve at his face. I thought twice about it. The guy was old and probably not ok in his head. I gained nothing from beating his old*ss. I shrugged and told him i would keep serving and if he got hit, thats on him. At one point, i tried to call park police but they told me to be nice and give him that court, which i think is ridiculous.
Eventually his friend came, told him to control himself, and dragged him to another court.
What would you do?

THIS IS CRAZY!!

Just today - I walked to a bunch of courts and this guy is practicing serves at the one court where there was a wall that I like to use.

2 other courts were empty, no one else there. He could have used those.

So I’m hoping he gets the point and I start stretching on the court side and he’s all “sir I might hit you with my servers, etc.”

I can’t belief the guy didn’t get the hint. He goes back to serving.

Fair enough - I just go to the wall and start hitting.

He starts freaking out! “I got here first!!” I’m like - “you could have used the other courts!”

Finally I lost it to - I’m super old so I got scared and hit a ball towards him. I missed - luckily - cause you never know today.

Anyway, eventually my friend came and dragged me away to another court.

SO WEIRD that happened to us on the same day.

FuzzyYellowBalls · May 26, 2023

ptuanminh said:
I'd like to see a video of that.

I would too, lol, he'd probably pull out an old man picket knife and stab me.

Ronaldo · May 26, 2023

TennisManiac said:
I would've grabbed his gear and tossed it over the fence.

Done that before on a public court. Cept it was my gear

legcramp · May 26, 2023

I probably would've just let the old dude have the wall and move to the other court. If someone shows up and they take the good court then I would complain and switch courts back if he's not actually using the wall.

tennis3 · May 26, 2023

ptuanminh said:
What would you do?

I always do a quick thought experiment. I ask myself, if the roles were reversed and I had done exactly what he did, what would his reaction be? In other words, if he were practicing serve and I walked onto his court, what would he do? My guess is he'd react exactly as you did. Which tells you that he understands that what he's doing is not right. Understanding this, you know it's not about explaining things to him. He already knows.

Oddly enough, this is the normal case. The people that would scream the loudest if this were done to them are the ones that have no trouble doing the same thing to others. It's just the way the world is. So you have to decide if it's worth engaging with the person and standing your ground (defending your rights as it were), or if you are better off walking away. It's something only you can decide for yourself in any situation. But you have to understand what you are dealing with and how it's likely to play out before you start.

Personally, I usually apologize to this type of person for being in their way and ask if it would be OK if I practiced serve on one of the other courts. Not sounding "snarky". I try to sound more like an old fashioned Southern Gentleman. It's always the last thing they expect, and gets some interesting reactions. The most likely one being that the guy would volunteer to move to the other court himself. I can explain the psychology of why this happens, but you can probably figure it out for yourself I bet.

ptuanminh · May 26, 2023

Federev said:
THIS IS CRAZY!!

Just today - I walked to a bunch of courts and this guy is practicing serves at the one court where there was a wall that I like to use.

2 other courts were empty, no one else there. He could have used those.

You me, tennis battle to death

.
I hear you guys. Thanks for discussing. I should have been a better man towards someone who is supposed to be older and more respectable than me. I never realized how crazy people can be.

Federev · May 26, 2023

ptuanminh said:
You me, tennis battle to death .
I hear you guys. Thanks for discussing. I should have been a better man towards someone who is supposed to be older and more respectable than me. I never realized how crazy people can be.

You were wise to not mess with him. This is a crazy world.

The fact that you’re taking this all in stride is to your credit and it makes me think there really was something wrong with him!

optic yellow · May 26, 2023

ptuanminh said:
You me, tennis battle to death .
I hear you guys. Thanks for discussing. I should have been a better man towards someone who is supposed to be older and more respectable than me. I never realized how crazy people can be.

Older is not necessarily better than you in every way don't forget that

optic yellow · May 26, 2023

mcs1970 said:
Would you just walk on to a court where someone is serving? I have had this happen to me a couple of times as well. Even when there is no practice wall involved . Where a group shows up, sees a court with a single person practicing serves, and assume they can just take over that court.

I also wonder at that time if these folks are just having no social etiquette at all or if something is wrong with them.

That is a completely different situation than this situation.

mcs1970 · May 26, 2023

optic yellow said:
That is a completely different situation than this situation.

At the end of the day who comes first has first dibs. The other side needs to be respectful and ask. If it doesn’t go their way they just need to move on. There is no mandate here that the other party has to accommodate.

I have played on shaded courts in extremely hot conditions and seen families with smaller kids or older people ( though I am not young myself ) and have offered my court in exchange. I have sometimes gone with a hamper of balls and served only 30 mins and seen a family come in and given up my court so that the group can enjoy.

At the same time, I have also gone to the type of courts I described in my first post where if the corner courts were not available, I have just driven away because practicing serving in the middle two courts is a nightmare. So if I am looking to practice my serve and I get one of the corner courts, I don’t feel it is wrong that I continue on that court.

optic yellow · May 26, 2023

mcs1970 said:
At the end of the day who comes first has first dibs. The other side needs to be respectful and ask. If it doesn’t go their way they just need to move on. There is no mandate here that the other party has to accommodate.

Idk to me things change if one person views the other as "not right" in the head. There is some level of baseline obligation to being a good citizen/society whatever.

mcs1970 said:
I have played on shaded courts in extremely hot conditions and seen families with smaller kids or older people ( though I am not young myself ) and have offered my court in exchange. I have sometimes gone with a hamper of balls and served only 30 mins and seen a family come in and given up my court so that the group can enjoy.

At the same time, I have also gone to the type of courts I described in my first post where if the corner courts were not available, I have just driven away because practicing serving in the middle two courts is a nightmare. So if I am looking to practice my serve and I get one of the corner courts, I don’t feel it is wrong that I continue on that court.

In this case it sounds like another corner court was available:

ptuanminh said:
2 other courts were empty, noone else was playing.

TennisManiac · May 26, 2023

optic yellow said:
But remember you're in the wrong, occupying the one court with a wall while doing something that is not using the wall.

Yeah but the guy wasn't there to hit against the wall. He was waiting for his partner.

milk of amnesia · May 26, 2023

mcs1970 said:
Would you just walk on to a court where someone is serving? I have had this happen to me a couple of times as well. Even when there is no practice wall involved . Where a group shows up, sees a court with a single person practicing serves, and assume they can just take over that court.

I also wonder at that time if these folks are just having no social etiquette at all or if something is wrong with them.

I have had this happen to me too. I am guessing these people think they are entitled to bully a single person off the court if they can. Something is wrong with them: they are too stupid/selfish to understand the value of social skills.

Ronaldo · May 26, 2023

Ronaldo said:
Done that before on a public court. Cept it was my gear

Lost my sixth USTA league match in-a-row that summer. Told my partner and team the fork was in. I am going down. Never, ever thought I would go to the Nat'ls the next year in Orlando. Can walk to the court and fence tonite where I tossed that bag of racquets. Funny world,

optic yellow · May 26, 2023

TennisManiac said:
Yeah but the guy wasn't there to hit against the wall. He was waiting for his partner.

That complicates it a bit I can concede.

5sets · May 26, 2023

ptuanminh said:
lol sounds about right. i also didnt mention that he told me he would get somebody to f me in the a. who would want to give the court to a person like that.

Believe it or not men used to actually talk crap to eachother and use vulgar language at times before cancel culture and everyone gets offended at the slightest joke. Again, Gran Torino. Give old people a pass. Grab your practice balls and slide over a court.

J D · May 26, 2023

I have been in a similar situation a couple of times recently. 2 courts, both open, 1 with a wall. Both times I had been hitting against the wall and was serving on the same court when someone else showed up. Each time I asked the new person if they wanted to use the wall. One said, “Yes,” I said, “Give me a couple of minutes to pick up my balls.” Other person said, “No, I’m waiting on someone.” We hit until the partner got there.

If I’m alone and there are no other open courts, I will always yield to 2-4 players. I believe in the golden rule and deferring for the greater good. A little consideration makes the world a much nicer place.

Your old guy was wrong but, IMO, there was room for you to have handled it better, too (hey, you asked).

ptuanminh · May 26, 2023

optic yellow said:
That complicates it a bit I can concede.

yeah he hit the wall for like 5 minutes and started playing with his partner

Vicious49 · May 26, 2023

optic yellow said:
Sure but if OP is sitting there repeatedly judging the old guy for "not being all right in his head" then OP has assumed the responsibility for being the adult in control of the situation.

This is the only valid reason I would have given up the court. If the guy actually seemed off and maybe had dementia or some other old person thing going on.

Anything else and I would have told him to get the F off my court. Especially if he had already started using vulgarity towards me. I would have set my phone down and let it record the entire thing. Let him swing first and anything after that is self defense. Too many pu$$!%$ in the US nowadays.

Not quite the same situation but I remember when I was younger I was waiting in the mall parking lot around holiday time. It is super busy and tough to get a spot. I had my signal on and waiting for someone to back out. The guy backed out the way that blocked me so someone coming from the other side tried to quickly pull in. Screw that! We both pulled in half way and sat there. I blasted my music loud as possible and waited. I had no place to be. The other person eventually moved after about 5 minutes. Right is right and wrong is wrong.

I'm honking at you on the road if you're on your phone and swerving or doing something else stupid. You're not John Wick where you're going to be able to hit me from a moving vehicle. And if you pull a gun out, I'm pinning you in to the wall Nascar style so it's easier for the cops to spot you. People need to grow a pair.

Fed Kennedy · May 26, 2023

optic yellow said:
That is a completely different situation than this situation.

Where I’m from you can’t hold a court by yourself. If two people show up to play and you are solo serve wanking…gtfo

optic yellow · May 27, 2023

ptuanminh said:
yeah he hit the wall for like 5 minutes and started playing with his partner

Yeah what @J D said covers it then.

Fed Kennedy said:
Where I’m from you can’t hold a court by yourself. If two people show up to play and you are solo serve wanking…gtfo

If it's the only court available for sure. To me it sounded like there were multiple and they just wanted that specific one which is a harder sell imo.

Tennis court fight

Hall of Fame

Rookie

Legend

Hall of Fame

Legend

Hall of Fame

Semi-Pro

Hall of Fame

Hall of Fame

Hall of Fame

Hall of Fame

Hall of Fame

Legend

Hall of Fame

Hall of Fame

Legend

Hall of Fame

Hall of Fame

Hall of Fame

Hall of Fame

G.O.A.T.

Legend

Bionic Poster

Hall of Fame

Hall of Fame

Legend

Hall of Fame

Hall of Fame

Hall of Fame

Legend

Legend

Bionic Poster

Professional

Hall of Fame

Hall of Fame

Legend

Legend

Legend

Hall of Fame

Legend

Hall of Fame

Legend

Bionic Poster

Legend

Hall of Fame

Semi-Pro

Hall of Fame

Legend

Legend

Legend

Similar threads