Short back story:
My friend, we'll call him Bob (all names have been changed to protect the innocent, and the stupid) is a 3.5 He's in his early 50s, relatively athletic, short, stocky but muscular. He's been a 3.5 for two years and was a 3.0 for a number of years prior to that. He doesn't win terribly often, often due to his mental game, but has decent strokes and an OK serve (we're talking ~70mph, maybe 75 tops).
Bob had a 6.0 mixed league match last night. He was playing with his 2.5 female partner, and they were playing another 3.5 male/2.5 female combo. They won the match 6-0, 6-4. The opposing male was missing a ton of shots and they generally played high percentage tennis, no picking on anyone or any of that.
Last night, Bob received an email from his female opponent's husband (who was not at the match). We'll call her Sara, and the husband John. John played on Bob's 3.5 team in the spring, though they didn't play together at all, they are acquainted. Below is the email he received, verbatim except for name changes:
**Begin email**
Bob,
I understand you hit your first serve at my wife full throttle tonight. That makes you a worthless piece of crap. I can't wait until the next time I see you, we have a score to settle. 6.0 doubles is about learning and developing a love for the game. You owe my wife an apology.
I have told everyone of my friends and past teammates what a wonderful group of guys I met and played with at Tennis Community where match was played. I didn't realize I should have excepted one little *******.
If you would like to discuss your actions, my cell phone is xxx-xxxx. Better yet you can call Sara and apologize at xxx-xxxx.
If you don't want to apologize, I'll see you soon.
John
**End email**
Not only did John send this to Bob, he sent it to everyone's email from their shared 3.5 team that most all play at that tennis community.
I spoke with Bob this morning and confirmed he didn't drill Sara at the net, hit any overheads at her, etc. In fact, the tennis pro of this community (who is the nicest guy ever), watched their first set and congratulated Bob after the match indicating Bob played very smart, good tennis.
So not only does this guy berate Bob for having the gall to hit a full first serve in a league match (sarcasm), he effectively threatens the guy for doing so, and in front of an audience by CC'ing a whole bunch of uninvolved folks. I encouraged Bob to pass it on to the USTA and let them deal with it.
Ironically, Bob is an attorney and works for the court system, so he's probably the wrong guy to threaten, passively or otherwise. That, and I'm 99% sure Bob could kick this guy's ass, should he ever reduce himself to that level.
I'm just shocked by the whole thing.
My friend, we'll call him Bob (all names have been changed to protect the innocent, and the stupid) is a 3.5 He's in his early 50s, relatively athletic, short, stocky but muscular. He's been a 3.5 for two years and was a 3.0 for a number of years prior to that. He doesn't win terribly often, often due to his mental game, but has decent strokes and an OK serve (we're talking ~70mph, maybe 75 tops).
Bob had a 6.0 mixed league match last night. He was playing with his 2.5 female partner, and they were playing another 3.5 male/2.5 female combo. They won the match 6-0, 6-4. The opposing male was missing a ton of shots and they generally played high percentage tennis, no picking on anyone or any of that.
Last night, Bob received an email from his female opponent's husband (who was not at the match). We'll call her Sara, and the husband John. John played on Bob's 3.5 team in the spring, though they didn't play together at all, they are acquainted. Below is the email he received, verbatim except for name changes:
**Begin email**
Bob,
I understand you hit your first serve at my wife full throttle tonight. That makes you a worthless piece of crap. I can't wait until the next time I see you, we have a score to settle. 6.0 doubles is about learning and developing a love for the game. You owe my wife an apology.
I have told everyone of my friends and past teammates what a wonderful group of guys I met and played with at Tennis Community where match was played. I didn't realize I should have excepted one little *******.
If you would like to discuss your actions, my cell phone is xxx-xxxx. Better yet you can call Sara and apologize at xxx-xxxx.
If you don't want to apologize, I'll see you soon.
John
**End email**
Not only did John send this to Bob, he sent it to everyone's email from their shared 3.5 team that most all play at that tennis community.
I spoke with Bob this morning and confirmed he didn't drill Sara at the net, hit any overheads at her, etc. In fact, the tennis pro of this community (who is the nicest guy ever), watched their first set and congratulated Bob after the match indicating Bob played very smart, good tennis.
So not only does this guy berate Bob for having the gall to hit a full first serve in a league match (sarcasm), he effectively threatens the guy for doing so, and in front of an audience by CC'ing a whole bunch of uninvolved folks. I encouraged Bob to pass it on to the USTA and let them deal with it.
Ironically, Bob is an attorney and works for the court system, so he's probably the wrong guy to threaten, passively or otherwise. That, and I'm 99% sure Bob could kick this guy's ass, should he ever reduce himself to that level.
I'm just shocked by the whole thing.
