Best compliment you've received

Bender

G.O.A.T.
I was asked if I played as a junior after having an excellent set of serving. I took that as a major compliment.
A couple of ex-college players in their thirties I beat in singles seemed surprised and a bit upset that I didn’t play any college tennis when they asked after the match. It seems like their egos can handle only losing to others who played college tennis even though they played college tennis more than fifteen years ago. I took their surprise as a nice compliment.
I didn't start tennis until I enrolled in Tennis 101 my junior year in college.

So nowadays (10+ years later) when someone asks me what high school or college I played for, I take that as a compliment.
I've been asked where I played in college. That was a milestone.
More recently, I was hitting with a WTA pro and we both were complimented on "great hitting by both of you"
Oh, I've had that happen to me before. I started learning "properly" at the young age of 23 back in 2013 (or thereabouts) on an on-off basis. That compliment was weird come to think of it now because I've seen videos of me playing back then, so either they were lying or they were blind. Possibly both.
 

Injured Again

Hall of Fame
"**** you! @#&!! You were just lucky!" (after a match I won)

I regularly play this guy who is the absolute nicest person you'd want to meet, but he is a high level age grouper and very competitive on court. Whenever we play a match, my entire goal is to get him to either give me the finger or to swear at me. These usually happen after a long point when I've run him around, and then hit some sort of frustrating winner like a drop shot or a short little angle behind him. Even better is a mis-hit winner, and the more frame involved the better.

After the finger or the four letter (or better, both), I usually will raise both arms and yell "Yeah!!!!". We both crack up, and continue on.
 

Bender

G.O.A.T.
I regularly play this guy who is the absolute nicest person you'd want to meet, but he is a high level age grouper and very competitive on court. Whenever we play a match, my entire goal is to get him to either give me the finger or to swear at me. These usually happen after a long point when I've run him around, and then hit some sort of frustrating winner like a drop shot or a short little angle behind him. Even better is a mis-hit winner, and the more frame involved the better.

After the finger or the four letter (or better, both), I usually will raise both arms and yell "Yeah!!!!". We both crack up, and continue on.
You need to upgrade your celebration:

RafaelNadal07_Wimbledon1-1.jpg
 
D

Deleted member 776614

Guest
I was in my Sunday 3.5-4.0 clinic. My opponent hits one out really wide. I sprint across the baseline and rip a stellar OHBH on the run that paints the line. I was in a total flow state and it was absolutely perfect.
The coach stops play and music, and says through the loudspeaker: "What are you, a touring pro?!?! That should be on a Roland Garros highlight reel!" (It was on clay and same time as RG finals.)
 

cha cha

Professional
Not the best compliment I have received, but the guy taking the picture this weekend accompanied it with: "Now that's a proper serve" : - D

DBSHOug.jpg
 

bitcoinoperated

Hall of Fame
Last April, when I was in a drill, the pro asked how long I was playing. When I told him 5 months, he said "You've got to be f***ing kidding me"

The look of his surprise was genuine.

1st April though, right? Then you told him you learnt everything from TTW and he should check it out.
 

Hit 'em clean

Semi-Pro
We had a former ATP Pro at our club who won the mixed US Open doubles. I used to hit with him quite a bit and he complimented me by saying 'You hit a nice heavy ball'. I get that a lot, but coming from someone like that meant a bit more.

The best non-verbal compliment I got was a 4.5 doubles match and literally 3 games in they started conferencing like crazy every time they were serving to me. Australian and whatever else they could think of they were trying it. My return of serve is one of my strengths, but I was pretty ridiculous that day. I was ripping winners left and right and watching them twist themselves into knots trying to come up with a way to slow me down was quite the compliment.

I also like the compliment when people ask 'how do you hit your forehand' after having watched me hit/play... I get that one every so often and it's always nice.
 

russellg

New User
Had a serve lesson on Saturday, warmed up a few and then hit six balls the best I could. Coach looked at me and said 'That's pretty good for a second serve', my response with a smile was 'That's a soul destroying comment'.
 

LocNetMonster

Professional
The one that makes me grin every time is during my first service game in doubles is when an opposing player tells/reminds his partner with "he doesn't have a second serve."
 

Ronaldo

Bionic Poster
You are an error machine! Another doubles partner that just wanted to cheer me up.
 
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norcal

Legend
After a league match I heard my opponent say to a teammate, "that is the best backhand I ever played against". I'm sure he meant in a match at our level but still was nice to hear him say that.
Made me feel great but also made me wonder why he didn't hit more to my fh (much weaker side) lol.
 

ByeByePoly

G.O.A.T.
Not exactly a compliment ... but funny comment. I was playing a pro-am where we drew for partners. Typically on this yearly club pro-am the pros would range from local open division players, local current college players, and occasionally someone who had played WTA, and old ex-ATP. One year I drew a local club pro (nice guy) that had to sub for someone at the last minute. My USTA teammate looks over and says "that has to sting ... you are better than your pro". We didn't win. 8-B
 

Ronaldo

Bionic Poster
You should sue your legs for non-support..........................................................mixed dubs partner. She then planted her 1st serve in my left ear. First & last time we teamed up
 
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Pitti

Rookie
During my last match: ”What a son of a **** you are!“, after making the other guy run from side to side, dropshotting + lobbing him, making him run again and finishing the point with another drop shot he didn’t catch. Not the most beautiful compliment, but probably the best one.
 

Bender

G.O.A.T.
The one that makes me grin every time is during my first service game in doubles is when an opposing player tells/reminds his partner with "he doesn't have a second serve."
I’ve had someone say that about me once, and then I immediately double faulted after that.

“I don’t have a first serve either”
 

Ronaldo

Bionic Poster
I’ve had someone say that about me once, and then I immediately double faulted after that.

“I don’t have a first serve either”

An ex-partner, buried most, decided he was moving on to greener pastures and we played each other in a doubles tourney. He had so many hitches that Shirley something is gonna go wrong. And usually does. Got soooooooo baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaad he was serving under-handed at the end of our match.
 

zill

Legend
A 5.0 player who has used a 2hb all his life (although clearly not the natural side for him) saw me hit 2hb and must have been so impressed that he asked me for a lesson on the 2hb. Except I only have had not even 1.5 years of experience with the 2hb. Used a 1hb for 16 years and only changed to a 2hb in June last year.
 

Pumpkin

Professional
Not really a compliment but there was a player who was beating everyone with his big forehand and I worked out a game plan on a piece of paper for him. It worked beautifully and I whipped him. He stormed off the court crying, threw his racquet and proclaimed that he would never play tennis again.
 
Not really a compliment but there was a player who was beating everyone with his big forehand and I worked out a game plan on a piece of paper for him. It worked beautifully and I whipped him. He stormed off the court crying, threw his racquet and proclaimed that he would never play tennis again.
Good job!
 

Radicalized

Professional
The one that sticks out as funny for obvious reasons, was during a rally, all of the sudden I heard a pack of girls (just a full explanation--not meant to be sexist or any such...) from the high school team saying, "Look how low they are hitting the ball over the net."
 

a10best

Legend
Some people like watching me hit and say, "Oh, you've got beautiful technique. You make it look so easy."
But like the typical tennis player, I think to myself yea, but I am still losing sometimes to some very ugly stroke opponents who are 20+ yrs younger.
Then I think to myself., "meh, I'm going to play more doubles. Forget singles."
 

derick232

Rookie
While playing pickleball with an older gent. "So you play professional tennis?" I laughed and said no I wish, it was quite a compliment even if from a pickleballer.
The most common one I get is "That's the best/fastest serve I've ever played against". To which I reply, "I could hardly find people to play with, so I always spent hours perfecting my serve and it paid off"
 

S&V-not_dead_yet

Talk Tennis Guru
The one that sticks out as funny for obvious reasons, was during a rally, all of the sudden I heard a pack of girls (just a full explanation--not meant to be sexist or any such...) from the high school team saying, "Look how low they are hitting the ball over the net."

Did you net the next one?
 

S&V-not_dead_yet

Talk Tennis Guru
"You've got hands coming out of your pockets!", said an opponent after I reflex volleyed two tough body shots, the 2nd one for a winner.

It made sense at the time.
 

Radicalized

Professional
Did you net the next one?
I believe we kept it up until a "winner." But I answered to say the school no longer has a tennis team. But it was more amusing because it was a time on TT when shot trajectory and such complaints were at their apex. And like it or not, stuff from this board pops into my head during real life. Similarly, one father was feeding balls to one of the players, and she was complaining that the bounce wasn't right.
 
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