Biggest Pet Peeve in Tennis?

When I'm in the middle of a match and people come onto an adjacent court and just talk, talk, talk. I don't take myself or my game all that seriously, and I really don't mind some ambient noise, but players who don't grasp the simple idea that you should refrain from loud, endless conversation while on a tennis court really irk me.
 
Mine are:

When you're hitting around and you are the only one hitting good shots off the first bounce...when they cant get to your good shots, they let it bounce however many times until they get there, then try to crush the ball away from you and act like THEY hit an amazing shot....I just think, just hit it back neutral so we can keep hitting...now i gotta to the next court to get that ball :evil:

When teenagers that DONT play tennis, find a racquet and start acting stupid on the public courts instead of trying to learn how to play, or at least trying to stay out of the way and NOT hit balls 4 courts over.

Watching tennis channel and that USAA commercial comes on, and the little blonde boy starts talking...He looks exactly like the kid that played Seven on Married with Children :twisted: I hated that kid lol
 
One that I came across just the other night when I was playing.
There was a kid (maybe 7 or 8 years old) that walked onto the court next to mine, big Babolat bag, lots of AeroPro in his bag, and his poor poor mother hauling a brand new tennis tutor ball machine.
Unfortunately, the kid could not hit a single flippen ball for the life of him! He literally only made contact with the ball on the string 5 times per bucket load. Not only that, the kid was standing in "no man's land" swatting at every ball coming his way.
If all that wasn't bad enough, he would yell at his mother to "speed up" the machine because his timing was off. Furthermore, every time the machine ran out of balls, this little snot would have his mother fetch the balls and refill the machine while he "rested".
Seriously, this little punk had something like $3k in new tennis gear and could not consistently hit a ball for the life of him.

It's one of my biggest pet peeves, parent who spoil their children when it comes to tennis.

That mother could have saved herself a bunch of money by buying her son a $15 Wal-Mart racquet, a can of balls, and introduce her kid to a wall to practice hitting.
 
AtomicForehand said:
I find it incredibly annoying when there is a ball on the court and someone swats it toward the net or the side or the back fence. Then we all have to wait for it to ricochet off the net or fence and stop rolling again. And then maybe the ball STILL needs to be cleared.

If you're close enough to touch the ball with your racquet, you're close enough to pick up the damned thing and put it in your pocket. Quit wasting everybody's time.
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+10. I also played a guy who always wanted all 3 balls, made a big show of inspecting the 3 balls then discarded one to the back fence. After the point was over, he retrieved the 3rd ball, spent about 5 seconds inspecting the 3 balls again, and discarded one again. He did this every single point he served...maybe he was used to playing with a full panoply of ballboys.

He also brought a deckchair and sat down for 5 minutes at each changeover, took about 3 hours to complete our 2 setter (no tiebreaks).
 
SunYiXian said:
Mine would definitely be when my opponent hits a netcord winner and doesn't apologize. I know that 99% of the time, the apology isn't sincere but I just want to see the apology. Tennis is a gentleman's sport after all. Oh and if you celebrate a netcord winner, **** you.
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Celebrated it twice on the match point in 2 different league matches. My back hand topspin caused it to go over
 
Getting questioned on my calls when I am Standing right at the base line...and looking down at your shot sail deep. Im RIGHT THERE!!! If I was at the net,,,,and you hit a lob and I have to take a long glance back and make a judgement call, that's a different story. But its disrespectful to question a call when Im looking right down at it.

My saying is: Almost in is...........OUT
 
The thing that really annoys me is there's this one guy I play. Whenever I hit a serve long, he calls out but then takes a full swing at it and rifles it back to me like he's trying to hit a winner. So annoying, then sometimes the ball will go to someone else's court or I have to go get it for the next point, when it proceeds to happen all over again. Then when I get the serve in, he just dinks it back like a pansy. Can't stand the guy. He's a real world-beater when the shots don't count.
 
qwanta said:
... I also played a guy who always wanted all 3 balls, made a big show of inspecting the 3 balls then discarded one to the back fence. After the point was over, he retrieved the 3rd ball, spent about 5 seconds inspecting the 3 balls again, and discarded one again. He did this every single point he served...
He also brought a deckchair and sat down for 5 minutes at each changeover, took about 3 hours to complete our 2 setter (no tiebreaks).
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Nothing wrong with inspecting all the balls, since after a few games they change characteristics and one will fly through the air faster. Placing the third ball behind you at the fence is right too, if you have two in one pocket, it could fall out when running hard, causing you to be called for a hindrance. You don't want it in your other pocket because you'll hit it on your follow-through.

You have ninety seconds on the changeovers, except on the first and tie-breakers. If he's taking five minutes, call him on it--are you maybe exaggerating how long he's taking? Bringing his own chair is smart to, some places don't have them. I bet he brought his own water jug too. Sounds like a tournament player.
 
Another classic pet-peeve is the guy you beat by playing consistent tennis, not trying to go for shots that aren't there, picking your chances to be aggressive, serving smart, not double-faulting, then when you win, the guy says: "I like playing the bigger hitters, it's such a great challenge. I'm better when I get more pace to play with." completely disregarding how well you played to beat him even without hitting the big, booming shots.
 
tennis tom said:
Nothing wrong with inspecting all the balls, since after a few games they change characteristics and one will fly through the air faster. Placing the third ball behind you at the fence is right too, if you have two in one pocket, it could fall out when running hard, causing you to be called for a hindrance. You don't want it in your other pocket because you'll hit it on your follow-through.

You have ninety seconds on the changeovers, except on the first and tie-breakers. If he's taking five minutes, call him on it--are you maybe exaggerating how long he's taking? Bringing his own chair is smart to, some places don't have them. I bet he brought his own water jug too. Sounds like a tournament player.
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I can see inspecting the balls at the beginning of the service game, but doing so on every point is exaggerated. If you're going to do that, then figure out how to keep all 3 balls on your person (perhaps use both shorts pocket).

I didn't know the 90 second rule, looked it up after the match, now I know!

Also, the guy was a huge foot faulter, taking one or two big steps into the court before hitting the ball with his racquet, so probably not a tournament player.
 
JackB1 said:
guys that refuse to say the score before each serve

guys that are receiving and say the score without giving me a chance to say it


guys that can't grasp the concept of holding one ball while I'm serving
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I totally agree with the holding of the one ball thing. That really bugs me.
And fortunatley it doesn't happen much, but when the receiver calls out the score early without giving you the chance, it is offensive. It implies they don't trust you. And BTW, I do call out the score. If I didn't, then the receiver might be right in doing it.
 
that_was_just_out said:
Another classic pet-peeve is the guy you beat by playing consistent tennis, not trying to go for shots that aren't there, picking your chances to be aggressive, serving smart, not double-faulting, then when you win, the guy says: "I like playing the bigger hitters, it's such a great challenge. I'm better when I get more pace to play with." completely disregarding how well you played to beat him even without hitting the big, booming shots.
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that's the guy who will call you a pusher, he needs pace bc otherwise he has no aggressive strokes; so of course its your fault for not being "good" enough. basically "hey why don't you give me the ball how i like it so i can beat you....please".

People who think pace make you good are a pet peeve of mine.....yes i can crack the ball hard by why should i if i don't have to to beat you? no you are not gonna get my hardest serve bc you can just stick your racquet out and bunt it back past me with all my pace. I'll put more effort into spin and placement till you show you can handle that.
 
OrangePower said:
Yes, because picking the right ball is crucial when looking for that extra 0.1mph to close out a 3.5 GOAT match.
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Yes you're right, if your aspirations are 3.5 for life, it probably would not matter, and in fact you would be looked on as weird for doing so. That tip was aimed at those who may want to learn something that will help them improve. Sorry to have diminished your valuable band-width with such useless info.
 
tennis tom said:
Yes you're right, if your aspirations are 3.5 for life, it probably would not matter, and in fact you would be looked on as weird for doing so. That tip was aimed at those who may want to learn something that will help them improve. Sorry to have diminished your valuable band-width with such useless info.
Click to expand...

My bandwidth is infinite so no worries.
You have convinced me.
Picking the right ball is a critical piece on the path from 3.5 to 4.0 enlightenment.
 
tennis tom said:
Nothing wrong with inspecting all the balls, since after a few games they change characteristics and one will fly through the air faster. Placing the third ball behind you at the fence is right too, if you have two in one pocket, it could fall out when running hard, causing you to be called for a hindrance. You don't want it in your other pocket because you'll hit it on your follow-through.

You have ninety seconds on the changeovers, except on the first and tie-breakers. If he's taking five minutes, call him on it--are you maybe exaggerating how long he's taking? Bringing his own chair is smart to, some places don't have them. I bet he brought his own water jug too. Sounds like a tournament player.
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He does, indeed. Probably also wears a hat on a hot sunny day!
 
8F93W5 said:
It implies they don't trust you. And BTW, I do call out the score. If I didn't, then the receiver might be right in doing it.
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If you are a Low Talker who mumbles the score into your Tshirt, I will call out the score.

If you are one of those people who calls the score as you are tossing to serve, I will preempt this by calling out the score.

If you are one of those people who will try to settle a scoring dispute with "Well, I called the score and no one objected so I must be right," then I will call out the score if you aren't doing it consistently and loudly.

If we have had a scoring dispute, or if you keep forgetting the score, or if you keep saying it incorrectly, I will preempt this by calling out the score.

If you are offended by this, too bad. If you get the message and start announcing the score correctly, Mission Accomplished and I will stop.
 
I've got one that sometimes annoys me a bit, comes up more for social hits than matches: when people put all their stuff (bag, water bottles, etc) on the courtside bench, so that there's no room to actually sit down. Now if I want to take I seat on a changeover or break, I've either got to move someone else's stuff, or ask them to move it, or just stand there while their stuff gets priority seating over me.

Your stuff won't know the difference if you set it on the court and let the people use the bench. I promise. :)
 
1) Badly-maintained public courts. Cracks all over the place, a hard court surface so oxidized that it's slippery, etc.

2) Opponents / hitting partners so cheap they'd rather play on a court like (1) rather than pony up a few bucks to play on much better courts.

2a) too cheap to open up a can or two of balls, and would rather hit with used balls so old they haven't
bounced since 2010

3) The loudmouth two courts down who has to maintain a running monologue about his match, to the unending delight of everyone else playing tennis around him. And then who only gets louder when asked to keep it down.

"Oh! Hey John! Did you hear that? I guess I'm making too much noise for those guys on the next court. Well, excuse me! I didn't know this was the US Open! I didn't know we were playing golf here! Hey, John! What are ya waiting for? Serve, already. Geez. ... OUT!!!! Geez, get one in, willya? I'd like to play too you know...Geez..."
 
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rh310 said:
2a) too cheap to open up a can or two of balls, and would rather hit with used balls so old they haven't
bounced since 2010

3) The loudmouth two courts down who has to maintain a running monologue about his match...
Click to expand...

Yes and yes, ran into this while playing with the "three old farts trying to one-up each other" yesterday. I brought four cans of the "cheap" costco penns so we could have six balls with the same numbers--and wouldn't you know it, the court next to us has the identical numbered balls--they'll do it every time. Unfortunately, "Mr. Big Mouth" was one of the "old farts" in OUR group. And of course he didn't open any balls, comes down with only his racket of course (no bag to put any balls in) and starts making snide remarks about how "big" my new bag is (it's big because I have to keep extra balls in it to compensate for cheap-creeps like you). Of course Mr. No Balls starts *****ing about "all these balls everywhere"--none are his of course--his wife does all the shopping and unfortunately they don't sell tennis balls at Sak's. I told him, "Don't worry, you'll see, we'll be needing them all before too long." After the ****ty non-"warm-up-- since Mr. Bigmouth can't hit two balls in a row to save his life, he put's the three "extra" balls on the net post tea-tray, not enough room in his big-mouth pockets. I grab them and put them into mine, knowing before long, half our balls will be on the next court or in the parking lot, or behind Mr. Big Mouth, who never retrieves a ball--unless it's for gamesmanship.

RESOLUTION: Next time I'm invited to play with the cheap-skate old farts, just say NO!, it's a waste of time, practice hitting serves or against a wall.
 
People who can't play with even the slightest distractions? I used to play a lot of hoop and trash talk and distractions are part of the game.

Learn to shut it out wimps! We play at a public park and "**** happens"...yeah, a few balls will roll on your court, an ambulance may go by, suck it up and move on. I've seen players quit and go home...go to the country club and play golf!

The only distraction that keeps me from staying focused on my game may be when a few particular college coeds happen to jog by...and me and my crew allow that to be a "let", and then replay the point!:twisted:
 
HRB said:
...Learn to shut it out wimps! We play at a public park and "**** happens"

...The only distraction that keeps me from staying focused on my game may be when a few particular college coeds happen to jog by...and me and my crew allow that to be a "let", and then replay the point!:twisted:
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"Oh, ladies look at those brave lads, swatting at those fuzzy balls. Aren't they so handsome with those big bulges in their tight little shorts, you can almost make out the numbers on their balls! "Maybe we should hang out here and get a ride to the soda shop in their Corolla's after our quarter mile around the track."

Sounds like a tuff hood you and your crew hang out in, community college courts, huh.
 
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rh310 said:
1) Badly-maintained public courts. Cracks all over the place, a hard court surface so oxidized that it's slippery, etc.

2) Opponents / hitting partners so cheap they'd rather play on a court like (1) rather than pony up a few bucks to play on much better courts.
Click to expand...
Those public courts bother you and you find people too cheap if they go to those courts, but then, what are you doing on those courts? :?:?
 
Sumo said:
Only internet friends.

I'm too much of a downer contrarian Duke fan to be friends with people in real life.
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Well, make your way out to a Starbucks, an Applebees's or the courts and rub shoulders with some live folks. Introspection is good--up to a point.
 
rh310 said:
2a) too cheap to open up a can or two of balls, and would rather hit with used balls so old they haven't
bounced since 2010
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I am totally with you on this one.
People are weird.
They will switch racquets every year to get the latest marketed pseudo-tech at the cost of $200 per.
String every few weeks with the poly de jour.
Etc.
But then won't spring the $2.50 for a can of balls.
It's like spending thousands on hi-fi audio components and then piping it though boombox speakers.
 
newpball said:
Those public courts bother you and you find people too cheap if they go to those courts, but then, what are you doing on those courts? :?:?
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That's where a particular group wanted to meet to hit. Duh. It can't be so hard to surmise.
 
My biggest pet peeve(s) are

1) The person who has a very good team and a few questionably out of level players that gets beat by the team with a few more questionably out of level players and that person blows about the other cheating. As I like to say... Ringers for me but not for thee. If you are dirty but not as dirty as the other guy; you really have no moral high ground. You are just mad because you got out-sandbagged.

2) I have one and that is the person who call nearly every ball near the baseline out. I have seen more bad calls coming at people than any other place. I have seen people argue that they were right there and I was thinking... "I'm not even a part of this match but I was on the baseline and saw it 2 to 3 inches inside the line." I have seen countless players do this. Half the time, I see players call it before it hits the court.
 
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lostinamerica said:
My biggest pet peeve(s) are

1) The person who has a very good team and a few questionably out of level players that gets beat by the team with a few more questionably out of level players and that person blows about the other cheating. As I like to say... Ringers for me but not for thee. If you are dirty but not as dirty as the other guy; you really have no moral high ground. You are just mad because you got out-sandbagged.

2) I have one and that is the person who call nearly every ball near the baseline out. I have seen more bad calls coming at people than any other place. I have seen people argue that they were right there and I was thinking... "I'm not even a part of this match but I was on the baseline and saw it 2 to 3 inches inside the line." I have seen countless players do this. Half the time, I see players call it before it hits the court.
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Colonel Blake: [General Hammond is yelling in their direction] Radar!
Radar: Sir?
Colonel Blake: What's the general trying to say?
Radar: He's just been informed as to the identity of our, uh, Spearchucker. His ringer spotted our ringer.
Colonel Blake: [shouts to the general] How do ya like them apples, Charlie?
 
OrangePower said:
I am totally with you on this one.
People are weird.
They will switch racquets every year to get the latest marketed pseudo-tech at the cost of $200 per.
String every few weeks with the poly de jour.
Etc.
But then won't spring the $2.50 for a can of balls.
It's like spending thousands on hi-fi audio components and then piping it though boombox speakers.
Click to expand...

I generally open a new can every other session for sets, then after second use they go in the "warm up" basket for general rallies and drills.
 
cluckcluck said:
I generally open a new can every other session for sets, then after second use they go in the "warm up" basket for general rallies and drills.
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I'm impressed that you get 2 sessions. I get two sets of use from a can. After that they go into the service practice bucket.

I won't rally or hit with old balls - messes up timing etc.

Really the cost of new balls every two sets is less than half the cost of strings when you think about it... if a string job is say $30 and lasts 15 sets (reasonable numbers I think), then strings are $2 per set you play, vs $0.75 per set for balls (2 sets from a $3 can divided by 2 people).
 
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