Lesson learned. The folly of not calling out the score

[TimeToPlaySets]

I was playing a match where it was first player to 15 games is the winner.
I got off to a 7-1 lead. I felt like calling out the score was in poor taste.
So, I stopped.

Opponent stages a comeback, and at one point, we lose track of the score. IN GAMES.
I was certain that I gave away an entire game, all while running on fumes.

What was a 7-2 lead is now reduced to a 8-6 match, with my momentum gone.

I barely got out of there with a W, and will now call out the score every point,
no matter how big my lead is.

 

[Gazelle]

I think people should be able to keep track of scores without having it shouted to them all the time, but from my experience I too have noticed many seem to lack the mental capacity to do this.

I still don't shout out scores though, I already have enough things to do on court. When they ask me the score, I reply of course.

 

[blakesq]

“Bad form” to call out score? Stupidest thing I have heard.

 

[NLBwell]

I ran into a situation where we got into a disagreement about the score during a tournament. A tournament official came over and we settled the dispute but the official kept watching for a while. I was calling the score out after every point, but I was doing it while I was walking back to the baseline (I tend to end points up at the net). The official pointed out that although I was calling the score out after every point (and she could hear it where she was) my opponent could not hear it standing on the other side of the net. I really wasn't aware that the opponent couldn't hear me call the score.

 

[tennis tom]

I think people should be able to keep track of scores without having it shouted to them all the time, but from my experience I too have noticed many seem to lack the mental capacity to do this.

I still don't shout out scores though, I already have enough things to do on court. When they ask me the score, I reply of course.

...we got einstein here folks...

 

[AtomicForehand]

Always call out the score, including game score when you start a new service game.

The important thing is not to look cool by showing how you can keep track of the score in your head; the important thing is to be fair and accurate. Calling out the score allows any mistakes to be caught and remedied immediately.

 

[esgee48]

Friends of Court
31. Server announces score. The server shall announce the game score before the first point of a game and the point score before each subsequent point of the game.
Part of the protocol, which means "just do it." I play with folks that sometimes don't do this, so just ask before they start serving.

 

[Mongolmike]

Always call out the score, including game score when you start a new service game.

The important thing is not to look cool by showing how you can keep track of the score in your head; the important thing is to be fair and accurate. Calling out the score allows any mistakes to be caught and remedied immediately.

The court next to mine the other day seemed to be debating/discussing the game scores and the set scores ALL the time. I was in a very spirited doubles match, so wasn't aware of who was or wasn't calling scores, but it was obvious somebody either wasn't doing it or not doing it loudly enough.

Just call out the scores people. One dispute over something like an accurate score is one dispute too many.

 

[OnTheLine]

And when you are calling out the game (set) score ... It is 3 serving Zero, it is not 3 love, that means something completely different.

And while we are at it ... why the variance between folks who call scores 15-30-40 versus those that call 5-3-4? The latter one kinda irritates me on some level, not enough to whine about it in an actual match .... is it a regional/national difference thing?

 

[tennis tom]

I call the score out immediately after the point ends, while it's fresh in my mind, and a second time before I bounce the balls for my serve. After a long point it's easy to forget the score, even pros on rare occasions forget the score. In dubs if you call the score out loudly enough the chances are good someone will remember it. Once after the point ends and again before the ball bounces so there's time to straighten any disputes out before the service ball toss.

 

[TimeToPlaySets]

“Bad form” to call out score? Stupidest thing I have heard.

I've had players imply that I'm being condescending when calling out a lopsided score

 

[J_R_B]

One of the most bizarre things I've ever seen was at sectionals a couple years ago. We were playing indoors due to weather and the courts were behind glass windows so we (as spectators) couldn't hear anything. Our guy started out clearly losing but at some point turned it around and won a bunch of games in a row, but they weren't using the score cards (which were the stupid towers that you have to put old balls in each side). At one point, a discussion started at the net, but no one watching knew what it was about. It got more and more heated until the referee had to come out and both guys were very animated and upset. Eventually, the referee made a decision and they started playing a tiebreaker, but our guy was clearly still upset. He lost the tiebreaker and stormed off the court with the rest of us still with no idea what happened. After he took a minute to calm down a little, we got the story. At the point the argument started, our guy had won 6 games in a row, but they disagreed about whether the other guy had won the first 4 games or first 6, so they were arguing over whether our guy won the first set 6-4 or whether they had just split 0-6 6-0. The referee had to make a decision based on he-said-he-said and decided to make them play a match tb.

Thankfully, both teams were out of contention for nationals at that point. If a nationals trip had been at stake in that match, it might have come to blows. Our guy is totally trustworthy and honest, so there is no way he was trying to be deceitful, and the other guy is someone who has intermingled in several leagues around the area, and he seems likable enough and gives me no reason to doubt his integrity, either, so I think it was a bizarre situation where one of the guys just honestly lost track and neither were intentionally lying. Bottom line, the lesson is, always use scorecards and always call out the score.

 

[tennis tom]

...so I think it was a bizarre situation where one of the guys just honestly lost track and neither were intentionally lying. Bottom line, the lesson is, always use scorecards and always call out the score.

War is hell.

 

[Nashvegas]

And when you are calling out the game (set) score ... It is 3 serving Zero, it is not 3 love, that means something completely different.

And while we are at it ... why the variance between folks who call scores 15-30-40 versus those that call 5-3-4? The latter one kinda irritates me on some level, not enough to whine about it in an actual match .... is it a regional/national difference thing?

I have never heard 3 and 4 used, but 5 is very commonly used and I find it to be an easy substitution for 15. Seems like 3 and 4 are a bit awkward in comparison. At least with 30-5 the higher score is still the higher number. But 4-5? Or 5-3? Those are goofy.

 

[Angle Queen]

I have never heard 3 and 4 used, but 5 is very commonly used and I find it to be an easy substitution for 15. Seems like 3 and 4 are a bit awkward in comparison. At least with 30-5 the higher score is still the higher number. But 4-5? Or 5-3? Those are goofy.

I hate the 3-4-5 thing (although I have used 30-5). I also hate 30-30 being called "deuce" and 30-40 as "ad-out." Old, long argument but still a pet peeve.

I don't care how much I'm getting blown out, my opponent better call the score. If not, I'll ask for it. Every time. Eventually, they get the idea.

 

[TimeToPlaySets]

I also hate 30-30 being called "deuce" and 30-40 as "ad-out." Old, long argument but still a pet peeve.

Glad to see this is an argument.
I also can not stand this perversion of the score.
It's NOT AD IN, we haven't gotten to deuce yet.

 

[tennis tom]

40-5 works for me--it can't be mistaken for anything else like a game score. According to tennis lore, the scoring system came from the face of the clock--40 used to be 45--and probably got shortened to 40, due to the evolution of language, and one less syllable for breathless lazy players to have to pronounce. If I want to get in the head of a creepy rec player, I'll call out 5 instead of 15 if they make an issue of calling out 15 when I call 5. If it's a formal match, I'll call 15 instead of 5. There's a creepy guy at ye'ol' club who does the premature exclamation of "deuce" at 30-30. He does it deliberately to get in your head--along with never having opened a can of balls in five years--"It's in the trunk"--it's amazing he has anyone left to play with--but the tennis deplorables seem to find each other.

 

[Nashvegas]

There's a creepy guy at ye'ol' club who does the premature exclamation of "deuce" at 30-30. He does it deliberately to get in your head--along with never having opened a can of balls in five years--"It's in the trunk"--it's amazing he has anyone left to play with--but the tennis deplorables seem to find each other.

Not that I want to play with someone who is considered “creepy”, but maybe I’ve been looking at this the wrong way. I wonder if these guys have some value. If you play with someone who tries head games all the time and is generally obnoxious, that’s probably good training in learning to play through distractions. Maybe the “life’s too short to play with idiots” approach is the easy way out, like skipping a workout.

 

[TimeToPlaySets]

Why do you think "deuce" at 30-30 gets into peoples' heads?

 

[TimeToPlaySets]

Not that I want to play with someone who is considered “creepy”, but maybe I’ve been looking at this the wrong way. I wonder if these guys have some value. If you play with someone who tries head games all the time and is generally obnoxious, that’s probably good training in learning to play through distractions. Maybe the “life’s too short to play with idiots” approach is the easy way out, like skipping a workout.

Every single opponent has something to offer.

 

[Angle Queen]

Why do you think "deuce" at 30-30 gets into peoples' heads?

Ok, so our thread discussion on the whole 3-4-5 thing isn't as old as I thought. Just last year.

 

[jmc3367]

“Bad form” to call out score? Stupidest thing I have heard.

How so? not wanting to embarrass someone is stupid?

 

[OnTheLine]

I really don't like the 3-4-5 thing .. and it seems prevalent here, but not enough to say anything about it.

But the real pet peeve for me, where I will consider saying something .. using Love in the set score or in TB scores. Love is only a game score, everything else is Zero ... get it right.

 

[RVAtennisaddict]

I don't understand the 30 -30 vs deuce issue. From a winning the game issue, it is the same points wise. if it is a "it creates pressure" and you don't do well with pressure, maybe it is a jedi mind trick that works on you? IDK. But to me, 30-30 means you have to win two consecutive points to win the game. And Ad - mean you have need one point to win the game. And pressure is part of the game.

For me personally, I tend to follow score line but it doesn't bother me either way.

 

[WYK]

I have probably not said 'fifteen' in 25 years.

 

[LGQ7]

. . . we lose track of the score . . .

That's why I watch The Count on Sesame Street.

 

[TimeToPlaySets]

I don't like the 30-30 as deuce because if you lose track of the score, it's confusing to reconstruct the points played.

 

[winchestervatennis]

I really don't like the 3-4-5 thing .. and it seems prevalent here, but not enough to say anything about it.

But the real pet peeve for me, where I will consider saying something .. using Love in the set score or in TB scores. Love is only a game score, everything else is Zero ... get it right.

Dont chair umpires use love in the set and tiebreaker scores?

 

[blakesq]

If following the rules of Tennis makes someone embarrassed, then Tennis is not the sport for that person.

How so? not wanting to embarrass someone is stupid?

 

[OnTheLine]

Dont chair umpires use love in the set and tiebreaker scores?

at 1:37, clearly 1 - zero from umpire, and at 2:15 2 - zero

 

[Cindysphinx]

I don't like the 30-30 as deuce because if you lose track of the score, it's confusing to reconstruct the points played.

Yes, that's exactly the reason to just say the score correctly. I mean, what possible advantage is there in saying ad-in when the score is actually 40-30?

I'm surprised at the story above about the guy who won 6 straight games and an argument ensued about whether the score was 6-0, 0-6 or 4-6. The rule is that when there is a dispute, the choices are to play from a mutually agreeable starting point (unlikely to work here); play only the disputed point(s) (unlikely to work here); or spin a racket.

Maybe the official spun a racket and your guy lost and the official went with the opponent's version of events?

 

[Nashvegas]

I mean, what possible advantage is there in saying ad-in when the score is actually 40-30?

Saves two syllables. Sometimes I need that extra oxygen.

 

[winchestervatennis]

at 1:37, clearly 1 - zero from umpire, and at 2:15 2 - zero

I skimmed the rules this morning and itf does say a tb is scored zero, 1, 2, 3... but i didnt see anything saying games scores and/or set scores are zero and not love. Where do you see this in the rules?

 

[jmc3367]

If following the rules of Tennis makes someone embarrassed, then Tennis is not the sport for that person.

Maybe but I still think tennis is a gentleman's and Ladies game. I also think it's wrong to run up the score of a lopsided football game as well. I get your point it is in the rules I just don't think embarrassing someone is in good form.

 

[WYK]

Maybe but I still think tennis is a gentleman's and Ladies game. I also think it's wrong to run up the score of a lopsided football game as well. I get your point it is in the rules I just don't think embarrassing someone is in good form.

So, perhaps something more along the lines of "OK, no shutout! Good luck!" *serves*

 

[TimeToPlaySets]

Maybe but I still think tennis is a gentleman's and Ladies game. I also think it's wrong to run up the score of a lopsided football game as well. I get your point it is in the rules I just don't think embarrassing someone is in good form.

How do you NOT run up a score?
Start DF'ing on purpose?
Tank a few games?

Let us know when you blow a big lead after getting caught snoozing.

 

[OnTheLine]

I skimmed the rules this morning and itf does say a tb is scored zero, 1, 2, 3... but i didnt see anything saying games scores and/or set scores are zero and not love. Where do you see this in the rules?

I don't see it in the rules specifically, but consider any broadcast with the set score involved ... it is 6 - zero. Love is a score only for games.
I tried to queue one up, but can't get one that is clear or that annoncers aren't talking over ...

 

[Max G.]

I had a match almost like those. I won the first five games to go up 5-0. Then the other guy won 10 out of the next 11 games... he won four straight to get it to 5-4, I finally got one to close the first set out 6-4, then he won the second set 6-0. We played a match tiebreak and I won. But yeah, even when you're far ahead, it matters exactly how far ahead.

 

[S&V-not_dead_yet]

Maybe but I still think tennis is a gentleman's and Ladies game. I also think it's wrong to run up the score of a lopsided football game as well. I get your point it is in the rules I just don't think embarrassing someone is in good form.

The football analogy doesn't apply because there is a time limit in football: if I'm ahead by 4 TDs with a minute left, there's no need to try and score again; even more valuable is running down the clock.

Tennis has no time limit so no lead is safe enough. Baseball too.

Also, this thread is about calling out the score, not running up the score. Calling out the score is objective; if I get embarrassed, it's due to my mental weakness, not the fact that my opponent called out the score.

 

[jmc3367]

The football analogy doesn't apply because there is a time limit in football: if I'm ahead by 4 TDs with a minute left, there's no need to try and score again; even more valuable is running down the clock.

Tennis has no time limit so no lead is safe enough. Baseball too.

Also, this thread is about calling out the score, not running up the score. Calling out the score is objective; if I get embarrassed, it's due to my mental weakness, not the fact that my opponent called out the score.

it wasn't meant to be an analogy just insight in to my feelings of embarrassing someone on the court.The OP indicated some of the same feelings as being the reason they were not calling the score

 

[S&V-not_dead_yet]

it wasn't meant to be an analogy just insight in to my feelings of embarrassing someone on the court.The OP indicated some of the same feelings as being the reason they were not calling the score

I hear you: I've been on both ends [the embarrasser and the embarrassee] and I may have a tendency to not call out the set score when I'm up big. It's the human factor. But I'm learning to check my ego at the gate and to not let such things bother me.

 

[kevrol]

I hear you: I've been on both ends [the embarrasser and the embarrassee] and I may have a tendency to not call out the set score when I'm up big. It's the human factor. But I'm learning to check my ego at the gate and to not let such things bother me.

Depends on who I'm playing. Usually if I'm playing a casual match against good friends, the more I'm up, the more I ask them what the game count is when they're serving and announce it more when I'm serving. And if there happen to be other friends on the courts around us I'll usually be a little hard of hearing and tell them I didn't hear what they said, could they please be a little louder.

 

[winchestervatennis]

I don't see it in the rules specifically, but consider any broadcast with the set score involved ... it is 6 - zero. Love is a score only for games.
I tried to queue one up, but can't get one that is clear or that annoncers aren't talking over ...

I can honestly say I've never heard anyone, unpire or player, say a set score with a zero instead of love.

 

[WYK]

I can honestly say I've never heard anyone, unpire or player, say a set score with a zero instead of love.

Exactly. I don't ever recall hearing a official at a slam say 'zero'. It is always 'love'. Was just watching the 2012 AO - and the official is clearly saying 'love' for a donut.

 

[WYK]

I don't see it in the rules specifically, but consider any broadcast with the set score involved ... it is 6 - zero. Love is a score only for games.
I tried to queue one up, but can't get one that is clear or that annoncers aren't talking over ...

Good luck.

 

[5sets]

I've had players imply that I'm being condescending when calling out a lopsided score

Haa.....I have a hitting buddy who only announces the score when he is up.....Never '15-30' or '2-5', just '40-30' and '3-1'.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G928A using Tapatalk

 

[Nostradamus]

I was playing a match where it was first player to 15 games is the winner.
I got off to a 7-1 lead. I felt like calling out the score was in poor taste.
So, I stopped.

Opponent stages a comeback, and at one point, we lose track of the score. IN GAMES.
I was certain that I gave away an entire game, all while running on fumes.

What was a 7-2 lead is now reduced to a 8-6 match, with my momentum gone.

I barely got out of there with a W, and will now call out the score every point,
no matter how big my lead is.

just make sure you call Every score every time if you are playing guys that are older like 60 and above. they deliverately cheat all the time on the score

 

[tennis tom]

Haa.....I have a hitting buddy who only announces the score when he is up.....Never '15-30' or '2-5', just '40-30' and '3-1'.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G928A using Tapatalk

I wonder if this is done consciously or unconsciously?

 

[Nashvegas]

Good luck.

Case closed early in set 1.

 

[Cindysphinx]

I would never throw a game to make an opponent feel better. It is insulting and patronizing. My opponents deserve my best effort, and they will get it.

Besides, do you really think throwing a game or two is going to make anyone feel better?

If you are serious about protecting your opponents’ delicate feelings and so confident in your superior skills, throw games until it is 5-5 and then play to win.