On the White line means IT'S IN!!!!

[paul500w]

Played an ALTA mixed match yesterday against the the number 1 team in our division. Played line 2. The guy would make some very bad line calls. He would call a ball just out when he was standing at the service line and the girl was the one going to hit the ball at the base line. Had a set point that he called long.

This kept happening in the second set and I lost it. I started yelling that he has been making some bad line calls and he started cussing at me. I think his partner knew he was making the bad calls because the next few points they made sure to call the ball in when it hit the white line. The problem was at this point I couldn't hit deep to the base line because I was afraid they would call it out so I hit shorter and we lost to them in a tie breaker.

Watching the rest of the lines I saw that the WHOLE team were making bad line calls. I guess "When it doubt, call it out" is what this team was taught. If I have to pause, I call it in. Now I wonder if this team is in first place because they are calling balls out when the points are close.

I'll never know but at the end of the day nobody gets a paycheck. They just get to feel like winners for making bad calls.

 

[samarai]

its there call. if its that close whether they want to give u the benefit of a doubt is up to them. I try not to worry about things like that cause it just wrecks my continued play. there is just no way u can judge if the ball hit the white line if u are standing across the court.

 

[Brian11785]

its there call. if its that close whether they want to give u the benefit of a doubt is up to them. I try not to worry about things like that cause it just wrecks my continued play. there is just no way u can judge if the ball hit the white line if u are standing across the court.

It's up them to "give you the benefit of the doubt" when the ball is six inches in. Just because they have the right to call a ball out doesn't mean that it is or that we have to just lie down and take the cheating. In is in. Yours seems like an odd posture to take.

I have played a handful of guys who've called everything close (including stuff inside the line) out, and I already have my passive-aggressive end-of-match handshake spiel planned out when I lose: "Great match. Just for future reference, when a ball hits the line, that means it's in. I just wasn't aware if you knew the rules of tennis."

Luckily, I have never lost in such a situation. I just stop going for the lines and force the guy to beat me. Which he can never do (since he is relying on bad calls to win the match....)

The key is to not get yourself too outraged about it. Think of the lines as the equivalent of, say, an opponent's good forehand. Just don't hit to it.

 

[jswinf]

It sounds like you deliberately put your shots on the line, maybe you should settle for 3 or 4 inches it?

Seriously, bad calls are annoying, but if your shot lands on the line it's really kind of lucky, isn't it? It was at least almost out, so you could figure on just applying a little more control.

Now, if their calling balls out that are in by a foot, that's a different-colored horse. Maybe better to involve captains than cuss back and forth?

 

[tennis tom]

After years of playing experience, you know not every ball near a line is out. Some will be just in, some on the line and some just long. Not EVERY ball will be long, just the laws of probability. If you observe how this works on your baseline, you will know over the course of a match if your opponent is cheating, even if you can't see each ball definitively. What you can do about it is another thing. If there are officials present call for an umpire. You may want to adjust your "benefit of the doubt" scale to even the playing field.

 

[sureshs]

Why didn't you say anything before exploding? If you had questioned their very first dubious line call, things may have been different. For all you know, the guy may have thought that his calls were indeed correct since you did not question them.

 

[paul500w]

It sounds like you deliberately put your shots on the line, maybe you should settle for 3 or 4 inches it?

Seriously, bad calls are annoying, but if your shot lands on the line it's really kind of lucky, isn't it? It was at least almost out, so you could figure on just applying a little more control.

Now, if their calling balls out that are in by a foot, that's a different-colored horse. Maybe better to involve captains than cuss back and forth?

WOW, I totally do not understand this logic. Don't hit your shots on the line? If you hit your shots on the line a lot during a match that means you are on target. I person with great topspin can hit the baseline a lot. I shouldn't have to try and hit short (which I had to do in my match) because my opponent won't make the right call.

 

[paul500w]

It's up them to "give you the benefit of the doubt" when the ball is six inches in. Just because they have the right to call a ball out doesn't mean that it is or that we have to just lie down and take the cheating. In is in. Yours seems like an odd posture to take.

I have played a handful of guys who've called everything close (including stuff inside the line) out, and I already have my passive-aggressive end-of-match handshake spiel planned out when I lose: "Great match. Just for future reference, when a ball hits the line, that means it's in. I just wasn't aware if you knew the rules of tennis."

Luckily, I have never lost in such a situation. I just stop going for the lines and force the guy to beat me. Which he can never do (since he is relying on bad calls to win the match....)

The key is to not get yourself too outraged about it. Think of the lines as the equivalent of, say, an opponent's good forehand. Just don't hit to it.

It's funny the day before the ALTA mixed match, I played an Ultimate Tennis flex single game and both of us were giving the other person the benefit of the doubt and calling balls in that MIGHT have been out but too close to call out. That was a very good friendly match and I happen to win.

 

[ednegroni]

It's funny the day before the ALTA mixed match, I played an Ultimate Tennis flex single game and both of us were giving the other person the benefit of the doubt and calling balls in that MIGHT have been out but too close to call out. That was a very good friendly match and I happen to win.

It's the way it's supposed to be.

Yesterday, my team and I played and won 4-1. The doubles that lost did so in a third set tiebreaker ending 9-11 and with the last two points being bad calls. At 9-9, the ball landed about 5 feet from our singles players that happened to be picking up a ball in the area, and at 9-10 while it's doubtful it looked like it dropped in (we were standing about 40 feet from it on the side).

They admitted they were bad calls, and the reason was getting back at them for "bad" calls made earlier in the game.

I've always said you don't lose a match because of bad calls unless it's the last point, but things like this always give me a headache.

 

[anubis]

its there call. if its that close whether they want to give u the benefit of a doubt is up to them. I try not to worry about things like that cause it just wrecks my continued play. there is just no way u can judge if the ball hit the white line if u are standing across the court.

This is incorrect. When in doubt, the ball is in. It's written in both the "Friend on Court" and official USTA rule book.

 

[Brian11785]

WOW, I totally do not understand this logic. Don't hit your shots on the line? If you hit your shots on the line a lot during a match that means you are on target. I person with great topspin can hit the baseline a lot. I shouldn't have to try and hit short (which I had to do in my match) because my opponent won't make the right call.

I am sympathetic to your situation, but the world isn't fair. Particularly if there are no line judges around.

If your opponent is calling out everything close to the line (and you feel like that is what is keeping him in a match or is giving him the upper hand in a match), take away his power to cheat you. It's a lot better strategy than going off on the guy. Or continuing to go for the lines with the same result.

I promise.

 

[blip]

yep

"ALTA out" is a common phrase for these reasons.

Line calls should not cost me the match, just like, foot faults, distractions, or anything else the opponent does.

Win and forget about it.

 

[Conrads]

lol what level and what team is this? sorry to hear about that though. I have found at the lower levels more cheating going on not sure why

 

[paul500w]

lol what level and what team is this? sorry to hear about that though. I have found at the lower levels more cheating going on not sure why

I'm not going to say which team but it's B1 level. I've only run across people making bad line calls ALL GAME a few times. Never ran across a WHOLE TEAM doing it.

 

[NadalDramaQueen]

This is incorrect. When in doubt, the ball is in. It's written in both the "Friend on Court" and official USTA rule book.

Some people will never understand.

 

[samarai]

First and foremost, its not your call. u can question it but they have the better angle and their call stands, get over it and move on. I have had to play these types of players who questions every other call and then makes a big stink when they dont get what they want. Alot of time I just want to stop playing cause they take all the fun out of it.

 

[Brian11785]

First and foremost, its not your call. u can question it but they have the better angle and their call stands, get over it and move on. I have had to play these types of players who questions every other call and then makes a big stink when they dont get what they want. Alot of time I just want to stop playing cause they take all the fun out of it.

Again, we recognize that is not the OP's call. That is not the point. The point is that people abuse their power as the line caller to consciously cheat their opponents.

At times, I'd rather these cheaters just stop playing as well. But beating them the old-fashioned way is much more satisfying.

 

[corbind]

That blows when you see balls clearly in called out. I get just as angry (internally) as you. Yet we know if we lose to bad calls we just did not hit enough inside the baseline they have to call in for fear of you applying a racquet to their

If you're not 100% sure it is out -- it's in. If I had to stake my car on my in/out calls I'd have to be extremely generous with calls. Maybe anything within a foot (out) is in. Gotta be 100% you know. Maybe even up to 2 feet out I'd call in to be safe, right? Black or white. On or off. Hmmm...

Reality check: the vast majority of players don't use the 100%-sure-it's-out-or-call-it-in rule. They use reasonable judgement perhaps 95% sure so out of every 20 calls with any uncertainty they'd blow a call.

Either way you slice it the result is the same. Some days guys call tight some call loose. Everyone will make bad calls at times since were not perfect and if we lose to calls we simply did not play well enough. That is assuming you don't have opponents calling balls 2' in out.

 

[jswinf]

WOW, I totally do not understand this logic. Don't hit your shots on the line? If you hit your shots on the line a lot during a match that means you are on target. I person with great topspin can hit the baseline a lot. I shouldn't have to try and hit short (which I had to do in my match) because my opponent won't make the right call.

I'm sorry, but if you don't understand that logic, you should expect to continue to have problems. I didn't really think you were aiming for the lines, I'm surprised that you are. All players, especially rec players, are going to have some "distribution" of where their shots land vs. their aiming point, some a little shorter, some a little longer. If you are truly trying to put your shots right on the lines, probability says a lot of them are just out. Isn't 6 inches inside the line, and still good if it's 4 inches longer, good enough?

 

[newpball]

The solution is play better tennis.

To blame a lost match on some bad calls is lame!

 

[newpball]

Don't hit your shots on the line?

Absolutely! Every shot I play is carefully placed and put on the lines, well more exactly the outside of the lines. Placing on the line is simply not accurate enough. Corner shots are my favorites and serving straight on the T is also something I mostly do but once in awhile I place it exactly in the corner. People sometimes ask me, do I ever hit a ball out? I must admit that it can happen, when my strings break it sometimes happens that a ball goes out, but obviously only half an inch or so.

Oh, did I tell you about my 145mph serves straight though the middle? Well I keep that for next time.

 

[storypeddler]

Played an ALTA mixed match yesterday against the the number 1 team in our division. Played line 2. The guy would make some very bad line calls. He would call a ball just out when he was standing at the service line and the girl was the one going to hit the ball at the base line. Had a set point that he called long.

This kept happening in the second set and I lost it. I started yelling that he has been making some bad line calls and he started cussing at me. I think his partner knew he was making the bad calls because the next few points they made sure to call the ball in when it hit the white line. The problem was at this point I couldn't hit deep to the base line because I was afraid they would call it out so I hit shorter and we lost to them in a tie breaker.

Watching the rest of the lines I saw that the WHOLE team were making bad line calls. I guess "When it doubt, call it out" is what this team was taught. If I have to pause, I call it in. Now I wonder if this team is in first place because they are calling balls out when the points are close.

I'll never know but at the end of the day nobody gets a paycheck. They just get to feel like winners for making bad calls.

I tend to agree with most of the other posters here. I hit lots of lines and when opponents give me a hard time for it, I acknowledge that I am trying to put the ball as close to the line as I can---and over time, you can get pretty accurate with the shot. It's a riskier style, but I'm a very consistent player who wins more with placement than with power. However, in a match where any close ball is called out, instead of getting all torn up emotionally and giving my opponent an even greater advantage, I will ask if he is sure once or twice, and if it continues, I will simply give myself a greater margin for error. A player who does that is virtually always counting on winning by giving away no close calls. Fine---I take that away from him and make him earn every single stinking point he gets with legitimate shots of his own and not by calling my shots out. Put the onus for winning on his game and it almost always turns big in your favor because this kind of player typically can't win on the strength of his own game---if he could he would already be doing that. Beat him at his own game. Then shake his hand afterward and smile smugly as you do.

 

[paul500w]

I'm sorry, but if you don't understand that logic, you should expect to continue to have problems. I didn't really think you were aiming for the lines, I'm surprised that you are. All players, especially rec players, are going to have some "distribution" of where their shots land vs. their aiming point, some a little shorter, some a little longer. If you are truly trying to put your shots right on the lines, probability says a lot of them are just out. Isn't 6 inches inside the line, and still good if it's 4 inches longer, good enough?

I can tell you don't play much doubles if you play any at all. You have to hit angles, middle and deep (baseline) shots. If not, the 2 other players are going to come to the net and slam the ball down your throat.

 

[paul500w]

The solution is play better tennis.

To blame a lost match on some bad calls is lame!

Did you even read the part where the WHOLE team were bad line callers? Play better? I guess the next time a pro complains because a ball that was in was called out we should just tell them to play better.

I'm sure you would be cool and relaxed if I was playing you and called all of your shots out. ...yeah right!

 

[Bdarb]

Did you even read the part where the WHOLE team were bad line callers? Play better? I guess the next time a pro complains because a ball that was in was called out we should just tell them to play better.

I'm sure you would be cool and relaxed if I was playing you and called all of your shots out. ...yeah right!

such a cop out! if you can hit the line, you can hit three inches inside the line, it makes no difference in terms of how hard that ball will be to return for your opponent. For you to assume you can make a better call, about a ball that is as you say, 'on the line' from the other side of the net seems ludicrous to me.

The WHOLE team were bad line callers, sounds like your whole team is composed of excuse makers.

My tennis coach use to say to me, 'excuses are like butt holes, everyone has one and they all stink'


Play better tennis and you'll win next time

 

[paul500w]

The WHOLE team were bad line callers, sounds like your whole team is composed of excuse makers.
My tennis coach use to say to me, 'excuses are like butt holes, everyone has one and they all stink'
Play better tennis and you'll win next time

You are really missing the point. bad line calls, or even calls that your opponent really thought were out but were in happens. When it happens 2-3 times a match, that's human. When it happens 10 times and when the person longest away is making the "JUST OUT" calls and the person hitting the ball who is right on top of it does not say a word, that tells me they are assuming it is out and not going with the "When in doubt, call it IN" method.

I did play better, my shots were hitting the line and getting called out over and over. I disagree that if you can hit the line, you can just hit the ball 3-4 in shorter. When you start changing your swing (especially in doubles) you can get tore up because now the other players can move to the net and not have to worry about you hitting the base line.

...or maybe you are just a PRO, and I'm just a rec player. ...yeah

 

[Bdarb]

You are really missing the point. bad line calls, or even calls that your opponent really thought were out but were in happens. When it happens 2-3 times a match, that's human. When it happens 10 times and when the person longest away is making the "JUST OUT" calls and the person hitting the ball who is right on top of it does not say a word, that tells me they are assuming it is out and not going with the "When in doubt, call it IN" method.

I did play better, my shots were hitting the line and getting called out over and over. I disagree that if you can hit the line, you can just hit the ball 3-4 in shorter. When you start changing your swing (especially in doubles) you can get tore up because now the other players can move to the net and not have to worry about you hitting the base line.

...or maybe you are just a PRO, and I'm just a rec player. ...yeah

I am a teaching pro, if you can hit the line, you can hit inside the line. If he's calling the line out, and that isn't going to change, stop hitting the line.. seems pretty obvious. If your strategy isn't working (whatever the reason may be) change it. That's pretty fundamental tennis strategy.

 

[tennis_ocd]

If you hit your shots on the line a lot during a match that means you are on target.

I think I see the problem. If you hit the line it likely means you're a foot off target. Think about it. If the line was the target almost 1/2 your balls would be out.

 

[arche3]

Think it is hard to try to hit the line. Never tried it. I usually aim a few feet inside lines. But balls still find the way out. Lol.

 

[Bdarb]

Think it is hard to try to hit the line. Never tried it. I usually aim a few feet inside lines. But balls still find the way out. Lol.

hahaha me too Arche!

 

[tennis tom]

There are cheaters in tennis as in the rest of life. One point gained by cheating counts towards 25% of winning a game, that's one hell of an advantage. Most players are generally honest, some have bad eyesight and will also make bad calls against themselves. Sociopathic tennis cheaters do exist, as they do in the rest of life, that's why we have prisons. I've witnessed cheating, been on teams where the pre-playoff pep talk from the captain was: "When in doubt, call it out". The OP makes a valid point, those who confuse a close call with bonafide cheating are mixing apples and oranges. Get an ump or cheat 'em back to level the playing field, at that point it's not tennis anyway.

 

[tennis_ocd]

The OP makes a valid point, those who confuse a close call with bonafide cheating are mixing apples and oranges. Get an ump or cheat 'em back to level the playing field, at that point it's not tennis anyway.

I agree but.... ime, 9 out of 10 times I hear complaining the call's are correct and it's just hopeful whining from the one a full baseline away. Better to play your own game; I've never lost due to getting hooked with every ball that landed on a BL. Unless someone's standing along the line, who really knows.

 

[Cindysphinx]

When it happens 2-3 times a match, that's human. When it happens 10 times and when the person longest away is making the "JUST OUT" calls and the person hitting the ball who is right on top of it does not say a word, that tells me they are assuming it is out and not going with the "When in doubt, call it IN" method.

Meh. I think you are exaggerating.

First, you are in no position to make the call on the opposite baseline, and you certainly are positioned worse than the opposing net player. If you want to have credibility, you should be feeling hooked only if you are looking down a line (e.g. sideline). That is when you have a really good view.

Second, if you were really that sure that you were getting hooked that badly, you would have said something the second or third time, not the tenth.

Third, if you were really sure that you were getting hooked that badly, you would have started hooking them back.

So, I kind of wonder if maybe, just maybe you are making excuses?

 

[Cindysphinx]

I agree but.... ime, 9 out of 10 times I hear complaining the call's are correct and it's just hopeful whining from the one a full baseline away. Better to play your own game; I've never lost due to getting hooked with every ball that landed on a BL. Unless someone's standing along the line, who really knows.

Exactly.

I am so tired of hearing partners and teammates complain that they lost due to bad calls or gamesmanship.

Unless you got hooked on match point, one bad line call didn't cause your loss. Chances are pretty good that you made a few bad line calls your own self, so it all comes out in the wash most of the time.

As for whining about gamesmanship . . . come on, people. Buck up. Just because your opponents are behaving poorly (excessive celebration, coaching, playing slowly, playing quickly) is no excuse to lose your &^&(#. Focus like a laser on your own play and you'll be OK. If you can't, then that might be something to work on.

 

[chatt_town]

Hold on now Paul...are we talking about he was calling serves back while his partner was receiving? If so, I'm not going say he didn't get you on calls but I will say that he had the best view on the court to call them and if they were just back, you would have a hard time seeing it and his partner couldn't see anything from that angle.

Played an ALTA mixed match yesterday against the the number 1 team in our division. Played line 2. The guy would make some very bad line calls. He would call a ball just out when he was standing at the service line and the girl was the one going to hit the ball at the base line. Had a set point that he called long.

This kept happening in the second set and I lost it. I started yelling that he has been making some bad line calls and he started cussing at me. I think his partner knew he was making the bad calls because the next few points they made sure to call the ball in when it hit the white line. The problem was at this point I couldn't hit deep to the base line because I was afraid they would call it out so I hit shorter and we lost to them in a tie breaker.

Watching the rest of the lines I saw that the WHOLE team were making bad line calls. I guess "When it doubt, call it out" is what this team was taught. If I have to pause, I call it in. Now I wonder if this team is in first place because they are calling balls out when the points are close.

I'll never know but at the end of the day nobody gets a paycheck. They just get to feel like winners for making bad calls.

 

[chatt_town]

Cindy,

Let me add this..even if it was on match point...it didn't lose the match. If they go back and look through...he probably missed a ton of volleys...didn't put balls away at the net...missed a truck load of first serves...etc. that in the end played more in their demise than a missed call or two and like someone else said...they probably missed a few themselves.

Exactly.

I am so tired of hearing partners and teammates complain that they lost due to bad calls or gamesmanship.

Unless you got hooked on match point, one bad line call didn't cause your loss. Chances are pretty good that you made a few bad line calls your own self, so it all comes out in the wash most of the time.

As for whining about gamesmanship . . . come on, people. Buck up. Just because your opponents are behaving poorly (excessive celebration, coaching, playing slowly, playing quickly) is no excuse to lose your &^&(#. Focus like a laser on your own play and you'll be OK. If you can't, then that might be something to work on.

 

[ednegroni]

Cindy,

Let me add this..even if it was on match point...it didn't lose the match. If they go back and look through...he probably missed a ton of volleys...didn't put balls away at the net...missed a truck load of first serves...etc. that in the end played more in their demise than a missed call or two and like someone else said...they probably missed a few themselves.

You can have a good tight match and just get that bad call because they got a grand opportunity. I've seen it happen a few times.

 

[Bdarb]

Exactly.

I am so tired of hearing partners and teammates complain that they lost due to bad calls or gamesmanship.

Unless you got hooked on match point, one bad line call didn't cause your loss. Chances are pretty good that you made a few bad line calls your own self, so it all comes out in the wash most of the time.

As for whining about gamesmanship . . . come on, people. Buck up. Just because your opponents are behaving poorly (excessive celebration, coaching, playing slowly, playing quickly) is no excuse to lose your &^&(#. Focus like a laser on your own play and you'll be OK. If you can't, then that might be something to work on.

Well said. It's like I say to my kids in school, I don't want to hear why it isn't done, just finish it and give it to me. Period. If I told you failure was literally not an option, what would you do? Good, now go do that.

If this was the Wimbledon final Paul, and Ted James is the pits of the world, out there screwing you with your pants on as the chalk flies up everywhere, what are you going to do? figure out how to win, or make a thread about why you lost.


+50 Internet points if you know who Ted James is

 

[arche3]

Im getting an inferiority complex reading ttw these past few years. Everyone here hits 130mph serves, hits to smart targets without missing wide, twist serves kick over your head, and can consistently land ground strokes on the line.
Half the time im just struggling to get the ball back. Im not even that bad a player. Lol.

 

[kevrol]

Would be a stretch for me to say I'm aiming for the line. I am however trying to hit it deep and allowing the top spin to get it to drop. That does result in a lot of lines being hit. Also results in a lot of out balls which in turn leads to a lot of balls landing in that my opponent swore they thought was going out and that have to make a bad play on at the last minute. It all evens out for the most part. However you know when in a match when you're being hooked because every ball that is close is called out.

 

[arche3]

Or they might be out? Bad day on court. It happens.

 

[paul500w]

Hold on now Paul...are we talking about he was calling serves back while his partner was receiving? If so, I'm not going say he didn't get you on calls but I will say that he had the best view on the court to call them and if they were just back, you would have a hard time seeing it and his partner couldn't see anything from that angle.

Not on serve. I'm talking about when the guy was standing at the net during the point and I hit the ball deep and the female runs back to hit it and couldn't get to it and the guy calls it just deep.

 

[kevrol]

Or they might be out? Bad day on court. It happens.

Of course it's possible but that would I think be a statistical anomaly. Eventually one of them is bound to catch a line.

 

[paul500w]

HOLD THE PHONE PEOPLE!!!

I went back to look at the post I wrote. I never said I lost BECAUSE of the line calls. I said we lost in a tie breaker and that I had set point and it was called out. The point of the thread was to point out that the WHOLE team, all 5 lines were really bad line callers. I saw line 1 make an out call on the base line and I was standing even with the baseline on my court talking to my partner, I watched the rest of the matches after mine was over and saw a lot of balls that were on the line called out.

I only said something in the second set because I wanted them to start making the correct calls. one or two is a mistake, 7 or 8 are not.

If I have to pause and think about it, it's IN, bottom line. There is no almost out or almost in. 99% out is 100% in.

 

[Brian11785]

HOLD THE PHONE PEOPLE!!!

I went back to look at the post I wrote. I never said I lost BECAUSE of the line calls. I said we lost in a tie breaker and that I had set point and it was called out. The point of the thread was to point out that the WHOLE team, all 5 lines were really bad line callers. I saw line 1 make an out call on the base line and I was standing even with the baseline on my court talking to my partner, I watched the rest of the matches after mine was over and saw a lot of balls that were on the line called out.

I only said something in the second set because I wanted them to start making the correct calls. one or two is a mistake, 7 or 8 are not.

If I have to pause and think about it, it's IN, bottom line. There is no almost out or almost in. 99% out is 100% in.

Not many of us are disagreeing with you. We have been in your situation. Question is....you've vented.....now what?

Several of us have suggested you avoid going for lines (if that is your strategy.) We realize that a ball that hits the line is in and you are correct to feel slighted by unfair calls. However, if you are looking for the best solution in dealing with a terrible line caller (short of calling a line judge, if available) is to stop hitting for the lines.

I played a guy a couple of weeks ago in my city's flex league final that called five or six "close" (not really) balls out in the first three games, I quickly realized the kind of individual I was dealing with. I pulled back from there on out and avoiding hitting shots close to the lines (I say "close to the lines" because many of the shots I hit that he called out were inside the line.) Of course the occasional bad call came my way when I hit a ball a little deeper than I meant to later in the match, but I effectively neutralized his presumably cheating strategy. And I didn't make an enemy. And I won.

 

[jswinf]

I can tell you don't play much doubles if you play any at all. You have to hit angles, middle and deep (baseline) shots. If not, the 2 other players are going to come to the net and slam the ball down your throat.

Well, yeah, I've only been playing doubles for thirty or forty years...And some say it's pretty important in doubles to keep the ball in play, avoid unforced errors and the chance of bad calls.

But if you can't win landing the ball 6 to 12 inches inside the lines, you better go for them. You must be playing some monsters if they can take that extra 6 inches and take the net and blow you away. Good luck.

 

[storypeddler]

Well said. It's like I say to my kids in school, I don't want to hear why it isn't done, just finish it and give it to me. Period. If I told you failure was literally not an option, what would you do? Good, now go do that.

If this was the Wimbledon final Paul, and Ted James is the pits of the world, out there screwing you with your pants on as the chalk flies up everywhere, what are you going to do? figure out how to win, or make a thread about why you lost.


+50 Internet points if you know who Ted James is

ROFL. People just love to throw out these high-sounding but realistically meaningless catch-phrases.

You can say "Failure is not an option" till you're blue in the face, but if you are playing an opponent who makes frequent and intentional bad calls, failure is a very real option. To deny that is to refuse to recognize the obvious. A fair number of people in the world of business will lie and cheat to get ahead. Even more in the world of politics will do so. Why should the world of recreational tennis be any different? In fact, there is undoubtedly some overlap between those groups.

Of course some people lie and cheat in sports to gain an advantage. For the life of me I don't understand why so many people on here find that so hard to believe. And when you are across the net from someone like that, you have to decide how you will handle that cheating. But to automatically assume the OP is just making excuses for losing is ludicrous. Maybe he is---but none of us have any way of knowing that. I have played enough tennis over the years to recognize that his complaint is a very valid one in more instances that people would like to believe.

He either has to try to change his strategy/tactics during the match to compensate for the bad calls, or openly and consistently confront the cheating player and call him out for his behavior, or abandon the match and refuse to play him again. In a tournament match, he may have the option of asking for a line judge.

I don't know the actual truth of what happened in his match, but I've seen enough people cheat in tennis to know it does occur, and not infrequently. Geez, look how many people on here complain about sandbaggers! When players are intentionally playing at a level lower than where they belong, they are already cheating! If you think those same players won't take some close calls if it means the difference and winning and losing, you really don't know people at all.

 

[storypeddler]

Here's one thing I have never understood. Seemingly everyone on here ridicules the idea/concept/strategy of aiming for the lines. Many just scoff and say you simply can't play that way. But I have done this for years with very good success. I'm not saying I always hit the lines, but I DO aim for them. If I miss a few shots just long, I adjust slightly, but I keep aiming for lines.

Tell me this: if high school and college and professional basketball players can aim for a small rim only slightly bigger than the ball they shoot, and yet hit their target dead-on 50% of the time from 20 feet away, why should it be so hard for a tennis player to consistently aim for and frequently hit lines? Look at what bowlers aim for. Or dart players. To say it won't work is just another example of the tendency of so many players on here who look at any tactic that doesn't work for them and declare it couldn't possibly work for anyone.

I remember when people stated emphatically that you couldn't hit a successful forehand with an open stance---couldn't be done. Except that now it is commonplace. Some players love to tell other players what can't be done---until someone successfully does it on a regular basis. Then they move on and start beating some other tired old drum.

It is to laugh.

 

[Brian11785]

. I'm not saying I always hit the lines, but I DO aim for them. If I miss a few shots just long, I adjust slightly, but I keep aiming for lines.

^^ That rant got off the rails quickly. Not sure what open-stance forehands have to do with anything.....

The point isn't if it's POSSIBLE to aim/hit lines. The point is if it's ADVISABLE.

So when your shots are going long, you adjust. But you wouldn't adjust when your opponents are calling tight/bad lines? You're just going to keep trying to hit the lines, with the same result (their being called out)?

Consciously going for the lines is not a high-percentage way to play tennis. I realize that not everyone plays high percentage tennis and that is their prerogative. But to continue to go for them knowing that your cheating/blind opponent is going to call them out goes beyond low-percentage. That is bad strategy, period.

 

[Bdarb]

@sp

Of course I aim for lines, what the heck else would you aim for? But if I'm hitting it long where would I aim?? Maybe a bit insiide.. If a guy is calling lines out, what would I do?? Maybe do the same..

I will concede that people cheat and hook. It's life. But if you can't beat them, you are making excuses if you think it's because he called a few lines here or there his way. You lost because your game apparently relies on a single strategy working against all your opponents. Unfortunately it takes something a bit different sometimes.

You're playing mixed for christs sake, he calls lines that bad, tee off and let the net person make some volleys out of shots steaming at them. If a ball hits them can they say it was out? There's strategy 1 of 99999999999 that would have potentially done it.