Cindysphinx
G.O.A.T.
I had something unusual happen in my most recent match.
You'll recall that we play 2-hour timed matches. Our rules allow for 20 seconds between points, with receivers being required to play to the reasonable pace of the server. Nothing unusual there.
What was unusual was that my opponents were clearly unhappy with us for our pace of play when they were serving.
Early on, one of the ladies serves to my partner. Point ends. We smack hands, say something to each other like "Way to go" or whatever. I walk back to receive and I see the server was standing at baseline, ready to toss, giving me the evil eye. OK, I thought, she plays quickly.
Thereafter, there were many times when the server expressed her irritation that we weren't moving fast enough. On one occasion, a point ended and I was supposed to receive next. There was a ball near the back curtain, so I walked to pick it up -- I'm headed back that way to receive anyway, right? The server yelled, "I don't need it," to discourage me from picking it up. I kind of figured I was entitled to clear a ball between points, as I don't like having balls behind me.
Another time, the first serve was clearly long, so I knocked it into the bottom of the net. It rolled back toward me, and was perhaps three feet into the ad service box. I held up a racket, walked to it, knocked it sideways under the bench, backed up, and then said, "OK." Server was shaking her head irritably.
Another time my partner and I both deferred on a ball up the middle and so lost the point. We had a brief discussion of the "Oh, I'm sorry, let's remember to call the middle ball next time, but since you were closer to the net you can take it" variety. In the middle of this, the server shouted, "I'm ready!"
It was common for me to have to hold up my racket between first and second serves (ball that needed to be cleared or watched until it settled), when my partner had not yet made it to the service line, or when I knew the server was going to serve the instant I reached the baseline to receive.
In the end, we won the match in straight sets, with about 25 minutes of time remaining. It wasn't a situation where we slowed down in an attempt to run out the clock or they sped up because they were losing. No, it seemed that she just plays fast and gets angry with anyone who doesn't keep up.
I wasn't quite sure what to do about this, as the pace struck me as unreasonably fast. I considered talking to her about it on a changeover, but I didn't wish to have a fight on my hands and she looked like she might explode. I considered some of the standard tricks (delaying sending the balls back to her, spraying the balls intentionally), but that crap isn't my style. I tried to just play the way I always play, with talking between points limited to things I thought needed to be addressed right then ("OK, I'm going to lob my return, so be ready to back up if I miss").
So, what's "unreasonable?" What's the best way to handle this if it happens again?
Cindy -- who also annoyed her opponents by catching a lot of bad tosses that night, but who had zero double faults as a result
You'll recall that we play 2-hour timed matches. Our rules allow for 20 seconds between points, with receivers being required to play to the reasonable pace of the server. Nothing unusual there.
What was unusual was that my opponents were clearly unhappy with us for our pace of play when they were serving.
Early on, one of the ladies serves to my partner. Point ends. We smack hands, say something to each other like "Way to go" or whatever. I walk back to receive and I see the server was standing at baseline, ready to toss, giving me the evil eye. OK, I thought, she plays quickly.
Thereafter, there were many times when the server expressed her irritation that we weren't moving fast enough. On one occasion, a point ended and I was supposed to receive next. There was a ball near the back curtain, so I walked to pick it up -- I'm headed back that way to receive anyway, right? The server yelled, "I don't need it," to discourage me from picking it up. I kind of figured I was entitled to clear a ball between points, as I don't like having balls behind me.
Another time, the first serve was clearly long, so I knocked it into the bottom of the net. It rolled back toward me, and was perhaps three feet into the ad service box. I held up a racket, walked to it, knocked it sideways under the bench, backed up, and then said, "OK." Server was shaking her head irritably.
Another time my partner and I both deferred on a ball up the middle and so lost the point. We had a brief discussion of the "Oh, I'm sorry, let's remember to call the middle ball next time, but since you were closer to the net you can take it" variety. In the middle of this, the server shouted, "I'm ready!"
It was common for me to have to hold up my racket between first and second serves (ball that needed to be cleared or watched until it settled), when my partner had not yet made it to the service line, or when I knew the server was going to serve the instant I reached the baseline to receive.
In the end, we won the match in straight sets, with about 25 minutes of time remaining. It wasn't a situation where we slowed down in an attempt to run out the clock or they sped up because they were losing. No, it seemed that she just plays fast and gets angry with anyone who doesn't keep up.
I wasn't quite sure what to do about this, as the pace struck me as unreasonably fast. I considered talking to her about it on a changeover, but I didn't wish to have a fight on my hands and she looked like she might explode. I considered some of the standard tricks (delaying sending the balls back to her, spraying the balls intentionally), but that crap isn't my style. I tried to just play the way I always play, with talking between points limited to things I thought needed to be addressed right then ("OK, I'm going to lob my return, so be ready to back up if I miss").
So, what's "unreasonable?" What's the best way to handle this if it happens again?
Cindy -- who also annoyed her opponents by catching a lot of bad tosses that night, but who had zero double faults as a result
