Saba Demanded an Apology for a Let Cord? Seriously?

RaulRamirez

RaulRamirez

Legend
Yes, most players hold up their hand after hitting a fortunate net cord that bounces over -- and yes, that convention has been discussed here before.

But I've never heard of a player chasing after her opponent (Anisimova) at the changeover -- and demanding such an apology.
(and later, whining about her not apologizing in the post-match presser).

But that's world #1, Aryna Sabalenka in a nutshell for you...the same player that grunts and glowers through every point of every match.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1943333788211093929
 
I don't think the moment automatically called for an apology. It wasn't a situation where the ball hit the net and dribbled over for an unplayable winner. The ball slowed down from clipping the tape but stayed on line, Sabalenka just had to move up a couple steps and was still able to hit a real shot off of it.
 
RaulRamirez said:
Agreed.
Most do so when it happens, but rarely if ever do I see a player demand one.

(To me, it's a different situation than nailing your opponent - unintentionally - with a shot. )
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It’s pure gamesmanship. Just trying to break their opponents flow by distracting them with some nonsense. After the match Amanda would have been well within her rights to tell Gruntlenka to F.O. instead of a handshake. :)
 
RaulRamirez said:
Yes, most players hold up their hand after hitting a fortunate net cord that bounces over -- and yes, that convention has been discussed here before.

But I've never heard of a player chasing after her opponent (Anisimova) at the changeover -- and demanding such an apology.
(and later, whining about her not apologizing in the post-match presser).
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welp. we do have Meddy calling out Stefanos for not apologizing for a netcord in the infamous bull.... russian spat:laughing:
Moose Malloy said:
Ugh, I didn't realize she talked about it in the presser. It came off like she was calling Amanda a cheater or a win at all cost type.

go to 8 min mark

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yes doubling down on it at the presser after admittedly taking time to cool off [she says she delayed the presser to calm down] is ridiculous!
making such a trivial thing a huge crime/faux pas!

but then she's always so entitled, not much of a surprise.
not too self aware at all... she feels she did the prefect presser with her remarks she did not give any fodder for the journos!
 
atatu said:
despite being the best women's player in the world
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Press X to doubt. If you're #1 but have a long stretch of being unable to win Slams, you're not clearly the best in the world, as winning Slams is more relevant than being #1 and other players (not the #1) are winning those Slams.

Since Serena's retirement, there has not been a single consistent dominant force on the tour, and in the WTA one Slam the best is X player and the next Slam the best is Y player. WTA is characterized by volatility and inconsistency
 
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There are some traditions and customs in tennis that I like, and some that I dislike.

I personally wish that the whole practice of apologising after net cords was scrapped. I'm not a fan of fake apologies in general, and clearly no beneficiary of a net cord is going to be genuinely apologetic, and understandably so. Why should they be.

When I play tennis at my lowly amateur level, I'm not annoyed at my opponents when they benefit from a net cord (I'll be frustrated at the net cord itself but not at the other player), and I'm not remotely guilty or apologetic when I'm the beneficiary.

Another custom, which has intensified over time and certainly wasn't standard practice in previous eras such as the 80s, and which 'amuses' me, is doubles players high-fiving or fist-bumping after every point.
 
Mustard said:
Is the raised hand really an apology? It's more like "I acknowledge that I was a bit lucky, there". It depends on the moment whether you are in the mood to raise the hand or not.
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Raised hand is an apology. What the hell? You want people to beg on their knees everytime they hit the net? Yall are reading too much into this. In tennis, raising the hand is considered an apology
 
Apun94 said:
I want to give Sabalenka a pass because we all do stupid stuff in the heat of the moment but this was not cool. At no point is bullying justified
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Carrot is going to bully Egg using his FH. And his BH.

IMG-0110.jpg
 
Gizo said:
Another custom, which has intensified over time and certainly wasn't standard practice in previous eras such as the 80s, and which 'amuses' me, is doubles players high-fiving or fist-bumping after every point.
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Post COVID I don’t high five my mixed doubles partner anymore. Just racquet taps.
 
This is a little bit precious given what happens in real life as opposed to the theatre of sport.

Apun94 said:
I want to give Sabalenka a pass because we all do stupid stuff in the heat of the moment but this was not cool. At no point is bullying justified
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Sport said:
Press X to doubt. If you're #1 but have a long stretch of being unable to win Slams, you're not clearly the best in the world, as winning Slams is more relevant than being #1 and other players (not the #1) are winning those Slams.

Since Serena's retirement, there has not been a single consistent dominant force on the tour, and in the WTA one Slam the best is X player and the next Slam the best is Y player. WTA is characterized by volatility and inconsistency
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I will certainly give Saba this much credit, as I don't deny that she's very good. In her last five hard court slams, she's won three and been the finalist in the other two. In the last 11 slams that she's played (she didn't enter last year's Wimby), I think it's been three slams, three finals, 4 semis and a QF. That is very consistent play.

Iga, prior to her relative slump, has been pretty consistent for the last five years, and Coco (prior to her learly exit at this year's Wimby) has been a late-rounder with a couple wins. There is a lot of volatility below them, and overall, more than in the men's game...although recently, the Alc-Sin duopoly has taken over from Djoker, with Djok and often Fritz, sometimes Zverev in the mix and then...volatility.
 
Bartelby said:
This is a little bit precious given what happens in real life as opposed to the theatre of sport.
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But this is a sports (tennis) site. When I talk to non-tennis fans about what's happening in in real life, this wouldn't even begin to register nor should it. On this forum, whether other posters agree with my "OP" or not, it's relevant.
 
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A ball that hits the net chord and goes over is a 95% good shot. No apology necessary. A flat hitter is going to hit the chord often, some will go over.
 
RaulRamirez said:
I didn't recall that about Venus.

I'm also guessing that Saba wouldn't try to bully Venus or Serena among a few other players of the past. (But she'd still grunt her head off.)
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Venus would tear that net-cord apart and keep walking :-D she was very old school, just like she rarely EVER challenged a call, even if it looked like it would clearly be in her favor.

tumblr_nit32guYmp1rtcbego1_400.gifv
 
Sport said:
Press X to doubt. If you're #1 but have a long stretch of being unable to win Slams, you're not clearly the best in the world, as winning Slams is more relevant than being #1 and other players (not the #1) are winning those Slams.

Since Serena's retirement, there has not been a single consistent dominant force on the tour, and in the WTA one Slam the best is X player and the next Slam the best is Y player. WTA is characterized by volatility and inconsistency
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Ash Barty would've been the one to dismantle all the women w her variety, had she kept going.
 
Sport said:
Press X to doubt. If you're #1 but have a long stretch of being unable to win Slams, you're not clearly the best in the world, as winning Slams is more relevant than being #1 and other players (not the #1) are winning those Slams.

Since Serena's retirement, there has not been a single consistent dominant force on the tour, and in the WTA one Slam the best is X player and the next Slam the best is Y player. WTA is characterized by volatility and inconsistency
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God the stupidity here is insane. Swiatek literally went on the longest winning streak of the 21st century for the women. 37 matches I think? Won 2 slams too.

Sabalenka has been a dominant force. 3 consecutive slam finals, multiple big titles. Would you say Alcaraz isn’t dominant?
 
platypus50 said:
Someone should have grabbed Screamalenka a box of tissues to console her, just when you thought she could not be any more unlikeable, she delivers in fine style
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God the way this forum treats Sabalenka you’d think she’d hit a lineswoman or bashed their baby mumma or faced a silent doping ban or used racial slurs like the top male players.

A woman screams too loud and has emotions and she’s universally despised.
 
Aussie Darcy said:
God the way this forum treats Sabalenka you’d think she’d hit a lineswoman or bashed their baby mumma or faced a silent doping ban or used racial slurs like the top male players.

A woman screams too loud and has emotions and she’s universally despised.
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She screams loud and she's a sore loser, those are generally traits of a player that will be disliked by many. Demanding an apology for a player hitting a net chord is another added to the pile, and why should a player apologize for that anyway which is one of the dumbest tennis etiquettes that I've ever seen.
 
NYTennisfan said:
She screams loud and she's a sore loser, those are generally traits of a player that will be disliked by many. Demanding an apology for a player hitting a net chord is another added to the pile, and why should a player apologize for that anyway which is one of the dumbest tennis etiquettes that I've ever seen.
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Yeah all of those are traits of many male players who don’t get the ridicule like Sabalenka does. Screams loud. Shelton. Sore loser. Don’t even know where to begin with the men from Kyrgios to Tsitsipas to Zverev to Medvedev. Demanding an apology? Yeah not uncommon in the tennis world to get riled up when someone doesn’t offer the half arsed apology. Also Anisimova’s cheat scream which was a blatant hindrance hasn’t been mentioned here but was what angered Sabalenka more.

And before anyone says “Sabalenka screams constantly”. Yes she does. And those are the rules. You either do it each point or not at all. You don’t scream mid point like Serena did against Stosur in the 2011 final. That’s a hindrance. Have a look at what Anisimova did and how it disrupted Sabalenka. That was cheating. That was a hindrance and it wasn’t punished.
 
Aussie Darcy said:
God the way this forum treats Sabalenka you’d think she’d hit a lineswoman or bashed their baby mumma or faced a silent doping ban or used racial slurs like the top male players.

A woman screams too loud and has emotions and she’s universally despised.
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I started this thread. Often, I agree with you, and there are a lot of misogynistic posts on this board, and often when the women's game is discussed, it's done in a negative light. That is NOT what I'm all about, as I respect the women's game.

Admittedly, I do not like Sabalenka (though I always give her, her just due as a player). And I don't like her because of her constant, excessive loud bellowing, occasional belittling of umpires and her opponents, and her lack of graciousness after losses. I would've given her a bit of a pass here, but not only did I see the short vid of her demanding an apology during a changeover, but she also commented on it in her presser. Just a terrible sport.
 
Aussie Darcy said:
Yeah all of those are traits of many male players who don’t get the ridicule like Sabalenka does. Screams loud. Shelton. Sore loser. Don’t even know where to begin with the men from Kyrgios to Tsitsipas to Zverev to Medvedev. Demanding an apology? Yeah not uncommon in the tennis world to get riled up when someone doesn’t offer the half arsed apology. Also Anisimova’s cheat scream which was a blatant hindrance hasn’t been mentioned here but was what angered Sabalenka more.

And before anyone says “Sabalenka screams constantly”. Yes she does. And those are the rules. You either do it each point or not at all. You don’t scream mid point like Serena did against Stosur in the 2011 final. That’s a hindrance. Have a look at what Anisimova did and how it disrupted Sabalenka. That was cheating. That was a hindrance and it wasn’t punished.
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TBF, there's a lot of hate directed towards those players on this forum. They all get ridiculed more or less on here, especially Shelton and Tsitsipas lately. And of course, there's the annual "ABZ" thread. So the hate is fair on both sides in those regards.
 
Aussie Darcy said:
Yeah all of those are traits of many male players who don’t get the ridicule like Sabalenka does. Screams loud. Shelton. Sore loser. Don’t even know where to begin with the men from Kyrgios to Tsitsipas to Zverev to Medvedev. Demanding an apology? Yeah not uncommon in the tennis world to get riled up when someone doesn’t offer the half arsed apology. Also Anisimova’s cheat scream which was a blatant hindrance hasn’t been mentioned here but was what angered Sabalenka more.

And before anyone says “Sabalenka screams constantly”. Yes she does. And those are the rules. You either do it each point or not at all. You don’t scream mid point like Serena did against Stosur in the 2011 final. That’s a hindrance. Have a look at what Anisimova did and how it disrupted Sabalenka. That was cheating. That was a hindrance and it wasn’t punished.
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Post the clip if you have it, of the point in question -- not the let cord but the early celebratory scream. I watched the match, but here and there had work to attend to.
 
Aussie Darcy said:
Yeah all of those are traits of many male players who don’t get the ridicule like Sabalenka does. Screams loud. Shelton. Sore loser. Don’t even know where to begin with the men from Kyrgios to Tsitsipas to Zverev to Medvedev. Demanding an apology? Yeah not uncommon in the tennis world to get riled up when someone doesn’t offer the half arsed apology. Also Anisimova’s cheat scream which was a blatant hindrance hasn’t been mentioned here but was what angered Sabalenka more.

And before anyone says “Sabalenka screams constantly”. Yes she does. And those are the rules. You either do it each point or not at all. You don’t scream mid point like Serena did against Stosur in the 2011 final. That’s a hindrance. Have a look at what Anisimova did and how it disrupted Sabalenka. That was cheating. That was a hindrance and it wasn’t punished.
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Uhhh, those men receive plenty of hate. Don't turn this into a sexist thing, Sabalenka has earned some of the ire that she receives because of her actions not her gender.
When you grunt/scream as loud as she does on every point and exhibit poor loser behavior multiple times you're going to receive some criticism.

Also, that comes with the territory of being a great player always in the spotlight. If she was a lesser player nobody would care.
 
Sabs and Medvedev would make a cute couple. They both demand apologies after a net cord. If not given they want to beat you up.
 
RaulRamirez said:
Post the clip if you have it, of the point in question -- not the let cord but the early celebratory scream. I watched the match, but here and there had work to attend to.
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It's a youtube short cause I had seen it on tik tok, unsure if it'll post here but it wasn't even a noise she made when she hit the ball, it was a noise she made after the ball had already gone over the net which was a clear hindrance that disrupted Sabalenka. Reminded me exactly of Serena screaming Cmon against Stosur as a celebration before the point was done.

 
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