Polaris
Hall of Fame
A few weeks back, I listed several funny types of GOATs that posters have come up with. The list keeps growing all the time as people come up with ridiculous but often entertaining classifications.
So, without naming names of the posters, I thought I'd put down the list in alphabetical order. Eventually, I will add definitions to each of these. This is just meant to poke some fun at our tennis-craziness. If you know of some more GOAT types that I have missed, please reply in the comments with the new type and a suggested definition, and I'll add it to this post. With the blessings of the Dali-Poap we may end up with an interesting thread.
Finished items and suggested items are in bold red font. Suggestions to posters are acknowledged in blue font.
A
attention seeking GOAT: to be filled.
[Suggested by: OverratedIvanovic].
B
blue clay GOAT
C
carpet GOAT: A term used to refer to the greatest player on the now-extinct surface called "carpet". Since carpet was an extremely fast surface, this epithet is often used by the old-school faithful with a tinge of nostalgia.
[Suggested by: tennis_pro]
choking GOAT: Alternately used out of frustration or ridicule, this interesting phrase refers to a player with the greatest penchant for choking in important match situations. Disagreement remains over what precisely constitutes "choking" in a given situation, and thread wars are common in the matter, but this is to be expected from an audience so intimately concerned with the minutiae of tennis.
[Suggested by: Steve0904].
clay GOAT
closed roof GOAT: A term used to refer to the greatest player under conditions that include a closed roof. This is often confused with indoor GOAT, though in a strict sense, the terms are different: "indoor" refers to tournaments that are always played indoors, while "closed roof" additionally includes tournaments that are generally played outdoors, but have a roof that is used only in the event of rain or extreme heat.
[Suggested by: Bobby Jr]
cvac GOAT: To be filled.
[Suggested by: underground].
D
dead GOAT: to be filled.
[Suggested by: Tammo].
E
F
fast-grass GOAT
G
GOAT candidate
GOAT killer
gamesmanship GOAT: This epithet is reserved for the player considered to be the foremost at bending rules and using tactics that give him or her a psychological advantage. As with most things on TW, opinions vary as to what constitutes gamesmanship, and whether gamesmanship is actually a bad thing.
[Suggested by: mariecon].
greatest major retiree of all time (GMROAT): To be filled.
[Suggested by: Prodigy1234 inspired by stringertom].
green clay goat : A term supposedly used to represent the greatest player on a green claycourt surface, also known as American clay or "HarTru". Over time, and in keeping with the slowing down of all surfaces, this term has now evolved to represent the greatest player on a modern-day grass court surface. The connotation is usually intended satirically, to emphasize the differences in the abilities required to excel on the fast grass prior to the year 2000, and the slower grass courts of the 21st century.
[Suggested by: Prodigy1234].
grinding GOAT: An honor, often grudgingly bestowed, to the player considered as the greatest in the exposition of the grinding style of play, which involves long rallies of attrition and monotonous ball-bashing from the baseline. Typically, old school tennis fans rate the this honor below "serve-and-volley GOAT" owing to the perceived speed and imagination involved in abbreviated rallies.
[Suggested by: Steve0904].
H
hands down GOAT
HC GOAT
I
in-discussion GOAT
J
joke grass GOAT
joke GOAT: A term used in heated discussions with the aim of disparaging somebody else's choice for the greatest player of all time. This differs subtly from "not GOAT" which has a neutral connotation, and occurs more commonly in calm rather than heated discussions.
junkball GOAT: to be filled.
[Suggested by: OverratedIvanovic].
K
L
late bloomer GOAT: to be filled
[Suggested by: Tammo].
M
medical time out GOAT (MTOGOAT): to be filled.
[Suggested by: OverratedIvanovic].
modern day grass GOAT: See green clay GOAT.
[Suggested by: Prodigy1234]
moonball GOAT: to be filled.
[Suggested by: OverratedIvanovic].
N
not GOAT
O
one and only GOAT: See undisputed GOAT.
[Suggested by: underground].
one time GOAT: A nostalgic epithet used to refer to
a player who was once considered the greatest of all time. Consistent with the nature of Talk Tennis debates, there remains immense disagreement about who the deserving recipients of this honor really are.
[Suggested by: Tammo].
one-slam-wonder GOAT
Open Era GOAT
P
probable GOAT
Plexicushion GOAT
Q
R
real Slam GOAT: To be filled.
[Suggested by: underground].
red clay GOAT
retirement GOAT: To be filled.
[Suggested by: mariecon].
S
surface GOAT
slow-grass GOAT
slamless GOAT
silent ban GOAT: To be filled.
[Suggested by: mariecon].
T
the GOAT
transition GOAT
U
undisputed GOAT: An epithet reserved for the player who is acknowledged without exception across the TT universe as the greatest player of all time. Given the history of differences of opinion, and the overabundance of subjectivity characterizing TT discussions, this remains a utopian concept.
V
W
X
Y
Z
So, without naming names of the posters, I thought I'd put down the list in alphabetical order. Eventually, I will add definitions to each of these. This is just meant to poke some fun at our tennis-craziness. If you know of some more GOAT types that I have missed, please reply in the comments with the new type and a suggested definition, and I'll add it to this post. With the blessings of the Dali-Poap we may end up with an interesting thread.
Finished items and suggested items are in bold red font. Suggestions to posters are acknowledged in blue font.
A
attention seeking GOAT: to be filled.
[Suggested by: OverratedIvanovic].
B
blue clay GOAT
C
carpet GOAT: A term used to refer to the greatest player on the now-extinct surface called "carpet". Since carpet was an extremely fast surface, this epithet is often used by the old-school faithful with a tinge of nostalgia.
[Suggested by: tennis_pro]
choking GOAT: Alternately used out of frustration or ridicule, this interesting phrase refers to a player with the greatest penchant for choking in important match situations. Disagreement remains over what precisely constitutes "choking" in a given situation, and thread wars are common in the matter, but this is to be expected from an audience so intimately concerned with the minutiae of tennis.
[Suggested by: Steve0904].
clay GOAT
closed roof GOAT: A term used to refer to the greatest player under conditions that include a closed roof. This is often confused with indoor GOAT, though in a strict sense, the terms are different: "indoor" refers to tournaments that are always played indoors, while "closed roof" additionally includes tournaments that are generally played outdoors, but have a roof that is used only in the event of rain or extreme heat.
[Suggested by: Bobby Jr]
cvac GOAT: To be filled.
[Suggested by: underground].
D
dead GOAT: to be filled.
[Suggested by: Tammo].
E
F
fast-grass GOAT
G
GOAT candidate
GOAT killer
gamesmanship GOAT: This epithet is reserved for the player considered to be the foremost at bending rules and using tactics that give him or her a psychological advantage. As with most things on TW, opinions vary as to what constitutes gamesmanship, and whether gamesmanship is actually a bad thing.
[Suggested by: mariecon].
greatest major retiree of all time (GMROAT): To be filled.
[Suggested by: Prodigy1234 inspired by stringertom].
green clay goat : A term supposedly used to represent the greatest player on a green claycourt surface, also known as American clay or "HarTru". Over time, and in keeping with the slowing down of all surfaces, this term has now evolved to represent the greatest player on a modern-day grass court surface. The connotation is usually intended satirically, to emphasize the differences in the abilities required to excel on the fast grass prior to the year 2000, and the slower grass courts of the 21st century.
[Suggested by: Prodigy1234].
grinding GOAT: An honor, often grudgingly bestowed, to the player considered as the greatest in the exposition of the grinding style of play, which involves long rallies of attrition and monotonous ball-bashing from the baseline. Typically, old school tennis fans rate the this honor below "serve-and-volley GOAT" owing to the perceived speed and imagination involved in abbreviated rallies.
[Suggested by: Steve0904].
H
hands down GOAT
HC GOAT
I
in-discussion GOAT
J
joke grass GOAT
joke GOAT: A term used in heated discussions with the aim of disparaging somebody else's choice for the greatest player of all time. This differs subtly from "not GOAT" which has a neutral connotation, and occurs more commonly in calm rather than heated discussions.
junkball GOAT: to be filled.
[Suggested by: OverratedIvanovic].
K
L
late bloomer GOAT: to be filled
[Suggested by: Tammo].
M
medical time out GOAT (MTOGOAT): to be filled.
[Suggested by: OverratedIvanovic].
modern day grass GOAT: See green clay GOAT.
[Suggested by: Prodigy1234]
moonball GOAT: to be filled.
[Suggested by: OverratedIvanovic].
N
not GOAT
O
one and only GOAT: See undisputed GOAT.
[Suggested by: underground].
one time GOAT: A nostalgic epithet used to refer to
a player who was once considered the greatest of all time. Consistent with the nature of Talk Tennis debates, there remains immense disagreement about who the deserving recipients of this honor really are.
[Suggested by: Tammo].
one-slam-wonder GOAT
Open Era GOAT
P
probable GOAT
Plexicushion GOAT
Q
R
real Slam GOAT: To be filled.
[Suggested by: underground].
red clay GOAT
retirement GOAT: To be filled.
[Suggested by: mariecon].
S
surface GOAT
slow-grass GOAT
slamless GOAT
silent ban GOAT: To be filled.
[Suggested by: mariecon].
T
the GOAT
transition GOAT
U
undisputed GOAT: An epithet reserved for the player who is acknowledged without exception across the TT universe as the greatest player of all time. Given the history of differences of opinion, and the overabundance of subjectivity characterizing TT discussions, this remains a utopian concept.
V
W
X
Y
Z
Last edited:
