We Need To Come To An Agreement: Balls On Changeover

Cindysphinx

Cindysphinx

G.O.A.T.
All right. There seems to be a lack of agreement on what teams should do with the balls on a changeover.

I am a Ball Dropper. When it is time for a changeover, I leave the balls on the court in a reasonable location. If I finished the point at the net, I will drop the ball(s) at the service line and walk to the benches. If the balls are near the back fence or side curtain, I will fetch them and put them near the baseline.

When I do this, my partners invariably go fetch the ball(s) I just dropped and hand them to the opponents at the bench. They are Ball Handers, and they get very uncomfortable with just leaving the ball on the court where I dropped it.

But I think it is nuts to bring the balls to the bench. How many times has it happened that a ball winds up under the bench, in someone's pocket, or God forbid in someone's tennis bag? Plus, I don't want my opponents handing me balls when I am toweling off, drinking water, or conferring with my partner. Just leave them in plain sight.

Where did this idea come from where we have to have a hand-to-hand transfer of three tennis balls every other game? Can we just all leave the balls on the court on changeovers? Please?

Cindy -- wondering if this is a lady thing because guys don't pick up the balls once she leaves them on the court
 
Might just be in this area but it seems to me that ladies prefer handing them over at the bench while men typically drop them. I will usually leave them on the baseline. If I do this when playing mixed with my wife she will pick them up and take them to the bench. It annoys me but certainly not worth ever mentioning except on an anonymous message board.
 
I also prefer to leave the balls on the next-to-serve side, neatly in a triangle by the service hash. (yup a little OCD here)

But occassionally have an opponent (more often in dubs than singles) that finds this annoying. If I notice that they prefer to have the balls handed to them, no biggie, I will do it.

At set change I am a little more OCD. My racquet is placed by the net on the side which I will be starting the new set, the balls are placed by the net on the side that service begins. Every time, always.
 
Cindy's position is correct, leave the balls on the server's side of the court--they're the ones who will be needing them. Bringing them to the bench/leaving them on the tea cart invariably results in the "Where is the third ball?" scenario.
 
In social and I/we just served, I take them to the net and hand them over. In league or tourneys, I leave them near the center of the court by the baseline.

At a changeover and I am next to serve, I don't mind if you hand them to me because I'm a three ball server anyway. 1 in the pocket and two in my left.
 
OnTheLine said:
I also prefer to leave the balls on the next-to-serve side, neatly in a triangle by the service hash. (yup a little OCD here)

But occassionally have an opponent (more often in dubs than singles) that finds this annoying. If I notice that they prefer to have the balls handed to them, no biggie, I will do it.

At set change I am a little more OCD. My racquet is placed by the net on the side which I will be starting the new set, the balls are placed by the net on the side that service begins. Every time, always.
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Curious -- where exactly do you leave your racket?

My own OCD thing is that I never put a racket down anywhere but leaning/on my bench or in my bag. I also won't put a jacket or sunglasses or water bottle anywhere but in my purse or bag.

After I misplaced enough things by forgetting them on a court, I eventually learned my lesson. :)

Cindy -- still sad over losing her favorite pair of sunglasses on a court and hoping that the lucky recipient is enjoying them
 
I'm also a ball dropper. It seems the most convenient for everyone. I like to leave them where they are easily picked up by my opponents, either at the net or near the baseline.

There are some players that will ball drop and leave balls scattered all over, including off the court. If they are intentionally leaving them where it takes time to retrieve and violates the "continuous play" principle, then it could arguably be a code violation (my interpretation). But I couldn't find anything in Friends At Court that specifically addresses this.
 
This can be a thorny issue. If the opposing team in mixed doubles make it a point to collect the balls and leave them as a nice triangle centered on the hash mark on the service line, chances are they expect the same from you. I once got glares and comments from the woman on the other side when I did not reciprocate.

I just throw any ball in my packet behind me and walk off the court.
 
If I'm winning easily I will hand the balls over at the net. If it's a close match, I will leave them at the baseline. If I'm losing, I will smash them into the court so they rebound off the roof and rain down on my opponents as they are walking to the net. That or I will smack them as hard as I can into the curtain behind them. I realize this is repugnant.
 
Cindysphinx said:
Curious -- where exactly do you leave your racket?

My own OCD thing is that I never put a racket down anywhere but leaning/on my bench or in my bag. I also won't put a jacket or sunglasses or water bottle anywhere but in my purse or bag.

After I misplaced enough things by forgetting them on a court, I eventually learned my lesson. :)

Cindy -- still sad over losing her favorite pair of sunglasses on a court and hoping that the lucky recipient is enjoying them
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I leave raccquet propped up on the the post, hoop down butt end on post on the side which I begin the next set.

I am very "neat" courtside. Everything is in my bag at all times except for racquet and water bottle. I dislike it whem people make the bench look like a yard sale with everything draped all over.
 
We had this conversation in my local league a few weeks ago.

It comes off extremely passive aggressive to leave the balls on your side of the court. Especially when you take the ball out of your pocket to drop/throw it. It also slows down the pace of the match.

What’s so hard about walking it over to the bench and politely handing the balls to your opponent?
 
Startzel said:
What’s so hard about walking it over to the bench and politely handing the balls to your opponent?
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It's a little less confusing to drop them, imo. At least for doubles. Out of habit, everyone will look for the balls after the changeover (including the player who just mindlessly pocketed them). If everyone can see all 3 sitting on the baseline, no one has to ask if balls made it to the correct person or if any are missing.
 
Startzel said:
It comes off extremely passive aggressive to leave the balls on your side of the court. Especially when you take the ball out of your pocket to drop/throw it. It also slows down the pace of the match.

What’s so hard about walking it over to the bench and politely handing the balls to your opponent?
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But what if everyone is doing it? Most players leave the balls in the leagues I play on. I don't interpret it as passive aggressive and I don't see it as a huge slowdown either, maybe on the contrary.
 
Startzel said:
We had this conversation in my local league a few weeks ago.

It comes off extremely passive aggressive to leave the balls on your side of the court. Especially when you take the ball out of your pocket to drop/throw it. It also slows down the pace of the match.

What’s so hard about walking it over to the bench and politely handing the balls to your opponent?
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Not sure what you mean by "your side of the court." Aren't most people saying that they leave them on the side of the court where serving will begin after the changeover?

I agree with most people's reasoning for leaving the balls at the service line or baseline of the side that will be next serving. If we'll be serving next I just keep the ball with me, but I'm not going to bring the ball from one side of the net to the middle so someone can bring it back to the same side I was just on.

When all the balls get to the bench I'd say 50% of the time one gets left on the bench or on top of the water cooler or something and then it has to be discovered and tracked down.

I don't think anything described slows down the pace of the match except when people forget balls on the bench.

Perhaps the "ball droppers" could clarify - because I'm pretty sure they do what I do. They don't leave the ball on the court if that's not the side where the balls are going to be used next.

Can you guys clarify?
 
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In 30+ years of playing tennis, I've become very good at rolling the balls back towards the baseline from any spot on the court and having them stop very close to the baseline center hash ready for the next team to pick'em up and start serving.
 
Startzel said:
We had this conversation in my local league a few weeks ago.

It comes off extremely passive aggressive to leave the balls on your side of the court. Especially when you take the ball out of your pocket to drop/throw it. It also slows down the pace of the match.

What’s so hard about walking it over to the bench and politely handing the balls to your opponent?
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If someone walks to the bench and hands them to the opponent, he/she is a sandbagger.
 
We Ball-Droppers leave the balls in a reasonable spot (service line, baseline) on the side where the next server will be. I see no reason to arrange them like I am racking the balls in billiards, however. I drop as I am walking (or if I retrieved it from the back wall I push it with my racket) such that it sits in plain view somewhere on the court.

If my team just received and I happened to have a ball or retrieved a ball from our side, I would not drop it there because it would be on the wrong side of the court. I would pocket it because we will be serving next from the other side so there is no need to give it to anyone.
 
Cindysphinx said:
We Ball-Droppers leave the balls in a reasonable spot (service line, baseline) on the side where the next server will be. I see no reason to arrange them like I am racking the balls in billiards, however. I drop as I am walking (or if I retrieved it from the back wall I push it with my racket) such that it sits in plain view somewhere on the court.

If my team just received and I happened to have a ball or retrieved a ball from our side, I would not drop it there because it would be on the wrong side of the court. I would pocket it because we will be serving next from the other side so there is no need to give it to anyone.
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This. Cindy said it much more succinctly than I did.

No one is doing what Startzel is suggesting.
 
SGM1980 said:
Not sure what you mean by "your side of the court." Aren't most people saying that they leave them on the side of the court where serving will begin after the changeover?

I agree with most people's reasoning for leaving the balls at the service line or baseline of the side that will be next serving. If we'll be serving next I just keep the ball with me, but I'm not going to bring the ball from one side of the net to the middle so someone can bring it back to the same side I was just on.

When all the balls get to the bench I'd say 50% of the time one gets left on the bench or on top of the water cooler or something and then it has to be discovered and tracked down.

I don't think anything described slows down the pace of the match except when people forget balls on the bench.

Perhaps the "ball droppers" could clarify - because I'm pretty sure they do what I do. They don't leave the ball on the court if that's not the side where the balls are going to be used next.

Can you guys clarify?
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It definitely slows down the flow of the match because the players take their changeover then go hunt down the balls.

If you pick up the balls when the changeover starts you’re getting your rest while tidying up the court.
 
J_R_B said:
In 30+ years of playing tennis, I've become very good at rolling the balls back towards the baseline from any spot on the court and having them stop very close to the baseline center hash ready for the next team to pick'em up and start serving.
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That's a good start, grasshopper. Keep working on it.
By the 250+ year mark or so, you should be to be able to levitate the balls at about 4 feet up over the center hash, where it's most convenient for your opponent to pluck them out of the air.
By the 350 year mark you should also be able to have the balls do a gentle juggle while they levitate.
 
SGM1980 said:
This. Cindy said it much more succinctly than I did.

No one is doing what Startzel is suggesting.
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I do exactly what he is suggesting, unless I'm misunderstanding:
I bring the balls with me and place them on or by the bench in plain sight of my opponent.
Many others do the same. I think it's a good way to do it.
Many others don't, and leave the balls in a good spot on the court. That's perfectly fine also.
Just don't be the asshat who hits the balls into some remote corner where they need to be retrieved.
 
Wow I Would have never thought this would be an issue. I'm honestly not sure what i do but I probably either drop the balls or toss them back to the fence. If its ever bothered my opponent I haven't noticed, nor would I really care. I do know it doesn't bother me to go pick up balls if I'm serving after the changeover - actually thats what I expect to do.

Maybe I'll just choose to receive from here on out so im never serving the odd game before the changeover.
 
Startzel said:
It definitely slows down the flow of the match because the players take their changeover then go hunt down the balls.
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No it doesn't. I really doesn't. Either you're misunderstanding on purpose or just disagreeing to be disagreeable. Leaving the balls on the service line or on the base line does not slow down the match. No one is suggesting chucking them into the back corner by the fence.

But nothing I say or anyone else says will make you agree with logic so it doesn't really matter.
 
emilyhex said:
But what if everyone is doing it? Most players leave the balls in the leagues I play on. I don't interpret it as passive aggressive and I don't see it as a huge slowdown either, maybe on the contrary.
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I would say it isn’t passive agressive if everyone is doing it. I guess I’m thankful I play in an area with manners.
 
OrangePower said:
I do exactly what he is suggesting, unless I'm misunderstanding:
I bring the balls with me and place them on or by the bench in plain sight of my opponent.
Many others do the same. I think it's a good way to do it.
Many others don't, and leave the balls in a good spot on the court. That's perfectly fine also.
Just don't be the asshat who hits the balls into some remote corner where they need to be retrieved.
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He's suggesting that people leave them on their side of the court, not on the side of the court where they will be needed next. Most ball droppers drop them on the court if that's where they'll be needed, and bring them to the other side with them if they'll be the ones next serving.
 
SGM1980 said:
No it doesn't. I really doesn't. Either you're misunderstanding on purpose or just disagreeing to be disagreeable. Leaving the balls on the service line or on the base line does not slow down the match. No one is suggesting chucking them into the back corner by the fence.

But nothing I say or anyone else says will make you agree with logic so it doesn't really matter.
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So you go and pick up the balls in the corner of the court and walk it back to be service line and place them on the service line?

I’ve just never seen that in my area. Typically we always exchange the balls during the changeover so dropping the balls is more rare.

But the people who drop the ball usually only drop the balls they currently have in their possession. They usually leave any other stray ball wherever it lies. Plus we are talking about balls that bounce and roll so even the balls dropped near the service line even usually roll around and scatter.
 
Startzel said:
So you go and pick up the balls in the corner of the court and walk it back to be service line and place them on the service line?

I’ve just never seen that in my area. Typically we always exchange the balls during the changeover so dropping be balls is more rare.

But the people who drop the ball usually only drop the balls they currently have in their possession. They usually leave any other stray ball wherever it lies. Plus we are talking about balls that bounce and roll so even the balls dropped near the service line even usually roll around and scatter.
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Yup - if I have a ball on my person and there's a ball at the net and a ball back by the fence I'll (with my partner - whoever is closest) gather them an put them somewhere helpful. Usually service line or baseline depending on which makes more sense.

If I'm serving next I'll bring them over to the other side with me.

I do not roll them. I hold them in my hand, bend over, and put them on the ground - but if someone else is rolling them and they end up within +/- a foot or two of the line it doesn't really matter.

The time this wastes is much less (in my opinion) that the amount of time wasted when one ball gets left by the bench. Then there is a discussion about where the ball is: "Do you have one?" Everyone pats pockets. "Nope!" Everyone looks around into the corners. "Is that it by the bench?" Both net players start to run over to get it. "I got it!" says one to the other.

That takes up a heck of a lot more time.

Now you'll tell me that you never leave one on the bench, though, so I'm sure this makes no sense to you.
 
SGM1980 said:
Yup - if I have a ball on my person and there's a ball at the net and a ball back by the fence I'll (with my partner - whoever is closest) gather them an put them somewhere helpful. Usually service line or baseline depending on which makes more sense.

If I'm serving next I'll bring them over to the other side with me.

I do not roll them. I hold them in my hand, bend over, and put them on the ground - but if someone else is rolling them and they end up within +/- a foot or two of the line it doesn't really matter.

The time this wastes is much less (in my opinion) that the amount of time wasted when one ball gets left by the bench. Then there is a discussion about where the ball is: "Do you have one?" Everyone pats pockets. "Nope!" Everyone looks around into the corners. "Is that it by the bench?" Both net players start to run over to get it. "I got it!" says one to the other.

That takes up a heck of a lot more time.

Now you'll tell me that you never leave one on the bench, though, so I'm sure this makes no sense to you.
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No. We have forgotten a ball before but that’s pretty rare so it isn’t a big of a time issue as you’re making it out to be.

But I’ve never seen someone do it your way. Your way I would agree is not passive aggressive. I just haven’t seen it before.
 
sureshs said:
This can be a thorny issue. If the opposing team in mixed doubles make it a point to collect the balls and leave them as a nice triangle centered on the hash mark on the service line,
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Leaving them in a neat pyramid at the hash works if they are exclusively playing "I" formation or "Aussie"--it would be more ergonomically efficient to leave them about halfway between the hash mark and the alley where most servers can use them.

Startzel said:
It comes off extremely passive aggressive to leave the balls on your side of the court. Especially when you take the ball out of your pocket to drop/throw it. It also slows down the pace of the match.
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Most social tennis is passive/aggressive, otherwise they would be doing MMA--there is a cyclone fence around the court for good reason--keeps the combatants from harming the children and critters nearby. If one wants to move the match along, leaving them where the server will be needing them, is much more efficient them carrying them around to the far reaches of the court, where there is no use for them, and usually at least one gets forgotten on the tea-tray.

SGM1980 said:
I don't think anything described slows down the pace of the match except when people forget balls on the bench.
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Yes!
 
OrangePower said:
I do exactly what he is suggesting, unless I'm misunderstanding:
I bring the balls with me and place them on or by the bench in plain sight of my opponent.
Many others do the same. I think it's a good way to do it.
Many others don't, and leave the balls in a good spot on the court. That's perfectly fine also.
Just don't be the asshat who hits the balls into some remote corner where they need to be retrieved.
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OrangePower is a nice, reasonable person. We Ball-Droppers will have to effect change one Bench-Leaver at a time. Maybe if all of us Ball Droppers work on OrangePower, very gently and respectfully, we can convert him.

OrangePower, we Ball-Droppers want you to please change. You are right that what you are doing is not morally wrong. But you are setting a poor example for other Bench-Leavers. They see other people Bench-Leaving, and they think it doesn't matter. We Ball-Droppers cannot confront the Bench-Leavers directly -- they are a sensitive lot. And they can rightly point out that the Code is silent on this point. But oh, their Bench-Leaving results in delay and lost balls, whereas Ball-Dropping does not cause these perils. Ball-Dropping is superior to Bench-Leaving, and 2018 seems like a good time to change.

And, um. You don't want to be alone in the Bench-Leaver camp with Starzel, do you? That alone ought to be incentive enough! :)
 
Cindysphinx said:
Curious -- where exactly do you leave your racket?
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*In my hand mostly...
*Against the fence...
*In one of the fence's diamond shaped holes, so it doesn't get stepped on...
*Sometimes standing up straight on it's butt if it's not too windy...

All loose items are better left in a bag(s)--eventually you forget your keys, cell, wallet, sunglasses, jacket. If there should be an earthquake, where the light poles may start coming down, a tsunami, or other natural disaster--or gunshots, you can evacuate faster and more efficiently, if you have your stuff in a bag, and not have to collect scattered stuff. Keep your stick in your hand in case you need to weaponize it.
 
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It depends. If they've taken up all the bench space with their bags or other rude acts I will make sure the three balls are dispersed however if they are nice people I will hand them the balls upon change over.
 
Cindysphinx said:
OrangePower is a nice, reasonable person. We Ball-Droppers will have to effect change one Bench-Leaver at a time. Maybe if all of us Ball Droppers work on OrangePower, very gently and respectfully, we can convert him.

OrangePower, we Ball-Droppers want you to please change. You are right that what you are doing is not morally wrong. But you are setting a poor example for other Bench-Leavers. They see other people Bench-Leaving, and they think it doesn't matter. We Ball-Droppers cannot confront the Bench-Leavers directly -- they are a sensitive lot. And they can rightly point out that the Code is silent on this point. But oh, their Bench-Leaving results in delay and lost balls, whereas Ball-Dropping does not cause these perils. Ball-Dropping is superior to Bench-Leaving, and 2018 seems like a good time to change.

And, um. You don't want to be alone in the Bench-Leaver camp with Starzel, do you? That alone ought to be incentive enough! :)
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I just don't understand why you believe ball-dropping is superior to bench-leaving. I'm open to being convinced otherwise.
Here's how it typically works for me; chime in as to why you think any other method is superior:

Changeover after my service game:
I am a 3-ball hog when I serve, so I typically have one or two balls in my pocket already, depending on whether the last point required a 2nd serve or not.
After the last point ends, I pick up any remaining ball(s) on my side of the court and put into my pocket.
I now have all the balls other than any that might be on my opponent's side.
I walk to the bench. I make eye contact with my opponent and in his sight put the balls down on the bench next to him.

Changeover after my opponent's service game:
I gather any ball(s) on my side of the court and put into my pocket.
If my opponent brought the balls from his side to the bench, I put them into my pocket.
If he left them somewhere convenient on the court, immediately after the changeover I put them into my pocket
If he left them in the dark nether reaches of the corners of the court, immediately after the changeover I go hunt them down, put them into my pocket, and reflect on what an asshat my opponent is.

Doesn't seem particularly complicated. What delays, lost balls, and other perils do you imagine come from this?
 
OrangePower said:
I just don't understand why you believe ball-dropping is superior to bench-leaving. I'm open to being convinced otherwise.
Here's how it typically works for me; chime in as to why you think any other method is superior:

Changeover after my service game:
I am a 3-ball hog when I serve, so I typically have one or two balls in my pocket already, depending on whether the last point required a 2nd serve or not.
After the last point ends, I pick up any remaining ball(s) on my side of the court and put into my pocket.
I now have all the balls other than any that might be on my opponent's side.
I walk to the bench. I make eye contact with my opponent and in his sight put the balls down on the bench next to him.

Changeover after my opponent's service game:
I gather any ball(s) on my side of the court and put into my pocket.
If my opponent brought the balls from his side to the bench, I put them into my pocket.
If he left them somewhere convenient on the court, immediately after the changeover I put them into my pocket
If he left them in the dark nether reaches of the corners of the court, immediately after the changeover I go hunt them down, put them into my pocket, and reflect on what an asshat my opponent is.

Doesn't seem particularly complicated. What delays, lost balls, and other perils do you imagine come from this?
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Well said. It just seems obvious that two players exchanging the balls during the changeover would be most efficient.
 
The delay is in the "forgotten ball" scenario. Which I see a lot socially. Less so in a USTA match when there's less talking, but socially with people chatting back and forth I see it a lot. Then you get what I posted above:

Then there is a discussion about where the ball is: "Do you have one?" Everyone pats pockets. "Nope!" Everyone looks around into the corners. "Is that it by the bench?" Both net players start to run over to get it. "I got it!" says one to the other.

When there are three balls at or around the appropriate service line or base line no one has to look for anything only to discover it's still back at the bench. This happening once or twice a match adds up to more than the total time it take me to scoop up the balls from the ground with my racket and get on with business.

If you never forget a ball on the tea tray - the people with whom you play never forget a ball - the your method doesn't waste any time either. I just find that more often than not a ball gets forgotten on the bench if people keep bringing them back there.
 
OrangePower said:
I just don't understand why you believe ball-dropping is superior to bench-leaving. I'm open to being convinced otherwise.
Here's how it typically works for me; chime in as to why you think any other method is superior:

Changeover after my service game:
I am a 3-ball hog when I serve, so I typically have one or two balls in my pocket already, depending on whether the last point required a 2nd serve or not.
After the last point ends, I pick up any remaining ball(s) on my side of the court and put into my pocket.
I now have all the balls other than any that might be on my opponent's side.
I walk to the bench. I make eye contact with my opponent and in his sight put the balls down on the bench next to him.

Changeover after my opponent's service game:
I gather any ball(s) on my side of the court and put into my pocket.
If my opponent brought the balls from his side to the bench, I put them into my pocket.
If he left them somewhere convenient on the court, immediately after the changeover I put them into my pocket
If he left them in the dark nether reaches of the corners of the court, immediately after the changeover I go hunt them down, put them into my pocket, and reflect on what an asshat my opponent is.

Doesn't seem particularly complicated. What delays, lost balls, and other perils do you imagine come from this?
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Everything you said sounds fine (although it sounds like you are mostly talking about singles), except for the bold part.

Once the can of balls is opened, *game balls should not be placed on benches.* Of all of the places on a tennis court, the bench is the place where a ball is most likely to be lost or mixed up with a practice ball. And the bench is the place where the most clutter (bags, towels, water, food, jackets, pants) is, so it is the place where a ball might easily be misplaced. You can keep all three in your pocket if you wish, but please, do not put them on the bench in doubles.

Why do I have my panties in such a wad over this?

It is because the Bench-Leavers, who are doing it wrong, actively undermine the efforts of the Ball-Droppers. Players go out of their way to retrieve the two balls I left at the baseline and either (1) put them on the bench, or (2) hand them to the opponents, who . . . **put them on the bench!** This is the part that is nuts. It makes as much sense as if my partner put the balls on the bench and I walked over and marched all three balls out to the baseline and left them there.

Please, I beg of you, if it doesn't matter to you, then just convert become a Ball-Dropper. Or if you have them in your pocket, you can be a Delayed Ball-Hander and hang onto them until play resumes. Just don't be a Bench-Leaver or a Bench-Leaver Accomplice.
 
My thinking is I'll just hand them to my opponent so they don't have to pick them up. It's also a bit of a "they're your responsibility now" thing. However, if my opponent leaves the balls in a reasonable area before I serve, it wouldn't bother me at all. Come to think of it, even if my opponent gives me the last ball while we're walking back onto the court, it wouldn't be a problem either.

I'm surprised there are such strong feelings about this issue. Seems like the only bad thing here is if you lose focus on the match and start thinking too much about the ball exchange during the changeover.
 
Cindysphinx said:
Once the can of balls is opened, *game balls should not be placed on benches.* Of all of the places on a tennis court, the bench is the place where a ball is most likely to be lost or mixed up with a practice ball. And the bench is the place where the most clutter (bags, towels, water, food, jackets, pants) is, so it is the place where a ball might easily be misplaced. You can keep all three in your pocket if you wish, but please, do not put them on the bench in doubles.
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Ah, I see the source of your issue - it seems you are trying to solve the wrong problem!

You see, a bench should only have the following things on it:
1. Players' behinds
2. Towel(s) and drink bottle(s), one of each per person max
3. Game balls, awaiting pickup by the server upon conclusion of the changeover

Bags have no place on the bench!!! People, we have been through this enough times!!!
Practice balls have no place on the bench. Put them all away before the match starts.
Jackets, pants, and the rest of your wardrobe should be (a) on you, or (b) in your bag.
While not in your hand, food should be in your bag. I don't want your crumbs scattered all over my bench, please!

No bench clutter means no misplacement of balls. Easy!
 
OrangePower said:
Ah, I see the source of your issue - it seems you are trying to solve the wrong problem!

You see, a bench should only have the following things on it:
1. Players' behinds
2. Towel(s) and drink bottle(s), one of each per person max
3. Game balls, awaiting pickup by the server upon conclusion of the changeover

Bags have no place on the bench!!! People, we have been through this enough times!!!
Practice balls have no place on the bench. Put them all away before the match starts.
Jackets, pants, and the rest of your wardrobe should be (a) on you, or (b) in your bag.
While not in your hand, food should be in your bag. I don't want your crumbs scattered all over my bench, please!

No bench clutter means no misplacement of balls. Easy!
Click to expand...

:hang head:

I have failed.
 
Often, if on a change over and the other side is going to serve on the side I am leaving, yes, I will scurry around and gather the balls.

Depending on who it is or what the situation is, I either place them/roll them near the baseline hash mark, or hand them to the next server.

But yes, I will go corral loose balls on my side. I got tons of energy and just think it is good sport kinda thing to do.

No sweat on my part, but I can see why many don't tidy up their side and leave it for the other person(s) to do it.
 
I started playing a few years ago and on social leagues where it was custom to present the balls to the opponents on changeovers. Today I play both USTA and social leagues and mainly see people leaving balls at the baseline in USTA leagues. Several folks I play with both women and men get highly offended by balls on the service line or baseline. They take it as a personal insult of unsportsmanlike conduct. Seems overly sensitive but they feel strongly this way.

I don't really care what people do provided we can easily locate the balls. Given my intro to tennis I'm programmed to give them to opponents as it is part of my tennis routine as silly as it sounds. I try to put them in those little trays connected to the side of the net or prominently on a bench or chair where they are together and easy to spot. However, if I'm playing singles who knows what I did with them?! LOL! In any case I'm not offended if someone doesn't hand them to me or bring them to the net. As long as I can find them I'll be okay!
 
OK, I will adopt a new approach.

I will no longer be a Ball-Dropper. In my cavalier Ball Dropping, I have given the incorrect impression that I simply don't care what happens to the balls when in fact I care very much.

Instead, I will become a Ball-Arranger. I will gather all balls on our side of the net, asking my partner to give me whatever balls she has. If the opponents have a ball, I'll ask for that one too. And I will then make a grand show of aligning the balls *exactly* on the center hash or T, taking great care to place them so that the ball markings are facing toward the North Star. I will fiddle with them a moment or two, to silently communicate to my partner that I am putting some real effort into this and she had better not try to take the balls and do a Bench-Leave.

If I do this often enough, perhaps I can slowly, very slowly, make the world a better place.

I will report back.
 
Cindysphinx said:
OK, I will adopt a new approach.

I will no longer be a Ball-Dropper. In my cavalier Ball Dropping, I have given the incorrect impression that I simply don't care what happens to the balls when in fact I care very much.

Instead, I will become a Ball-Arranger. I will gather all balls on our side of the net, asking my partner to give me whatever balls she has. If the opponents have a ball, I'll ask for that one too. And I will then make a grand show of aligning the balls *exactly* on the center hash or T, taking great care to place them so that the ball markings are facing toward the North Star. I will fiddle with them a moment or two, to silently communicate to my partner that I am putting some real effort into this and she had better not try to take the balls and do a Bench-Leave.

If I do this often enough, perhaps I can slowly, very slowly, make the world a better place.

I will report back.
Click to expand...
I expect your report will include your opponents calling a time violation on you for taking too long to arrange the balls on the changeover.
 
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