What do you say when...

[Squidward]

...in doubles (mixed) your opponent that is NOT receiving the serve stands "right at" the service "T" and gets hit with a serve??

Playing in a mixed get together (not a league match or anything) where we switch opponents every 45 minutes. Second session, and the female opponent stands "Right At" the service T as if daring us to try and hit one there (or to intimidate us into hitting in at a wider angle).

My partner who is a good 4.0 player with a very good serve mentions that "You might want to stand back a bit"..."No, I'm OK"..."All right then"...Very first serve...WHAM! Hits her right on the arm. (She's actually leaning over the service/court line). Immediately the curse words start flying!

"What the F*** are you doing!" ..."I asked you to stand back"... "That's still no reason the hit the G** D*** ball at me"!... "I Didn't, I was hitting into the court, you're standing over the line" ..."Bull S***, I'm nowhere near the line"!...

You get the idea. The guys finally got the ladies settled down, but to say the rest of the evening was "tense" is a mild understatement. She did play back a little more when my partner served for the rest of the evening.

According to my partner, this is not the first time this has happened to her and nobody wants to draw her as a partner. Still I was uneasy serving the rest the match. Mostly hit kickers out wide to avoid anymore confrontation.

 

[Jim A]

I would just say "Fifteen - love"

 

[sureshs]

My partner who is a good 4.0 player with a very good serve mentions that "You might want to stand back a bit"

He is not allowed to say that. Nor is he allowed to say that to the receiver, who might be standing just behind the service line to intimidate.

 

[esgee48]

The lady was asking for it. I would just smile and say 'my point.' On a more serious note, she was trying to intimidate the server. When that happened to me, I would hit a hard kicker or slice up the T that would move towards the lady (or person) so that they would be hit after the bounce. Their partner couldn't hit it because their partner was in the way. ;-)

This only happened against lower level players who did not know any better. While the receiving team can stand anywhere to receive serve, if they get hit by a serve, 'tough!, they've lost the point.'

 

[dizzlmcwizzl]

Having no problem at all with confrontation I would have hit it up the T every time until she was hit by "accident". Then I would claim the point and fight back if she strarted dropping f-bombs. "Dizzl dont play that" :twisted:

 

[Ronaldo]

Having no problem at all with confrontation I would have hit it up the T every time until she was hit by "accident". Then I would claim the point and fight back if she strarted dropping f-bombs. "Dizzl dont play that" :twisted:

Hit her every time, all set long. Targeting

 

[Cindysphinx]

Weird. I stand near the T on every serve any opponent hits. I have to jump out of the way for guys' serves all the time. If I get hit, it might sting a little, but that would be it. I have never, ever been struck by a serve in any match.

Part of this may be because I stay *very* alert for serves up the T. I figure if the serve goes up the T, I need to move out of the way so my partner has room to return it. It's a reflex at this point. So when the serve looks like it is headed for me, I'm able to take evasive action.

 

[catfish]

Out of curiousity, why do people stand so close to the "T". It doesn't affect any of the servers that I play with, so what's the purpose? If they get hit by the serve, they lose the point.

 

[johndagolfer]

catfish,

they are there in case their partner hits a bad return and the net opponent tries to hit a cross court volley. It's the best forward position to return that shot.

 

[Angle Queen]

I would just say "Fifteen - love"

This.

But if it's a friendly match, I'll sometimes serve behind the infringer and feign an "oops." They usually get the idea.

 

[michael_1265]

Annoying. Not the standing part, the crybaby part. In doubles, the ad serve down the middle is my "go to" shot. And when I miss, it is almost always 4-5" to the left of the line and a little deep. If you're standing there, tough. Deal with it or take up ping pong. Tennis is the only sport I know where acting like this is even remotely tolerated. Can you imagine a third baseman, after playing a batter short and getting stung by a line shot, throwing his glove down and screaming at the batter for hitting the ball too hard?

 

[Angle Queen]

Annoying. Not the standing part, the crybaby part. In doubles, the ad serve down the middle is my "go to" shot. And when I miss, it is almost always 4-5" to the left of the line and a little deep. If you're standing there, tough. Deal with it or take up ping pong. Tennis is the only sport I know where acting like this is even remotely tolerated. Can you imagine a third baseman, after playing a batter short and getting stung by a line shot, throwing his glove down and screaming at the batter for hitting the ball too hard?

Love the analogy, Michael. Let's see...hmmm...Graig Nettles or Mike Schmidt doing such a thing. N-e-v-e-r. Ok, I've just shown my age. LOL

 

[Fuji]

How strange, it's like she was asking to get hit. I rarely stand at the T, because why give up a decent forehand opportunity for a reflex shot, right?

As for the cry baby part, really unless your getting hit by Roddick's serve or something of that nature, it doesn't really hurt all that much. Getting hit with a soccer ball, baseball, basket ball, etc hurts A LOT more imo. =/

-Fuji

 

[michael_1265]

Love the analogy, Michael. Let's see...hmmm...Graig Nettles or Mike Schmidt doing such a thing. N-e-v-e-r. Ok, I've just shown my age. LOL

Just the fact that you know the spelling of "Graig" tell me what era you started watching baseball in.....the same era as I did

I don't understand why some people try to treat tennis as a non-sport. I think the answer lies somewhere in the elitist beginnings of the sport.

 

[prgault]

Curious, did she understand that she lost the point? This comes up every now and then in my league.

P_

 

[Dags]

Out of curiousity, why do people stand so close to the "T". It doesn't affect any of the servers that I play with, so what's the purpose? If they get hit by the serve, they lose the point.

As described:

"She's actually leaning over the service/court line"

it's borderline gamesmanship. Unfortunately, some people look to gain every advantage possible, even in a friendly game and despite making their playing partners feel uncomfortable.

 

[jht32]

...in doubles (mixed) your opponent that is NOT receiving the serve stands "right at" the service "T" and gets hit with a serve??

Playing in a mixed get together (not a league match or anything) where we switch opponents every 45 minutes. Second session, and the female opponent stands "Right At" the service T as if daring us to try and hit one there (or to intimidate us into hitting in at a wider angle).

My partner who is a good 4.0 player with a very good serve mentions that "You might want to stand back a bit"..."No, I'm OK"..."All right then"...Very first serve...WHAM! Hits her right on the arm. (She's actually leaning over the service/court line). Immediately the curse words start flying!

"What the F*** are you doing!" ..."I asked you to stand back"... "That's still no reason the hit the G** D*** ball at me"!... "I Didn't, I was hitting into the court, you're standing over the line" ..."Bull S***, I'm nowhere near the line"!...

You get the idea. The guys finally got the ladies settled down, but to say the rest of the evening was "tense" is a mild understatement. She did play back a little more when my partner served for the rest of the evening.

According to my partner, this is not the first time this has happened to her and nobody wants to draw her as a partner. Still I was uneasy serving the rest the match. Mostly hit kickers out wide to avoid anymore confrontation.

I would just say "Sorry about that, didn't mean to hit you. 15-love".

I've had the non-receiver stand very close to the center T when I serve. I think it's just gamesmanship so my response is to ignore it. I just serve as I normally do during doubles (which is mainly down the T to give my partner the best chance to poach). I don't modify my game plan at all. I don't try to hit them. I don't try to serve behind them. I don't try to send any message. I just serve down the T.

Sometimes my serve is good. Sometimes my serve goes wide. If the wide serve hits them after the bounce, I apologize. If the wide serve hits before the bounce, I apologize and take the point.

Is the apology really necessary? Maybe not, but I try to be nice.

 

[g4driver]

"15-0"

"If you stand there again, you're likely to be hit again."

Then silence.

 

[Tyrus]

Out of curiousity, why do people stand so close to the "T". It doesn't affect any of the servers that I play with, so what's the purpose? If they get hit by the serve, they lose the point.

I actually do it quite often...

When the server is facing a tough point, and showing a lack of confidence in their serve, i'll step up and close to the T...

(I like to believe) It makes the service box perceived a bit smaller for the server...and it works.

I'm aware of the risks, and i can roll with the punches, I also never got hit (yet).

#planbetter

 

[Gemini]

Fifteen, love.....

 

[sphinx780]

I have no issue where she's standing but she doesn't seem to understand that she's willfully assuming the risk of being hit.

I remember a mixed dubs match on the return side of things and the shot working best for me was my 2bh dtl on the even. The opposing woman at net swore at me after a few shots and told me to quit trying to hit her. I calmly said, it is your choice to stand there, if you move I won't be hitting at you but will continue to take the best return opportunity I've been given off the serve. She then moved to the baseline and let me take control of the point off the return going forward.

Now, if she had been a player who was clearly in over her head, then I would have hit around her cuz that's just how I roll.

If I had been in your situation, I would have explained to her once that I advised her not to stand there, she chose to do so anyway knowing that an errant serve could hit her and that regardless of where she chooses to stand, I will still go for the serve I feel gives me the best chance of winning the point. I wouldn't repeat it and would ignore future complaining from her at that point, simply reverting to score calling. She has her choice to make, it's then up to her to decide what to do with the given information.

 

[Gemini]

Other than calling the score, if it came down to a discussion, I would explain to her that she has the right to stand anywhere she wants on her side of the court while I (my team) serve BUT if she stands in such close proximity to an portion of the service box which is rightfully mine to hit at/into in order to begin a point, then she assumes all risk associated with that positioning.

 

[cll30]

He is not allowed to say that. Nor is he allowed to say that to the receiver, who might be standing just behind the service line to intimidate.

you can say almost anything you want

 

[Cindysphinx]

Out of curiousity, why do people stand so close to the "T". It doesn't affect any of the servers that I play with, so what's the purpose? If they get hit by the serve, they lose the point.

Yes. I was told if you are not standing at or very near the T, with your body turned toward the net person, with your eyes going up to the opposing net person as soon as you know the serve isn't going long, you are not playing the net correctly.

I love it when opponents do not set up near the T when receiving. The space into which I can volley looks as big as the Grand Canyon.

 

[catfish]

Yes. I was told if you are not standing at or very near the T, with your body turned toward the net person, with your eyes going up to the opposing net person as soon as you know the serve isn't going long, you are not playing the net correctly.

I love it when opponents do not set up near the T when receiving. The space into which I can volley looks as big as the Grand Canyon.

Ok. That makes sense. I knew there had to be a reason other than gamesmanship.

 

[jht32]

Positioning

Yes. I was told if you are not standing at or very near the T, with your body turned toward the net person, with your eyes going up to the opposing net person as soon as you know the serve isn't going long, you are not playing the net correctly.

I love it when opponents do not set up near the T when receiving. The space into which I can volley looks as big as the Grand Canyon.

As the returner's partner, I stand about 1 to 2 feet from the center T. From that starting point, I can adjust my position as necessary based on what type of serve and type of return that occurs. Disregarding forward/backward movement, if the serve is wide, I would take 1 step towards the center. If the serve is down the T, I would take 1 step away from the center. This seems to be the best positioning to me.

When the net person on the receiving team stands 1 inch from the center T, I think that's overdoing it. If the serve is down the T, by standing that close to the center, you will have blocked your teammate from returning cross court back to the server. You would have to take several steps to give your teammate the cross court shot. Also, I never find that I have to move so much into my partner's side of the court (if the serve is wide) that I must have the starting position of being right at the center T.

The OP is talking about someone who is practically over the center T.

Again, it's the receivings team to position themselves where ever they want, but I wouldn't feel too bad if my serve missed and I accidently hit them when they are 1 inch from the center T.

 

[Gemini]

Yes. I was told if you are not standing at or very near the T, with your body turned toward the net person, with your eyes going up to the opposing net person as soon as you know the serve isn't going long, you are not playing the net correctly.

I love it when opponents do not set up near the T when receiving. The space into which I can volley looks as big as the Grand Canyon.

I actually don't set up at the T. I'm probably about halfway between the T and the singles sideline, but once I've determined the serve is good, I get VERY active at net which significantly reduces the likelihood of getting burned with a down the middle volley.

 

[ttbrowne]

Don't ya just have to chuckle a little after hitting a person who stands that close to the T?

 

[smoothtennis]

He is not allowed to say that. Nor is he allowed to say that to the receiver, who might be standing just behind the service line to intimidate.

LOL - what do you mean 'not allowed' to say... the point isn't in progress, you can say whatever you want right?

 

[somebeast]

How strange, it's like she was asking to get hit. I rarely stand at the T, because why give up a decent forehand opportunity for a reflex shot, right?

As for the cry baby part, really unless your getting hit by Roddick's serve or something of that nature, it doesn't really hurt all that much. Getting hit with a soccer ball, baseball, basket ball, etc hurts A LOT more imo. =/

-Fuji

I got hit with a forehead in my balls direct from the air.How is that not painful?

 

[Z-Man]

Yes. I was told if you are not standing at or very near the T, with your body turned toward the net person, with your eyes going up to the opposing net person as soon as you know the serve isn't going long, you are not playing the net correctly.

I love it when opponents do not set up near the T when receiving. The space into which I can volley looks as big as the Grand Canyon.

I don't think there is any tactical advanage to standng on the T other than possibly hindering the server. You might as well dance around singing "Miss It!". I think it's better to stand with your toes on the service line about two or three feet away from the center mark. That puts you in the way of the highest percentage volley from your opponent, which is the line from his or her point of contact (where the serve is intercepted) to the corner of the court. If you're standing in the center of the court, you're leaving too much open out wide of where you are standing. That's why nobody stands there unless they're just trying to be annoying. This kind of player deserves to be hit with a serve. If that's not an option, the net man should poach and drill the person with a crisp volley.

The only scenario I can imagine it making sense would be if the returner is constantly hitting the return down the line or straight to the net person. Moving over a little would put you in the line of the volley, but if that's happening, you're probably better playing back. Also, consider that if you're standing in the middle of the court and your partner's return goes crosscourt, the server is going to pass you down the line over and over again. What you really need to do is wait until the server commits to hitting his first volley crosscourt and then cross, knocking off the volley.

I am also not a big fan of people who dance around in the service box on second serves on key points. It's cheating, and it's just poor form.

 

[Jim A]

I don't understand the whole crowding the service line, especially in Mixed.

For me, I like room to hit the ball, My goal is to hit it cross-court and with some pace from the Deuce court and down their own T if on the forehand side in the Ad court. If my partner is crowding the T there's a better chance of me mishitting it or at times coming close to hitting them.

 

[Fuji]

I got hit with a forehead in my balls direct from the air.How is that not painful?

LOL! How in the world did you manage that? I've never gotten hit there because of either a reflex volley or a side step...

-Fuji

 

[Ronaldo]

I got hit with a forehead in my balls direct from the air.How is that not painful?

Coulda been Wozniacki's forehead

 

[tennis tom]

I got hit with a forehead in my balls direct from the air.How is that not painful?

Playing with Nina Hartley?

 

[Cindysphinx]

Regarding lining up at or near the T . . .

You don't have to stand there like a potted plant once the point has begun.

If the serve goes wide, I stay put until the ball gets past the net person. Then I close the net, mirroring the ball.

If the serve is to the T, I move immediately away from the T, and then close when the return is not poached. As some of you said, staying at the T would block your partner as she may be behind you by the time she makes contact.

If a poach happens, I feel confident that the very best place to be positioned is in the middle of the diagonal target that poachers prefer. Once the poach starts, you have no time to move toward the T. Better, then, is to start there.

 

[Ronaldo]

Regarding lining up at or near the T . . .

You don't have to stand there like a potted plant once the point has begun.

If the serve goes wide, I stay put until the ball gets past the net person. Then I close the net, mirroring the ball.

If the serve is to the T, I move immediately away from the T, and then close when the return is not poached. As some of you said, staying at the T would block your partner as she may be behind you by the time she makes contact.

If a poach happens, I feel confident that the very best place to be positioned is in the middle of the diagonal target that poachers prefer. Once the poach starts, you have no time to move toward the T. Better, then, is to start there.

Play mxd dubs? That was one of the 1st drills, still works 15 yrs later.

 

[Austinthecity]

I actually do it quite often...

When the server is facing a tough point, and showing a lack of confidence in their serve, i'll step up and close to the T...

(I like to believe) It makes the service box perceived a bit smaller for the server...and it works.

I'm aware of the risks, and i can roll with the punches, I also never got hit (yet).

#planbetter

If you're standing there for positioning, it's okay. But the fact that you say you stand there to affect your opponent and "shrink" the service box makes this against the rules.

You're not allowed to do something when your purpose is to hinder your opponents.

 

[Cindysphinx]

Play mxd dubs? That was one of the 1st drills, still works 15 yrs later.

I do play mixed dubs, but I'm not following you . . . I position the same in mixed, though.

 

[Ronaldo]

I do play mixed dubs, but I'm not following you . . . I position the same in mixed, though.

1st used this position in mxd. So much poaching and a must when my partner faced a tough server. Get to the T for defense.

 

[Cindysphinx]

If you're standing there for positioning, it's okay. But the fact that you say you stand there to affect your opponent and "shrink" the service box makes this against the rules.

You're not allowed to do something when your purpose is to hinder your opponents.

I think this might be going a little too far.

I think you can take any legal position on the court, even if the sole purpose of standing there is to distract/vex/annoy your opponent.

For instance, if someone has a weak serve, you can stand right on the service line to receive. This will likely distract the server into an error. If I thought the server might miss because I stood there, I would stand there even if it might hurt my chance to return a body serve.

You can also feint with the body. The sole purpose of feinting with the body is to distract, right? Feinting with the body certainly doesn't help the person make a better shot, yet it is perfectly legal.

 

[Z-Man]

I think this might be going a little too far.

I think you can take any legal position on the court, even if the sole purpose of standing there is to distract/vex/annoy your opponent.

For instance, if someone has a weak serve, you can stand right on the service line to receive. This will likely distract the server into an error. If I thought the server might miss because I stood there, I would stand there even if it might hurt my chance to return a body serve.

You can also feint with the body. The sole purpose of feinting with the body is to distract, right? Feinting with the body certainly doesn't help the person make a better shot, yet it is perfectly legal.

Bush league psych out stuff! Laughable, man!

-The Big Lebowski