What's the etiquette here ?

[JCF]

So I was playing a match on clay with a lad and it was a competition match - one set to 9, anyway
3-2 up and had break point hit a shot that for me looked good on the baseline, so yes I think it's
4-2, but he goes to line and maybe 5 seconds later calls it out, and circled the mark - now fair enough
it was out, but my problem is he left the call so long, even in the pro games the pro players have a very small
window to challenge and bring hawkeye into it.

I know one may need to check the line for marks, but I think a better way would be to instantly call any ball you have a doubt
over and then check it , if you're right you're right.

 

[Dragy]

I think if there’s a mark and you don’t doubt it, it’s his point (if it was last shot in a point, not several more played after).

 

[JoaoN]

5 seconds it's not that long. If it was the last shot of the point and he pointed the right mark, displaying an out ball, it is his point.

 

[SystemicAnomaly]

5 seconds it's not that long. If it was the last shot of the point and he pointed the right mark, displaying an out ball, it is his point.

5 seconds almost sounds like an afterthought. Should have said something sooner rather than dwell on the repercussions and then decide to say something after thinking about it.

 

[JoaoN]

5 seconds almost sounds like an afterthought. Should have said something sooner rather than dwell on the repercussions and then decide to say something after thinking about it.

From what OP said, i feel he went to line imediately after the point and took his time checking the mark, and personally, if he pointed the correct mark and the ball was indeed out (assuming it was the last shot of the point), i would not see any problem on the opponent conduct.

And i am also assuming it was an isolate ocasion on the match, and that the other guy does not do that all the time.

 

[Rubens]

Is there a 5-second rule?

 

[SystemicAnomaly]

Is there a 5-second rule?

There is when you drop food on the floor. But the finer restaurants are held to a stricter standard. They employ a 3-second rule in their kitchens.

 

[JCF]

Is there a 5-second rule?

In the pro game if they want a challenge they have to do it almost instantly...

 

[Bagumbawalla]

Suppose he called it out very quickly. Then one might argue that he did not study it long enough
and made the first call tht came to mind .

 

[ByeByePoly]

None ... oh you meant on the court.

 

[Friedman Whip]

Your opponent was completely correct. You say you're playing on clay. Say you're 15 feet away from where the ball landed. You saw where it hit. It left a mark very close to the line. There are no other marks around. You know you have the right mark but from where you are you can't tell if it is in or out. In this case you don't have to make an immediate call. You then walk over to take a close look. You don't have to sprint over.

This assumes that this was a point ending situation. That you were not able to make a play on the ball. If you have a play on the ball you have two choices. 1) Being in doubt you should assume it is good and keep playing the point, or 2) you can take a chance and stop playing and examine the mark. In case 2 if the ball is good you obviously lose the point.

Here's a good question. Playing on clay, what about a ball that hits the line (the tape) but then leaves a complete mark that shows a gap between the edge of the mark and the tape?

According to the 'code' your suggestion that all balls in doubt should be called out makes no sense.

 

[JCF]

Suppose he called it out very quickly. Then one might argue that he did not study it long enough
and made the first call tht came to mind .

No but the point is, instantly he is reviewing, now if he is right ... out call stands ... if he's wrong he loses the point he didn't get to the ball anyway.

But believing it was 4/2 for almost 5 seconds I did find distracting, you need to call any ball out fast, then examine the mark if it's close .... at least in my mind..
But as I say, there must be a reason for the challenge rule to be called quickly.

 

[Dragy]

No but the point is, instantly he is reviewing, now if he is right ... out call stands ... if he's wrong he loses the point he didn't get to the ball anyway.

But believing it was 4/2 for almost 5 seconds I did find distracting, you need to call any ball out fast, then examine the mark if it's close .... at least in my mind..
But as I say, there must be a reason for the challenge rule to be called quickly.

In practice they allow challenges to be called with delay - watch some Muguruza matches.
Actually the only case where this can be manipulated is on first serve - if opponent tries to hit a blazing return and only if failed calls the serve out. On any other ball out is out, even if called a tad late - provided both players agree where the mark is. So the only rule is that the player stops immediately and doesn’t continue playing the point (as in that case attention is shifted, and you never know if that’s the correct mark). If the point ended on its own, you may spend whatever reasonable time to examine a close mark - in my opinion and experience its fair approach on clay courts.

 

[nyta2]

5 seconds almost sounds like an afterthought. Should have said something sooner rather than dwell on the repercussions and then decide to say something after thinking about it.

i've been in scenarios where i think a shot is in, then when naturally walking at/around the mark, realize it was out (ie on clay)
i usually just concede the point, and sometimes might even make a comment like, "you're lucky that shot was actually out, but i played it as good at the time of the point..."... but most times i just bite my tongue, and move on.
that said, if it's done to me, and there's a clear mark (and say i had 1% doubt), i think it would be ok to wait 5s to make the call,...

 

[Morch Us]

But the referee will take more than 5 seconds to check the mark and call the point on a clay.

In the pro game if they want a challenge they have to do it almost instantly...

 

[jmnk]

On clay, following a _winner_ you are allowed to _not_ make a call and check the mark. But if it was not a winner - meaning you made an attempt to return the shot and touched the ball (even after the bounce) then you have to make a call, and the mark does not matter anymore. (I mean if you called it out, and checked the mark, and it was in, you can (and should) concede the point - although that would mean that your original out call was really poor sports on your part.
This is to prevent one from trying 'double take' on winning a point. Say you returned the shot but it will be a sitter for the opponent, or your shot did not make it over the net/between the lines. You can't now claim that the ball was out - even if the mark does show it was out.