Why the quiet?

[Roadrunner]

Why in tennis does the crowd need to be so quiet and still? I didn't grow up playing tennis....(Football, Hoops, Lacross, Hockey and Baseball). So I don't know the concecpt of the crowd having to be quiet and still.

Most other sports the crowd is going crazy trying to distract whatever team. During a free throw, an at bat, a pitch, a field goal etc.... Was it always like todays game where a shout out or movement seems to cause the server to wait? Personaly I think the players should have to overcome a hostile crowd and be able to deal with it like in other sports.

Just wondering

 

[DownTheLine]

Why in tennis does the crowd need to be so quiet and still? I didn't grow up playing tennis....(Football, Hoops, Lacross, Hockey and Baseball). So I don't know the concecpt of the crowd having to be quiet and still.

Most other sports the crowd is going crazy trying to distract whatever team. During a free throw, an at bat, a pitch, a field goal etc.... Was it always like todays game where a shout out or movement seems to cause the server to wait? Personaly I think the players should have to overcome a hostile crowd and be able to deal with it like in other sports.

Just wondering

Coming from a person that has played Football, Basketball, and many other sports I can surely tell you that tennis takes the most concentration out of all those. Plus, Tennis is a sport that likes to stand by its roots and that's how its always been.

 

[Dilettante]

It's really simple, I'll give you an example:

If the crowd was allowed to distract players when serving, you'll get a lot of double faults and horrible 1st serve percentages.

That would totally ruin the spectacle.

Tennis is so precise and error prone that players need a lot of concentration and few distractions, otherwise you would watch matches plagued with all kind of constant errors with virtually no enjoyable game at all.

 

[sureshs]

Tennis is for dignified and sophisticated people, like the posters on this forum

 

[single_handed_champion]

Tennis is for dignified and sophisticated people, like the posters on this forum

This.

Explains how every argument is laid out with precision, backed by sound reasoning and logical references and always respectful of other posters' opinions. :twisted:

 

[li0scc0]

Tennis AND golf require the most precision. Hence, these are the sports that require quiet at the point of the shot.
Some try and liken it to basketball, but that is a bad analogy. I was a very average basketball player, but through effort was able to shoot free throws at a % greater than 85%. I could do this in an empty gym, or in the midst of a marching band. Free throws are not that hard, and don't require the concentration that a golf or tennis shot requires.

 

[Totai]

take this scenario: Raonic serving, random fan screams, Verdasco makes error. game set match

 

[Devilito]

take this scenario: Raonic serving, random fan screams, Verdasco makes error. game set match

nah brah, would never happen

 

[Max G.]

Tradition, in large part.

In other part, because hearing the sound of the ball off the other person's strings can help.

I, personally, like the fact that the crowd has to shut up - that way when I watch tennis I hear the players and the ball, and not the crowd. I don't care about the other fans at the event, they're not what I came there for, it's for the tennis.

 

[mcr619619]

when im playing tennis, i don't like random voices screaming and talking, it takes a lot of my concentration...

*
I serve the ball, the opponent hit it back, someones scream, took my attention and find the guy who's screamed, then the ball was already behind me..

needs to everyone else to be quiet

 

[SystemicAnomaly]

I'ts not just concentration that is needed, but sustained concentration for tennis.

Tradition, in large part.

In other part, because hearing the sound of the ball off the other person's strings can help...

Ding, ding, ding, ding! We have a winner.

Sound is more important in tennis than many realize. Our reaction time to an auditory stimulus can be 40-50 ms (or 20-30%) quicker than our reaction time to a visual event. Even tho' light travels faster than sound, for short & medium distances, our ablity to react to sound is faster than the ability to react to the visual event that caused that sound. The distances involved in tennis are in this realm. Note that sprinters react to the sound of a starting pistol rather than the visual event of shooting the pistol.

Players can glean some early information about the ball contact made by an opponent by the sound the ball makes on the strings or frame. If you hear frame contact, you can expect some erratic (unpredictable) ball bounce and flight behavior. You can also tell quite a bit about the speed and amount of spin imparted to a ball by the sound of the ball contact. Is it a sharp 'pop' or a fast brushed sound? For some players this is information might be perceived on a conscious level while others may perceive it on more of a subconscious level (given enough experience).

You might also pick up a bit of info from the sound of a bounce.

In doubles, communication is important. Also being able to hear your partner hit a ball without actually seeing the event is also important.
.

 

[Roadrunner]

All excellent points you all. Sounds like it has mostly to do with tradition and being able to hear the ball off the opponants racquet. I know when I'm serving I don't hear anything. Same as when I am at bat in a baseball game. Just concentrating on the pitcher and looking for the ball. Everything else is blocked out.

Thanks all

 

[not_federer]

Line calls too. Hard to tell if there's a call w 10,000 people yelling...

 

[F-T-S]

Coming from a person that has played Football, Basketball, and many other sports I can surely tell you that tennis takes the most concentration out of all those. Plus, Tennis is a sport that likes to stand by its roots and that's how its always been.

its really that simple

 

[ananda]

All excellent points you all. Sounds like it has mostly to do with tradition
Thanks all

Ah, such a lovely word. Wish we could go back to grass and wooden racquets.

 

[Objective Danny]

Tennis is for dignified and sophisticated people, like the posters on this forum

You make a valid post. But how does this explain The Williams Sisters?

 

[SystemicAnomaly]

You make a valid post. But how does this explain The Williams Sisters?

I would not lump Venus in with sister Serena on this.

 

[ananda]

You make a valid post. But how does this explain The Williams Sisters?

He mainly spoke for himself when he said "dignified and sophisticated people".

 

[cucio]

I don't want the crowd influencing the result of a match, thank you. It is nice to have a sport where yahoos are frowned upon, up to the point of being ejected from the premises if they persist in their ******** ways.

I see how allowing this would increase the popularity of the sport, since most people are arrogant jerks that want to have an active part in the drama of the confrontation, no matter how small.

People like me, on the other hand, like to provide the best conditions so we can watch players give their best effort. We don't need to feel part of anyone else's success. This is one of tennis' peculiarities that I cherish dearly, and I wouldn't trade it for more popularity.

I'd be willing to trade off other things, though, like the scoring system which makes matches' length unpredictable.

 

[cocolate]

I'd be willing to trade off other things, though, like the scoring system which makes matches' length unpredictable.

In theory any match in any sport could be played to infinite without someone to win....but just in theory...

 

[Tar Heel Tennis]

Why in tennis does the crowd need to be so quiet and still?

you must not attend college tennis matches...lol

at Univ of North Carolina, there are a number of 'neophyte' spectators - generally students - who show up only because s/he receives points for attending non-revenue sports events. These kids have no knowledge, interest, nor desire to heed the etiquette of a tennis match.

s/he will stand up and walk behind the matches during points, yell across the stands to her/his friend(s), talk loudly (on a cell phone, or to a friend), and otherwise become a PITA to the fans that actually showed up to watch tennis.

these same student "fans" will suddenly stand up, and loudly exit the stands (regardless of point in play) when s/he has fulfilled the absolute minimum amount of time of required attendance in order to receive credit from the Student Athletic Club (or whatever it's called. Happily, when I attended UNC, we didn't have this nonsensical delusion that requiring students to attend athletic events would actually encourage them to become fans of said sport.)

BTW, if you are a UNC student, and are reading this, please don't hesitate to share this with your peers. I would love, love, love to attend a UNC tennis match, baseball game, lax game, soccer match, field hockey game...and not have to put up with students who don't know how to conduct themselves at sporting events.....thank you.


{'old man' rant over}

 

[Objective Danny]

at Univ of North Carolina, there are a number of 'neophyte' spectators - generally students - who show up only because s/he receives points for attending non-revenue sports events. These kids have no knowledge, interest, nor desire to heed the etiquette of a tennis match.

You won't find this boorish type behavior during a tennis match at Duke. The well cultured students there are aware of the rules of the sport.