Would you call a foot fault?

[Dags]

There's a chap at my club who I've played half a dozen or so times. A mixture of friendly games and box league matches.

A while ago I was playing on the court next to him, and noticed he foot faults. Not by a little either - when he takes his service stance, he stands with his left foot crossing the line, and when he's tossed the ball he often takes a step into the court before hitting it. As it happens, I had a friendly game with him the next day, and mentioned it before we started.

'Do you realise you foot fault every time?'
'Yeah, it's a mental thing. If I don't stand with my foot across the line, I can't serve.'

I suggested that he really ought to try to fix that, and he seemed to agree. He didn't break the habit that day, but I didn't really care.

Fast forward a few months, and tonight I played him in a box league match. I noticed it part way through the first set, and sure enough he still foot faults. Now, do you ever call this? If he served and volleyed I probably would as he'd have gained quite a march on his way to net. But he stayed back each time, so I'm not sure there's much advantage.

On the one hand, it seems petty. On the other, he's deliberately breaking a rule. Curious whether anyone would call it (during the box league match).

 

[li0scc0]

One of my favorite stories....a local player foot faults. Bad. As in both feet are well within the court by the time he strikes the ball.
In a singles match, his opponent was frustrated with the egregious foot faults. So when it was his service game (service game of the non-foot faulter), he walked up to the service line. The foot faulter asked him what he was doing. He said "well, since you serve from here, I figure I should get to as well".

 

[mikeler]

Foot faulters never can be rehabilitated.

 

[dlk]

Great follow-up posts

 

[TenS_Ace]

I seriously cannot believe how many club players totally foot fault! It is disturbing to say the least! Ask the pro about it and they shrug it off as "well it's just club play"..for gawd sakes folks, watch how you prepare for your serve, it's not that difficult! Grrrrrrrrrrrrrr...I'll never call it because it's pointless...I guess I'm enabling:evil:

 

[SoBad]

No, I don't say anything, but adjust their ranking accordingly on my hitting partner priority list.

 

[jefferson]

I don't think that it is your call... you only call what happens on your side of the court. You can ask for a official to speak to the player, watch/enforce for it. You as the opponent can say something, but .... I always figured that if he is not serving and volleying then it does not help him.

Similar to the double bounce, it is the responsibility of the person who hit it to call it on himself, as it happened on his side of the court. You can say you saw it bounce twice but he can deny it and not concede the point. This is where the code comes into play.

But to answer the question... I personally do not let foot faults bother me. I never call it.

 

[doubleshack]

I have not called a foot fault on an opponent. But, they are cheating. I've seen others call foot faults, and that is within their right (provided they warned them, etc, rules and so on)

I was playing a social match. Our opponents hit a weak shot, it was a floater, and I'm not sure if it would actually cross the net or not. However, I'll never know as my partner simply reached over the net and put it away.

Our opponents protested, hey, you can't reach over the net. And my partner simply replied, and you can't foot fault, but you do. We all had a good laugh and just moved on.

 

[Paul_SF]

I probably wouldn't call it -- maybe because I might accidentally foot fault on occasion, too, or maybe because like the previous poster said, there's some give and take. If I let it slide, other errors will also be overlooked.

 

[jaggy]

Cheats are sociopathic, avoid them at all costs, keep the poison out your life.

 

[Fedace]

We do not call this in amateur leagues like USTA. but in NCAA division 1, they call this, though Greg was getting away with this.

 

[SoBad]

Cheats are sociopathic, avoid them at all costs, keep the poison out your life.

Yes, unless the cheater is otherwise a good player who lives nearby and has a flexible schedule. Prioritising is key.

We do not call this in amateur leagues like USTA. but in NCAA division 1, they call this, though Greg was getting away with this.

I see no clear evidence of a foot fault in this photo. One could argue that he's on his toes and his left toe is on the green.

 

[equinox]

he actually admitted to deliberately footfaulting?

then i would give him a warning about it on each change of ends.

i still wouldn't call him, since you're not in the correct position across the court to 100% confirm minor and random footfaults. need to be looking down the line like FF judges.

i would insist on an official to watch over tournaments and league finals matches in which he was involved in. of course not specifically mentioning him by name.

i've found most unaware players are pretty good about correcting FF issues when approached gently by another player. just take one step back.

i've never been called. but when i was a jr, i did get warned by finals officials about how close i was to FF.

couple years back, a spectator after tourny match told me my backfoot regularly step on or slightly across the invisible baseline center line. funny no officials came out to harass me.

worse FF'er i've ever played was an aggressive 6.5" S+V who started on baseline and made contact at 3/4 court, he was well over 1 meter inside. complete psycho too, we won with finesse and he walked beside while my partner bagged courts hurling verbal abuse in his ears.

 

[Dags]

he actually admitted to deliberately footfaulting?

He openly admitted it when I last played with him a few months ago. Said it was a mental thing.

i still wouldn't call him, since you're not in the correct position across the court to 100% confirm minor and random footfaults. need to be looking down the line like FF judges.

If you look for it, it's impossible to miss. He walks up to the line and bisects it with his foot. Half his foot is inside the court when he's stationary before the start of his service motion.

Perhaps next time I'll mention it in a joking manner before we start and see what happens.

 

[adidasman]

I would call a foot fault, but only if it's obvious - REALLY obvious - and frequent. (And if it seemed he/she was gaining an advantage on his/her serve by footfaulting. If he or she was serving 80 mph, even if they were stepping a foot inside the line every time, I wouldn't say a thing.)

 

[r2473]

I footfault on every serve. By the same amount each time (about 2 inches). I've had USTA officials tell me and show me.

It's just laziness on my part. Once they tell me, I just start 6 inches behind the line (instead of toeing the line). I never get called after that.

 

[anontennis]

I would call him on it. You gave him plenty of time to correct it by politely bringing it up in the past.

There is no rule saying you can only call it if you are on one side or if it is "really obvious". If you are certain you see a foot fault, you warn, look for an official, then take points as they come. It seems pretty simple to me, I fail to understand the difficulty people have with calling this.

 

[FuriousYellow]

It depends. If the server drags their toe on the line, then no. However, I've seen players cross the baseline with their whole foot to chase a bad toss. That, to me, is an unfair advantage.

 

[billsgwn]

I don't think that it is your call... you only call what happens on your side of the court. You can ask for a official to speak to the player, watch/enforce for it. You as the opponent can say something, but .... I always figured that if he is not serving and volleying then it does not help him.

Similar to the double bounce, it is the responsibility of the person who hit it to call it on himself, as it happened on his side of the court. You can say you saw it bounce twice but he can deny it and not concede the point. This is where the code comes into play.

But to answer the question... I personally do not let foot faults bother me. I never call it.

I am just now getting back in to tennis after a decade of playing 2 man beach volleyball but I had NO problem calling a foot fault when someone was blatanltly doing it in volleyball so I am guessing I will not have a problem calling it if it happens when I play in tourneys this upcoming summer. Its a rule so abide by it.

 

[fuzz nation]

'Yeah, it's a mental thing. If I don't stand with my foot across the line, I can't serve.'

I suggested that he really ought to try to fix that, and he seemed to agree. He didn't break the habit that day, but I didn't really care.

I suppose a little tolerance goes a long way, but it sucks having to put up with this when the rest of us are adhering to the rules. You certainly did the right thing by pointing it out, but I'm disappointed with his response. What a cop-out. Back the guy up a foot or so and it becomes impossible for him to strike the ball with a service motion? That's just borderline insulting for him to expect anyone to swallow that.

While you don't want it to spoil your day on the courts, the best approach might just be telling this violator to fix it before the next time that you two get out to play each other. He can, but he's choosing not to from the sounds of it. What's worse in my opinion is that he's deliberately making his problem into your problem. Give him that condition and if he foot-faults on you in the future, call him on it...

...then post about it here and we'll all sing your praises!!!

 

[tennis tom]

The only time I've ever called a foot-fault in recent memory was on a maniac who would take two running steps into the court on his serve. This was on a club's challenge court so I didn't have much choice in opponents, the inmates were running the asylum. He was a clueless soccer player who would make the girls cry at the club, with his Rasputin like behavior.

In rec play I avoid calling it, because it just isn't worth it. These matches are just for practice and don't count for anything. You just want to do what-ever it takes to keep play going, there will be enough interruptions as it is. If they foot-fault, as well as have a slew of other bad behaviors, enough to make me hate them, I have my methods of getting into their heads too-- all within the rules of tennis of course.

Playing in Senior Age Group matches, that do count, It's never been an issue. The players who participate in these tournaments have taken the trouble to learn the rules of tennis. There are also roving referees who will swoop in like the CHP and get you if you do foot-fault.

P.S. Today after posting the above, an old buddy was practicing his serve on his own, before our regular rec dubs round-robin. He always starts serving with his foot on the line. With this thread in mind, I did him a "favor" and called foot-fault from the sideline. He took it well and said he knew it was a problem of his. I told him it's easily fixed by just moving back a few inches. I wouldn't of done it during the match.

 

[heninfan99]

My view is if the person is not a serve & volley player and the they aren't over the line too much then there's no real advantage. In fact it's a disadvantage if they are a baseliner.

If they are serve & volley players I'd call it if it happens a lot.

I find the robotic arm more offensive but unfortunately it's legal.

 

[GPB]

I find the robotic arm more offensive but unfortunately it's legal.

What robotic arm?

 

[beernutz]

The first foot fault call is a warning only IIRC. If it is bothering you call it. I've played almost 40 years now and never called one and probably would not call one unless the person was serving and volleying and using the foot fault to gain a significant advantage.

 

[Don S]

I don't call foot faults mainly because I don't feel that touching the line before you hit the ball gives any advantage. If I'm receiving the serve, I'm not at any extra disadvantage because of someone's foot touching the baseline.

If anything, It may be a bit of an advantage since stepping on the line before the ball is hit causes the server to lower his shoulder and could result in more serves going into the net.

 

[Deleted member 120290]

If the opponent is a serve and volleyer and he is more than a foot inside the line, that is one thing. But how many play SandV these days? If they go over the line by a few inches or a foot but they stay back, they gain no advantage. The only possible advantage they would get is if you let it get to you and it affects your game negatively. In other words don't worry about it.

 

[Cindysphinx]

There is a graceful way OP could handle it.

Next time you play the guy, you start the match off with a little chat.

"Hey, Bill. Remember last year when we talked about FF? I wanted to mention it to you again before we get started. I hope you've been able to fix it, because I *really* don't want to get into a situation where I have to start calling FFs. It's just not my style."

If that doesn't get him to back up, nothing will.

 

[*breaksracquet]

I know of some USTA members that play and get called on it from time to time. I play in a regular weekly meetup with some of these players and they do make a conscious effort to not to try and FF during friendly play. I guess if I would see it during a real match, I would call it. But I wonder if sometimes I do it myself :?

 

[Cruzer]

Calling a foot fault on an opponent or even talking about is a no-win situation. Whenever I have seen players discuss it during a match, USTA or club match there are invariably PO'ed people. I whole-heartedly agree that foot faults should be called but the comeback is always "What difference does a couple of inches make on a serve of the server foot faults?" To which I reply with "If a foot fault of a couple of inches is not going to effect a serve then why is there a rule about it?" or "If a server foot faulting a couple of inches is not going to make any difference in the game then why do you call a ball out that is a couple of inches outside the line, it shouldn't make any difference, just play it?"
I don't bring up the topic at my club where at least half of players foot fault on every serve.
At officiated matches I don't pay attention to foot faults either. If a roving umpire calls them then fine. I won a set at district playoffs when an umpire happened to be walking by our court when my opponent was hitting his second serve on set point to me.

 

[Warrior]

Foot faulting is cheating just as much as calling bad lines. Now the guy may not realize it at lower levels of play, but if he is told(eventually someone will point it out), every time after that is now intentional. Regardless it is cheating and must be called.

 

[Warrior]

I don't call foot faults mainly because I don't feel that touching the line before you hit the ball gives any advantage. If I'm receiving the serve, I'm not at any extra disadvantage because of someone's foot touching the baseline.

If anything, It may be a bit of an advantage since stepping on the line before the ball is hit causes the server to lower his shoulder and could result in more serves going into the net.

If you understand anything about physics then you would know that every inch makes a difference no matter how small. If it is no big deal then have the guy stand an inch back and everything will be the same(at least in your mind).

 

[equinox]

Blatant foot fault, this video shows.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-n45uv46xS8&feature=related

 

[Maui19]

I had a guy "call" a foot fault against one of our players in a USTA league match recently. Our guy would tap the line with his foot. The opponent started talking about it when our guy was serving well. He came off sounding like a big gas-bag, especially since he and his partner were getting beaten. The best part of it was that the gas-bag would foot fault about 1/3 of the time, too. :lol:

 

[levy1]

I never call it if he is not coming in.

I always call it when he is coming in and first I give one warning.

 

[PimpMyGame]

You could mention it at change of ends, in which case he would probably consider you a d-bag so in a small club it will do more harm than good.

Or you could not mention it at all, and let the anger well up inside you. Not good for personal health.

I would tell him if I won the match but not say anything if I lost, because it would sound like sour grapes. Something like that would give me a bad rep in a reasonably small tennis club. I prefer to play the long game when it comes to spending my quality time with people.

 

[rlamb101]

When Foot faults cross the line

If foot faulting should be overlooked, because the person committing the foul is not really receiving any benefit, then things like touching the net should be waived as well.

If you sprint to the net to retrieve a drop shot and hit a winner, but touch the net before the second bounce, you lose the point. How is the person breaching the boundary rule (net) any different than the person breaching the serving baseline boundary rule? Neither is getting a clear advantage, and neither is intentionally breaking the rule. However, the net contact rule is probably enforced over 95% of the time and the serving rule is probably enforced less than 5%.

Can someone please articulate an intelligent reason why its acceptable to overlook one rule and enforce the other? Both are established rules of boundaries in tennis. If you can breach the foot fault rule on every serve, why can't your opponent step 3 feet into the court and serve? Who decides what level of a breach is too much and what is acceptable. I ensure you that a feather touch on the net will be called, while a full step into the court on serve, will be overlooked.


Thoughts??

 

[jc4.0]

Yes, but conditionally. If someone continuously and flagrantly foot faults, I would first warn them, and then if it continues, I would (in a league match) call a fault.

In a friendly match I would probably ignore it.

 

[johndagolfer]

What is the code about calling a footfault in league matches?

 

[AndrewD]

In fact it's a disadvantage if they are a baseliner.

No, it isn't.

If you get to strike your serve a foot inside the baseline it opens up the angles on the court. You mightn't be following your serve to the net but given how powerful the racquets are today (not to mention the extended length versions) you won't need to do anything more than just hit it.

Maybe, if you're playing against beginners they mightn't have enough power or placement on their serves to hurt you, but if you're playing at a competitive standard then it certainly will matter. If you think it doesn't, let your opponents stand a foot inside the court next time they serve.

 

[OrangePower]

If foot faulting should be overlooked, because the person committing the foul is not really receiving any benefit, then things like touching the net should be waived as well.

If you sprint to the net to retrieve a drop shot and hit a winner, but touch the net before the second bounce, you lose the point. How is the person breaching the boundary rule (net) any different than the person breaching the serving baseline boundary rule? Neither is getting a clear advantage, and neither is intentionally breaking the rule. However, the net contact rule is probably enforced over 95% of the time and the serving rule is probably enforced less than 5%.

Can someone please articulate an intelligent reason why its acceptable to overlook one rule and enforce the other? Both are established rules of boundaries in tennis. If you can breach the foot fault rule on every serve, why can't your opponent step 3 feet into the court and serve? Who decides what level of a breach is too much and what is acceptable. I ensure you that a feather touch on the net will be called, while a full step into the court on serve, will be overlooked.


Thoughts??

I agree with you that both are equivalent. So why are they not enforced equivalently?

I think it's because determining that the net was touched is pretty easy. In fact I believe the onus of calling this falls on the person touching the net. If you touch the net, you know it, and generally speaking others will notice also.

On the other hand, determining that a foot fault has occurred can be pretty impossible unless it is really flagrant. The server is in no position to call a foot fault on themselves. And the receiver is pretty far away and has a really bad angle for judging this. Plus, the receiver needs to be sure this happened before contact with the ball and not after, and also that the server's foot was not actually off the ground at the time it crossed the plane of the service line. All this while watching the ball, trying to read where the server is serving, and focusing on making the return!

So speaking for myself - unless it's really flagrant, if I'm the receiver, there is no way I can be sure a foot fault happened. And I'd be very suspicious of anyone who claims to be able to accurately call footfaults while they are receiving (again, unless it's flagrant).

It's probably a little easier in doubles where receiver's partner is a bit closer and not as focused on making the return, but still the issues remain of having a bad angle, having to get the timing right between foot crossing line and racquet hitting ball, and needing to be sure the foot was not off the ground even marginally.

 

[gmatheis]

For all you people that think it isn't an advantage you are dead wrong.

Every bit closer to the net expands the range he can hit his serve over the net and still get it in the box.

If he is not s serve and volleyer foot faulting will not help him get to the net because he is not going to the net
BUT
it will help him land more first (and even second) serves.

it's against the rules for a reason.

 

[decades]

there is a pretty good old school guy who plays at the local courts who foot faults by two feet and it's a huge advantage because he is an attacking player. nobody calls it on him.

 

[Cindysphinx]

I have never called a footfault.

But, boy, one lady is testing me.

This lady is a good friend. She learned to play back in the era of Jimmy Connors. Her strokes are Old School, including her serve.

Rather than propel herself upward, she steps forward with her right foot. She is clearly footfaulting by a lot.

Trouble is, she S&Vs and is not especially speedy. In her case, having to start her motion far enough back not to step on the line during her motion would impede her S&V.

As it stands, I haven't said anything. It does make it difficult on the returner, though, because she gets closer to the net on her approach than she would otherwise.

I will keep mum. It's just not worth it.