Annoying Situations On The Court

Have you ever had something annoying that happened on the court?  What did you do?

We are replaying a few of our most popular episodes and this was one of them!

Dave and Tom are back to talk about annoying situations that happened to them.  They are both NTRP 3.0s, who have been to states and sectionals numerous times, and have had a few annoying situations.

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Transcript

Carolyn: 0:10

Hi, this is Carolyn, and I'm here with Erin, and we really appreciate Tom and Dave coming back on the podcast to discuss annoying situations on the court. We would love to hear from them what they think is annoying, especially from a man's perspective. So, Dave, can you start us off and tell us what you think is annoying on the tennis court?

Dave: 0:29

Well, thanks for having us back. Yeah, you know, the most annoying thing that happens to me is when the opponent shows up.

Tom: 0:38

Great, I just wanted default to the court.

Erin: 0:42

I was hoping nobody would show and we would just get a default win.

Dave: 0:46

No, just kidding, because we love to play. I can tell you that the annoying things can come from multiple sources. Okay, you got annoying. Potentially the audience or standby people, the opponents can be very annoying and, lastly, your partner can be really annoying.

Erin: 1:07

We've had that episode yeah.

Dave: 1:09

Yeah, well, and I've been the annoying partner. First of all, you have to understand your partner and if it's a new person that you haven't played a lot with, you know there's a relationship on your side of the net with your partner, right? I think? I have played a lot and we pretty much learned that we can say whatever we want and not. You know, we don't coach each other, we don't. You know that. But it's like so.

Dave: 1:36

One time I'm trying to be very aggressive at the net and I think he served, and the ball comes back and I decided I'm poaching and I fly like a gazelle through the air. I'm horizontal, about six feet up, pretty small gazelle, and I hit that ball because I'm totally. I come from the ad side of the net all the way over to the do side, probably for a return that he could have easily got with his forehand. But somehow I decided I was poaching that ball and of course I throw it into the net and I hear why the blank? Did you do that? Okay, so now for Tom, he's ready for the next point and for me it's in my head. I'm thinking oh, I really did something stupid. Now my partner's mad at me. Oh, I got to make you know. But you know what I learned because we've played together. He doesn't even remember saying that.

Dave: 2:36

And two minutes later. I mean we're just onto the next point. And so just because somebody says something that might be annoying or offensive or in your head, doesn't mean that it means anything big to them, you know. So this game's so mental, right. How about you, tom? Yeah?

Tom: 2:55

So I guess for me it was actually an opponent and I don't like to talk badly about opponents, but so I won't really even talk about the situation we were in. But we were in it, we were playing and my partner was serving and he served. The guy returned it. I was at the net, I put it away and the person that wasn't on the receiving end said wait, stop, that was a foot fault. You guys don't get that point. That was a foot fault. And I looked at him and I said a foot fault. You don't get to call foot faults right From there.

Tom: 3:28

And he was just insistent that it was a foot fault. He's been doing it all day. You know it's a foot fault. And it happened to be in a situation where there were direct tournament directors there. So I said look, we'll just call one of them over. And he proceeds to berate this poor woman about. And she said I don't even know, right, I don't know what the answer is, but she went to the club pro who was giving a lesson, who took his time to come over and answer.

Tom: 3:55

You know, listen, any guys who say now you can't, you can't call foot fault, this opponent still keeps arguing and complaining about this thing. So the guy out of it picks up the phone. He calls a contact. He has a USDA tennis. You know the person asked him is there. You have umpires there. No, then there is no such thing as a foot fault. Uh-huh, yep, the guys still argue.

Tom: 4:15

This is at which point I give the guy, I give the pro, a lot of credit. He looks at the guys and says just remember, you're a guest here, right, and unfortunately he didn't really back down on that. Then he looks at me and he says well, I want to replay the point. There is no replaying. If there's no such thing as replaying a point in USDA, we don't do it. So he finally moved forward and it had gotten so much into his head that next serve was to him and he decided he's just going to try to rip it at me in the net. Of course he hits it in the net and what was a relatively close match, it was in close.

Carolyn: 4:45

It came up around.

Tom: 4:46

Yeah, he just came on time and then he was still talking about it afterwards, which is interesting, because I don't think guys tend to do that. I think it happens on the court and it ends. I think it's beer time, right, we're going to talk about it and we might not discuss those things. We didn't like that happened on the court, but we can still all sit around and joke and have a beer and be done with it, and I don't think that's the case you guys tell me. I don't think that's the case in women's matches.

Erin: 5:14

That is not the case in women's matches.

Tom: 5:16

No no.

Erin: 5:19

That woman would be dead to me. I would tell all my friends about her and make sure that we never played in a match against her again. And yeah, no, I love that you guys can do that though. Have that. I mean, that's a big conflict. That guy sounded like there was something going on. He was really upset about it, you know, in addition to a foot fault. But I do love that you guys can just leave it on the court, have a beer after move on.

Dave: 5:44

And the result of this was you went back to playing and the guy was so upset he lost it.

Tom: 5:51

He's mentally just. He was like he'll get that. I said the other thing. That's a little annoying to me when I go to play tennis. I want to play, I am not between sets, I don't sit down. I might not get back up again.

Carolyn: 6:02

So I just say and then go around and get ready to go.

Tom: 6:06

And when people want to talk incessantly about, you know, whatever their job, their this, their that. I just want to play tennis and I know that's a bad thing, even when I'm playing for fun and it's just a bunch of guys hitting, we can talk afterwards. Right, we got a couple of coolers beer. We know we're going to sit around and talk afterwards. Save your discussion for afterwards. We're on the court, let's play tennis. So if I ever had a guy tell me about his kids and grandkids, I'd really be annoyed. I know the women. You know everything about their family by the time that's over.

Erin: 6:40

Yep, Some women yep.

Tom: 6:42

Dave, I'm going to put you on the spot A certain serve, no serve situation that happened.

Dave: 6:48

So, yeah, this was not that it mattered a lot. It happened to be a tournament at States again and was the first serve and I had chosen to select a slice, which is not my normal first serve, but just trying to change up the pattern, and I've been taught on a slice to really emphasize, to really get that ball going you need to kind of wrap your, your racket, around the ball, almost like if you're spinning a basketball on your hand, right, you know. So you got to come around and right as you hit it circle around. Well, I did that exact motion, except I missed the ball. I went right around it, right, I never, but I realized that and put my hand out and caught the ball. So now the question is did that count as a first serve? Oh wait, did you?

Carolyn: 7:46

hit it and miss.

Tom: 7:47

You went to hit and you missed.

Erin: 7:49

No, I swung Totally missed, you whipped, you, whipped it, totally missed. I didn't hit it.

Dave: 7:54

I went on the ground. I actually caught it. So it kind of looked like a bad toss that I caught, except I did swing.

Tom: 8:03

So now the question is is this a count?

Erin: 8:06

as a first serve. This is a good. I feel like time out. It should be second serve, yeah, I was going to say I feel like this is a question for Rebel Good oh.

Carolyn: 8:15

I know, I think if you swing and miss, it's second serve. Yeah, yeah we were convinced.

Tom: 8:20

we were the rule experts and that, since he did not make contact with that serve and since he caught it that it wasn't truly a serve. So again, the tournament director comes over. Well, first of all, let me back up.

Dave: 8:34

So happened that both captains were observing our game. Oh yeah, right, and they're opposite opinions, so honestly. I didn't really know the rule for that. I wasn't sure. I felt that if I caught it it didn't count. But I wasn't sure. And now they got two captains arguing, so they go to the tournament Intently.

Tom: 8:57

I mean, the other team's captain was just, I mean, to the point of berating our captain about it, right, and I'm thinking it's my first serve.

Dave: 9:05

It doesn't really matter, because I think I'll get the second serve in Bye bye. But guess, what happens is we go on, they check with the tournament director and I think they checked with somebody else, even May oh, I think it was the tournament like a coordinator out in the courts who then checked with a coordinator and they said well, if he caught the ball, well then it's, it's not us, not a serve. So therefore, it's back to first serve. Well, hold on.

Dave: 9:36

Yeah, so we okay and you nobody's happy now and I take my Over again, which whatever I think, I think you did it. I think I netted it right, but this is like 10 or 15 minutes later later. Yeah, honestly, I didn't care that much about that serve and I would rather kept the momentum and all. Yeah, putting how you have this hole. And so, anyhow, we found out by the end of the match because people made more phone calls Right, that that is a wrong call. If you swing period, that is a first serve.

Tom: 10:10

It's the intent, if you, if you, your intent was to swing and serve.

Dave: 10:15

You served Yep and so anybody listening be sure, if you right not comfortable with your toss, do not even attempt to swing. And if you do swing and miss, it counts as a first serve.

Erin: 10:27

So, tom, are you telling us that this annoying situation you were the annoying person in the situation.

Tom: 10:34

No, I was facing the other way. Who had no idea that he's?

Erin: 10:36

I'm sorry, dave. I'm sorry, I meant Dave. Dave, are you saying your opponents were knowing because they were arguing, or you were the one because?

Dave: 10:48

Most annoying part was this the way delay yeah 15 minutes yeah and I'll take, I'll part.

Tom: 10:55

I'll take part of it because I was convinced I was right on the rule, right? I mean, I knew I was 100% convinced I was right and, and when the tournament director backed me up, I was just yeah, that's great.

Erin: 11:09

Awesome. I have never heard of that happening during a match to take that long, you know, to figure out a rule in the middle. I mean, not only were you in the middle of a match, you were obviously in the middle of a game, like you were it was. It was between a first and second serve, which.

Dave: 11:23

I don't have to say I have never swung and missed before since, or?

Erin: 11:27

since or since yes.

Carolyn: 11:34

You know what I was gonna. We were gonna make a list of like top 10 rules that may Recreational players should know, and so I'm gonna add that to the list.

Erin: 11:42

That might be a very rare number 11 Maybe a bonus.

Carolyn: 11:45

Yeah, like people probably don't really need to know it, because what are the odds it's gonna happen?

Tom: 11:48

I mean who would miss a serve right? I mean come on.

Carolyn: 11:55

Thanks to Dave and Tom for discussing the situations that annoy them. There's a part two of this episode where I go through the things that annoy me and they seem pretty petty compared to the things that annoy them. Also, I double-check the rule from friend at court. It's on page 10 of the rules of tennis, number 19, and it states a service is a fault if the server misses the ball when trying to hit it. If you'd like to check out friend at court, you can go to the resources section of our website, which is second serve podcast calm. Thanks so much for listening and hope to see you on the court soon.

Tom: 12:41

You, you.