How Would You Rule?

We just got this one in and thought it would be a good topic for discussion:

A doubles player hit the ball over the net and because of the spin and wind, the ball came back to their side before the opponents hit the ball.  However, instead of the ball bouncing, the doubles team that originally hit it over the net, volleyed it back to the team that never hit the ball.  Who wins the point?

How would you rule on this one???

We've Come A Long Way Baby--Or Have We?

There are those who would say we have "come a long ways baby" when its comes to modern day tennis.  That might be so when it comes to rackets and the new power game but not so sure when it comes to clothing (or lack of it).  The new ESPN magazine came out this month with pictures of Venus Williams and Tomas Berdych that might make even a nun blush...

John McEnroe at his finest.

Rod Laver showing his matchless style and grace.

Venus Williams showing most everything.

Tomas Berdych showing off his new racket.

Joke Of The Century: McEnroe Wanting To Get Rid Of All Officials

Thought all of our readers would enjoy reading this article.  Probably the joke of the century!


http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2014/06/22/john_mcenroe_suggests_getting_rid_of_officials_making_players_umpire.html

John McEnroe—to put it mildly—never quite saw eye-to-eye with the umpire during his tennis-playing days. If the image of him berating officials and smashing rackets has dimmed in your head, here’s a quick refresher on his pretty epic bad boy ways. McEnroe has since given up the baseline for the broadcasting booth on tennis' biggest stage and has refashioned himself as an outspoken reformist ambassador of the game. Now, in what is part mission statement and perhaps part wishful thinking, McEnroe has a plan to boost tennis’ sagging popularity: “Do away with the umpires and linesmen completely,” he says.

While that may sound anarchic—and it is, really—McEnroe thinks it could inject some new energy into the game. Sort of like a reality TV version of Gladiator meets Wimbledon. Here’s what Johnny Mac has in mind, via the Guardian:

“You’d have a system where the players would call their own lines. All of a sudden things would get a whole lot edgier. But you could challenge it. Say the guy was, like, blatantly cheating and you challenge, people would be, like: ‘Boo!’ People would get way more into it. And then you’d be, like: ‘See this guy? This guy is such a cheater!’ It would be unbelievable for tennis, I promise you. The problem is, there’s no way in hell they’ll do it. But I guarantee you that tennis would be like 30% more interesting.”

“You can’t just stand on your heels and do nothing,” McEnroe said. “We’ve got to keep trying to do things, in my opinion, to grab fans."

What An Awful Experience! Watching PowerShares Men's Tennis

Future star of the PowerShares tour.

Just when I thought listening to Martina Navratilova and Mary Carillo devastate a tennis broadcast would be the worst experience of my week, I experienced something even worse tonight!  I tuned in to the PowerShares senior men's tennis event...

Jimmy Connors (fat, slow, and in long pants) and John McEnroe (with his usual dynamic and disgusting personality) were playing singles and it was a massacre of tv time.  There are men their age in Dallas who would beat them into oblivion.  Connors was so overweight that he couldn't chase down a ball but they were quick to point out that he has had two hip replacement surgeries.  Maybe they should have warned the patrons before they bought their tickets.

I managed to make it through 11 minutes of this fiasco and then went to watch Big Bang Theory.  A few minutes later I thought I would check back to see if Connors was still alive and breathing and was treated to watching Pat Cash limp through a set against a huge and overweight Ivan Lendl.

Not sure who thought up this tour but I pity anyone who buys a ticket to watch these old has-beens play tennis.  I guess I'm guilty too since I wasted 19.5 minutes of my life watching them on tv.

Good Old Martina--Feminist To The End

MARY CARILLO

          MARTINA NAVRATILOVA

Just finished watching the Sharapova-Murugula match and after enduring the screeching by both players on every point, I also had to listen to the oft-biased commenting by the illustrious Martina Navratilova and Mary Carillo.  Here are some of the examples:

*  Martina kept harping on the fact that Sharapova was taking too long between serves.  Then she so aptly pointed out that "the men go over the limit all of the time and its never called on them."  Not to let a sleeping dog lie, she then said, "if they are going to enforce on the women all the time, then they need to enforce it on the men too."  Of course, Mary Carillo was quick to point out that Sharapova had been going 30 seconds           between every point when she was serving in that game.  Thankfully there was total silence from Navratilova at that point.

*  After a change over and the players came back on the court, Mary Carillo said "welcome back to our match where Maria Sharapova, just like Rafael Nadal, is being illegally coached and taking too long between points."  At least the tv crews showed Sharapova's coaches coaching her between points so that helped Carillo's credibility.

*  Both Carillo and Navratilova said that if the chair umpire called a time violation after the warning on a first serve that Sharapova would only lose the first serve and could then serve the second serve.  Perhaps in pro tournaments (where players basically get away with everything) this is true, but not in USTA nor ITA is that true.  It would be a point penalty on the second time violation.

*  Navratilova was interrupting her rant about female players being over-penalized to say that Sharapova was taking too long between serves and that is a "code violation."  Interesting interpretation but wrong.

At least watching a match with these two commentators is interesting.  Maybe we should mail a Friend at Court to Martina this week...

The saddest part of it all is that if the players are taking too long and receiving illegal coaching, then it is the fault of the OFFICIALS and not the players.  The players will do what we let them get away with and everyone knows they aren't going to penalize their stars.

How Would You Rule? A Player Saying "Bounce-Hit" As She Struck The Ball

In the women's national junior college tournament in May we encountered this unusual situation:

In a singles match, player A would say, "Bounce. Hit" as every ball landed in her court.  Player B complained that her "Bounce-Hit" statement sounded like she was calling the ball out and was disrupting play.  Players on the adjacent court also complained that she was interfering with their play by her constant "Bounce-Hit" outbursts.

How would you rule?

The roving official ruled that a player can say anything they want when a ball is coming toward them and this was backed up by Player A's coach that said, "We are from Florida and our officials told us that she could say anything she wanted to as long as the ball was coming toward her."

I was the referee for the tournament and was not called to the court in this instance to make a ruling; but had I been called, I would have ruled that she could not say "Bounce-Hit" before every ball for the following reasons:

1.  She did not say "Bounce-Hit" before every ball.  Just on most occasions.
2.  Her outbursts were confusing the opponent.
3.  Her outbursts were disrupting play on the adjoining courts.
4.  Finally, there is this ruling in the Friend at Court on page 51:

"34.  Talking when ball is in play.
         *  Singles players should not talk during points."

How would you have ruled?

Be sure to note the following in the FAC on Page 51:

"34.  Talking when ball is in play.
        *  Talking between doubles partners when the ball is moving toward them is allowed.
        *  When talking interferes with an opponent's ability to play a ball, it is a hindrance."