Much has been made about Serena and her coach at the US Open and accusations of rampant cheating have been flowing all over social media. Its obvious that there is cheating going on at the professional level and something surely must be done to correct it, but what about at the USTA and ITA levels? One of our readers said cheating is on the rise in every area of tennis. Someone also said, "Coaching is cheating at the professional level only if there is a rule against it." Interesting logic...
What do you think?
My two cents from what I have personally observed:
* Cheating by parents and players at the USTA level is on the rise and seems to be happening everywhere. Parents today even seem more aggressive than in the past.
* Cheating is prevalent at the adult levels of the USTA but players seem to know how to handle it on their own. Since there is usually only one official per site, its impossible to fix all the cheating.
* Cheating at the ITA level seems on the decline since most coaches are going to six officials for a dual match--and the players seem to take more pride in their schools and act accordingly. There are always a few bad apples but the vast majority of collegiate players are great.
* Cheating at the professional level is mostly limited to the players and their coaches since the chair official can handle bad calls. Curing this problem is easy--just let them coach like they do at the ITA level and the problem is gone. Should be done sooner rather than later.
Check it out and let us know what you think...
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