The RULE STATES: 2011 Friend at Court; Page 49 of THE CODE
#32 Talking During a Point: A player shall not talk while a ball is moving toward an opponent's side of the court. If a player's talking interferes with the opponent's ability to play the ball, the player loses the point. For example: If a doubles player hits a weak lob and loudly yells at his partner to get back and if the shout is loud enough to distract an opponent, then the opponent may claim the point based on a deliberate hindrance. If the opponent chooses to hit the lob and misses the shot, the opponent loses the point because the opponent did not make a timely claim of hindrance.
This incident happens on a routine basis to all of us. I don't know about those of you in Bloggerville, but I've never had the presence of mind to NOT hit what I thought would surely be a winner only to hit the ball into the net or 6 feet beyond the baseline. No matter how soft or loud the utterance, upon hearing my opponent tell his partner to WATCH OUT or GET BACK, it draws my attention away from my shot and instead directs my attention to looking around to see what I should be watching out for...
In an officiated match, the official should be ruling Deliberate Hindrance - Loss of Point just as this official did correctly at the 2011 US Open.
Then again, there are still those times when my opponents are as quiet as two little church mice, and I still have the ability to hit the ball 6 feet beyond the baseline. Perhaps that's why I'm not paid to play the sport, but instead I pay to play it :-)
6 comments:
None of the top pros agree with your analysis. If it is an outright winner and the player had no play on the ball, it is not a hindrance no matter how loud you scream out.
How do you know if a player is "hindered"? The player stops play, plain and simple. The opponent did not stop play.
It was a judgment call and the umpire apparently thought that since the opponent "nicked" the shot, she must have had a play on the ball.
But you have your own opinion and it is about 50/50 of top level professional players, coaches, and other umpires.
Agreed. Great call by the umpire; TERRIBLE calls by the commentators. McEnroe suggested Stosur refuse to take the point and insist on playing a let. She cannot do that BY RULE (and why should she anyway) since you cannot refuse a penalty assessed to your opponent. I don't know if you heard Mary Carillo's comment during the men's final, but she said by fining Serena a measly $2K for the code violation for verbal abuse of the chair, they might as well have said to her, "Go on, Serena. Say whatever you want." It is this type of situation which started back with Connors and McEnroe not being muzzled that has gotten us where we are today.
Excellent blog, Vickie. You brought attention to a little know, but much abused rule. Let's hope that players will be aware when they are talking, as the ball is going towards the opponents, and try to control the urge to yell "watch out," etc.
Love the blog. Serena needed more than a $2000 fine though
In answer to "anonymous," there was no way that Stosur could have stopped play when Williams yelled; it all happened too quickly. We will never know if Stosur could have made a play or not, as I believe she was hindered and missed a beat when she was shocked to hear Williams yell. Also, I don't think it is a matter of opinion or analysis; the hindrance rule is written in black and white.
This issue may be bugging me only because of my age and how I was brought up to play tennis (and the court manners that I was taught), but I'm seeing more and more ladies (and sometimes men) - after they've finished their serve and the last point in that game has been played - simply tossing the remaining balls down (sometimes by the baseline but often simply down wherever - and then they can roll everywhere) instead of gathering all the balls on their side up - "cleaning the court" as it were - and handing them to the opponent as they change ends of the court. In the olden days that was considered rude, inconsiderate, and unsportsmanlike, and I wish today's players were a bit more thoughtful..
I know there's no official rule about this, but since you have a blog/website that addresses various issues, I thought I'd write. Thanks for letting me vent.
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