How to behave in the world of tennis ? So, would you consider it to be good tennis etiquette, to pick up the tennis ball that has rolled on to the court next to you? How about trying to hit one of your opponents with your serve, because that's a legitimate way to win the point? Probably not, right?
Here are some tennis etiquette do's and don'ts.
Do not run onto the next court
When, after a point has been played, your ball has gone on the court next to you, don't just run onto that court to get it. Not even when the people next to you are not playing. Politely ask them for the ball. If it is relatively close to you, and there's no rally going on, you can pick it up yourself. Even then it's better to communicate this ("Hi, I'm just going to get my ball here ...") then to just grab it.
When the people next to you ARE playing, don't disturb them, unless there's a danger of one of the players tripping over the ball. In that case it is considered good form to warn the players that a ball has rolled onto their court.
Do not blindly hit a ball back to the next court
When a ball from the next court has rolled onto yours, and you want to return it, make sure not to interrupt play on the next court. Make sure the point there has been played before returning a ball to them. If you anticipate this will take a while, just roll the ball close to the back fence somewhere between the 2 courts. NEVER roll a ball behind players involved in a point. Not only would this be bad etiquette, it can also be very dagerous. Someone stepping on that ball could easily twist his or her ankle, or worse...
Do not try to hit your opponent on purpose
Although you will win the point if you hit your opponent directly with the ball, it is considered extremely rude, and totally against tennis etiquette, especially if you had other options. For more advanced and professional players it is acceptable to hit in the opponent's direction, as they are supposed to be capable of defending themselves with their racket. Still, it is never considered an elegant option.
Warm up your opponent
Before a match you hit some balls with your opponent; this is called the warm up. You are supposed to hit the ball directly to your opponent, at a reasonable pace, so you can keep the rally going and hit a lot of shots in a relatively short time. A logical progression for the warm up is: forehands and backhands; one player at the net hitting volleys first and overheads second, then the other player at the net; then hit some serves and at the end you can hit some returns.
The server calls the score before each point
When you are playing without an umpire (referee), it is common practice that the person serving calls out the score before each point.
Do not applaud bad shots and mistakes from your opponent
You may be happy you won the point, but do not cheer when the opponent makes a mistake. Similarly, you can be happy when you hit a good shot - even pump your fist a little - but do not gloat, or wave your fist in the direction of your opponent.
Do not make fun of your opponent
A good example of this is Robin Söderling playing Nadal. Söderling - then leading in the match, imitated Rafaël Nadal in a mocking way. Nadal did the best thing; he ignored Söderlings joke, raised his level of play and won the match.
Do not return serves that are obviously out.
If a serve is obviously long or wide, hit it into the net in front of you, or let it pass into the fence behind you. Of course if you have very little time to react because the other person has such a fast serve, it's okay if you occasionally hit such a serve back.
Do not hit away balls, or throw away your racket in anger
Even though your opponent will probably not mind you doing this - as usually this increases his/her chances of winning - it is considered very bad form to do these things. In official matches you can get warnings, lose points and even matches if you engage in this kind of behavior. Taking too much time to get ready for the next point, cursing, kicking chairs etc, also belong to this category of bad tennis etiquette.
When in doubt, call it "in"
If you're not sure a shot your opponent played is in or out, call it in. Unfortunately, a lot of players do not stick to this unwritten rule. I think there's something to be said for displaying this kind of sportsmanship. It also makes you mentally stronger if you can honestly say: "I never ever cheat."
Appreciate good shots
When your opponent hits an exceptionally good shot, applaud it, or make a nice comment about it. Pros often say "Too Good!" or "Good Shot!" or you see them tapping their hand with their racket.
That's all for now. Obviously there are many other examples of tennis etiquette. Let me know when you come across a particularly interesting one!
