JAK'S MONTHLY ESSAY SERIES: Achieving Your Personal Best

How to navigate combative opponents and poor sportsmanship

By Jak Beardsworth

First and foremost, the number of competitive players that you encounter in match play represent a mostly friendly, pleasant, recreational experience including overall good sportsmanship. But, on occasion – and it does happen - there exist some players that consistently, clearly get up on the wrong side of the bed as the expression goes.

They repeatedly make bad calls when it’s close (when in doubt call it out is their mantra). They can be combative immediately upon their arrival at your club’s home match or upon your arrival at their site for a road match. They generally don’t know how (ignorant!!!) to conduct a proper pre-match warm-up (shame on their coach), and are typically uncooperative (see the USTA code of conduct). Once in the match proper they return first serves that are clearly out (hindrance to server).

JThey are the no fun, miserable people. Unfortunately, it’s just a microcosm of the “me-me” society we live in today. Whether it’s league play or just “friendlies,” It’s supposed to be fun to compete. It’s supposed to be recreation. Best to not make it where the fun comes to die.

So what to do with these kinds of opponents to diffuse them in, ironically, an alleged recreational setting. Honey versus vinegar immediately comes to mind. You can say almost anything to anybody as long as you speak softly and smile at the same time.

Regarding bad calls…all you can do is question it: “Are you sure about that?” Not that they’re going to change their call – after all, it is their call to make – but the next time it occurs perhaps they might give you the benefit of the doubt because of your challenge. That is unless they are so obsessed with winning – the usual culprit for troubles - resulting in their brain and eyes working together playing tricks and seeing what they want to see. If there is an actual ball mark indicating their mistaken call, it becomes irrelevant to them and/or is misidentified.

They need a psychiatrist not an ophthalmologist!

Regarding the clueless warm-up…they’re simply ignorant. Their coach – who knows ecatly how it should be conducted - has not bothered to teach them this internationally, long standing, accepted protocol that’s addressed in the previously noted USTA Code of Conduct –“The warm-up is not practice, it’s a cooperative.” Their unwillingness to trade cooperatively, instead practicing winners is not in the spirit of fair play. All you can do, again with a smile, is suggest that you and they hit to each other so that both players get a decent warm-up. If they can’t, or sometimes actually won’t, than you can choose to warm-up opposite your own partner.

Regarding consistently returning serves that are clearly out… that disrupt both play and the server rhythm, all you can do is suggest that they shouldn’t do that. Again they just don’t know. They haven’t been schooled.

If, however, the serve is very close and the receiver or partner makes a somewhat “late” out-call after the return is attempted, that is permitted because it was so close.

Finally, let’s be clear regarding this entire subject - ignorance is a reason. It is not an excuse.

If you’re going to play, in leagues or friendlies, it’s your responsibility to learn both the rules and the accepted norms of the game. Same as even movie theaters these days asking the audience to not talk during the movie so as to not spoil it for others.

Copyright© 2007- 2026 by Jak Beardsworth Tennis. All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form.

COMMENTS WELCOME: JB1tennis@comcast.net

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