Gamesmanship Etc Ruining Tennis

Many are bemoaning the absence of the Davis Cup from UK TV screens. In my view there are many problems that tennis has failed to address. Below are my thoughts over the last year or so.

24th January 2013
Sloane Stephens is creepng back into her semi final against Victoria Azarenka who is quite clearly cracking as she watches match point after match point go begging. The shrieking reaches a near unbearable pitch. 5 match points saved, Stephens is now serving to draw level in the second set. The teenage giant killer remains cool, calm and collected. My money was on Stephens taking this all the way. Cue medical time out. Azarenka 'disappeared' for 10 minutes. The rule says she has 3 minutes of treatment once she reaches the designated area.She was gone 10 minutes and deserved the slow hand clap from the crowd. There was nothing discernibly wrong beforehand nor afterwards. Needless to say Azarenka managed to break serve and take the match.Stephens in forgivably naive fashion had simply sat in her chair for those 10 minutes and lost her focus. The unavoidable conclusion was that this entirely deliberate on the part of Azarenka who found a way to take the heat off herself and break the spell of her opponent. I have never heard a less convincing press conference than Azarenka's after her hollow victory. So I would ban treatment breaks off court altogether. If you cannot play on that's life. Obviously in a long match toilet breaks are required, but should be limited in time subject to practicalities of the environment (stadium facilities etc). Nobody gets an injury time out in marathon - either carry on or default.

Convenient Excuse

Since posting this article I  have learnt via a special friend (USA) that this all starts with the Juniors where bad behaviour is out of control, there is coaching, verbal abuse, every kind of cheating and faked injury time outs. Nothing (or seemingly nothing) is being done to address this scourge so whaqt chance of matters improving with the pros.
In Friday's semi final normally restrained Roger Federer swore at Andy Murray across the net. Federer is beleived to have been irked at his belief that Murray was trying to influence line judges by not playing at balls whilst seemingly awaiting the call of 'out', then playing on when no call came. Murray described it all effectively as 'part of the game'.
 Over a year ago I wrote the passages below. Seemingly nothing has improved and tennis has some real image problems.
Gamesmanship has been a sorry part of tennis (as much as other sports) for as long as sport has stirred the emotions. Bad sportsmanship has equally scarred the game for decades. We now remember quite charitably the 'escapades' of John McEnroe or Ilie Nastase from a bygone era, but what of their opponents? When Mac went nuclear what was the impact upon the game of his adversary? Usually McEnroe rediscovered his edge and his hapless, but well mannered opponent across the net melted away quietly.
Fastforwarding to 2012, matters have not greatly improved. At this year's Australian Open, Marcos Baghdatis destroyed 4 rackets during a public temper tantrum which would have put to shame any self respecting 3 year old. He was fined a derisory £560. Argentinian David Nalbandian poured water over a locker room staff member and was fined £5,000 (back pocket change) for his trouble. Thomas Berdych was so riled by the net aggression of a Spanish opponent that he refused to shake hands at the end of the match. He actually won. Nonetheless the crowd was less forgiving than the score. He was roundly and unanimously booed throughout the subsequent on court interview by the spectators. Tournament organisers please take note.
At Queen's 2 weeks ago, seemingly serial offender Nalbandian, took matters to a whole new level by having a temper tantrum, kicking out at an advertising hoarding and injuring a line judge as  result. Automatic default from the final followed. Nice warm up for Wimbledon.
I have spoken of Serena Williams  before (see archive). She has abused match officials on more than one occasion and received the customary and proverbial slap on the wrist. In fact she is the most censured female tennis player with fines amounting to double the next worst offender. Derisory amounts nonetheless. Administrators seem incapable or simply lack the willpower to grapple with their star attractions.

Cheating is becoming more prevalent.
 Not necessarily, doping, although I know of one Sports Blog devoted entirely to the subject of alleged steroid abuse in tennis (tennishasasteroidproblem.blogspot.com) . The threat of players doping with EPO and HGH (Human Growth Hormone) is increasing. Matches are becoming longer and more physical. The demands on the human body of such intense struggles and the need for rapid recovery suggest that the temptation to dope must be high. Dick Pound (former head of WADA) has now (5/1/13) highlighted the physiques of the top players compared to yesteryear and the weakness of the ITF testing regime which favours urine testing. EPO and HGH are detectable in blood tests. Is this a question of resources? Or lack of desire to uncover the truth. Ugly rumours swirl around tennis and they are given credence by senior figures from the world of anti doping. Andy Murray has now called for greater testing and indicated a willingness for funding to come from reduced prize money. There is a message in there if the authorities are listening!

 I am referring to the practice of medical time outs and toilet breaks, often 'timed' to coincide with a player's difficulties in the relevant match. What better way to test the nerve and resolve of the up and coming player, poised on the verge of a great victory against a better ranked player, than to introduce delay and contemplation time, and to upset the rhythm of the match.' La peur de gagner' is a phenomenon known far beyond the shores of British tennis.
The rigmarole of a toilet break in a crowded Grand Slam facility can introduce considerable delay in to the process. Medical time outs achieve the same end result. A player is entitled to request the 'Sports Medicine Trainer' if he sustains an injury during the course of the match (including the warm up). He cannot, according to the rules do so for a pre -existing injury. The Sports Medicine Trainer may authorise a one-time three minute medical time-out for that condition. Of course the SMTs are under considerable pressure to proceed with caution given their close association with the players and the valuable commodity that they are treating. SMTs can seek guidance from a Tournament Doctor. 

The time-out only begins after the completion of the evaluation and diagnosis of the medical condition by the Sports Medicine Trainer and, should, when possible, be taken on a change-over or set break.

The Sports Medicine Trainer can treat heat related physical conditions if he determines such treatment to be appropriate. However the rules state that a player will be allowed only one medical time-out per match for any and all cramping conditions. 

The opportunities to exploit this process are many. It is a big call to decide that there is no injury. In that unlikely event there are still the attendant delays built in to the process, the summoning of the SMT, his arrival through the throng and the evaluation process.
I could get on to the tactical challenges related to Hawkeye. Players with spare challenges use them for the same ends ie to break up the rhythm of the match which may be going against them, when they know perfectly well that the call was correct.

Then there is 'grunting'. Shrieking during the course of play is extremely unpleasant for spectators, just imagine being across the net and trying to focus on the job in hand. What response from the WTA? 'We are currently in the process of exploring how to reduce excessive grunting, especially for younger players just starting out, without adversely affecting players who have developed their game under the current training, rules and procedures'. In other words, we are not prepared to do anything about the Sharapovas and Azarenkas even if we accept that their conduct is wrong and damaging to the image of tennis. Ladies please refrain!
Then there is the incessant towelling down. If I could make one immediate rule change it would be to outlaw the use of a towel during games. Then we could get back to the tennis and the match that we are paying to watch and that the players are paid handsomely to participate in.
Tennis definitely has an image problem. The power game is rapidly taking away variety and subtlety. The Sunday Times today highlights another form of 'cheating' (it is nbot yet outlawed!). The use of silicone oil on racket strings to enable even more exaggerated spin. The volleyer is being taken out of the process by the speed and power of the modern game. Is this what we really want?

I would like to hark back to a 'golden age'. Returning to my original point, a time when tennis players did not even sit down at changeovers, indeed no chairs were provided! That would sort the men from the boys!
One final point. TV stations have great difficulty with tennis because, although the changeovers lend themselves beautifully to advertising, there is no certainly with regard to the length of matches, and accordingly no certainty with the commencement of subsequent matches. Frequently the best matches are finishing after public transport has packed up for the night and after the average tennis fan has retired to bed.