Match Etiquitte                                                                                                by John Pahl

Warhol said in the future we will all be famous for 15 minutes. I had my 15 seconds.
I was bottom seed in a group of 4 RR event playing the top seed. I served a well placed
sidespin to his backhand side allowing him to attack, but not 100% for a clean winner.
His return was forehand killed to his forehand side.
As usual, other players & spectators were watching matches, not necessarily focused on
the one right in front of them. As it happened, quite a few were paying attention during
this exchange and erupted with applause & yells. I played it cool hardly acknowledging
my accomplishment, the crowd or my opponents nod of apporoval.
But I did bask in the glory inwardly for all it was worth.
Which brings us to the crux of the matter: player & spectator behavior.
While we all appreciate cheering our accomplishments, spectators often go too far in
support of a player ranging from annoying to rude & obnoxious, affecting the opponents
focus & possibly the outcome of the match.
This behavior should be addressed when encountered by the referees & umpires as well
as other spectators by simply making them aware of unappreciated rude behavior.
Yes it's a grey area. What passes for normal in Atlanta is considered unacceptable
in Charlotte, & iS certainly not limited to the USA. The Europeans are much more
polite & respectful during match play on & off the court. While the German player
will acknowledge a point won by net or edge with a pointed finger quietly, the
Chinese player will yell with a fist pump at the others misfortune.
when a players cheering section will yell and clap when the opponent misserves or
their player gains a point by luck, it demonstrates a complete lack of respect and/or
sportsmanship. It's even worse when 2 competing groups try to outdo each other & the
match ends up a circus with both players taken out of their rythm waiting for the
noise to die down. They often disrupt other ongoing matches as well.
Cheating is cheating & it makes no difference if you gain unfair advantage by serving
illegally, recive coaching during a game or using a cheering section to intimidate your
opponent.
The only real way to solve this problem is to keep your cheering section under control.
It is your own responsibility to ask them to be respectful during your match.
So cheer on the players, have fun, be a part of the tournament experience.
Show your appreciation for good play, not your lack of courtesy & sportsmanship.