Cloud Chasing?!
When it was my turn to serve in a recent men’s doubles match, I noticed a significant cloud of vapor emerging in front of the opponent’s net player right when I hit my serve. The net player was using a vaping device during the match. He would take it out of his pocket and exhale from the device while I tossed the ball. It felt quite distracting and potentially disruptive. Could this situation be classified as a hindrance according to the Friend at Court under ITF Rules of Tennis? Are there any specific code violations regarding vaping during matches? Additionally, what measures can players take to address similar situations in the future?
Joan Marcinko, 2024 Senior Day Leagues VP
What an interesting tennis match situation! According to THE CODE in the USTA 2024 Friend at Court, vaping while playing a tennis match is not covered under their “Hinderance Issues.” Talking during a point, body movement, cell phones ringing, players grunting, and injuring an opponent are all reasons to claim a hinderance. However, most tennis facilities (private clubs, swim/tennis associations, etc.) do NOT allow any type of smoking on their property, so I would first check with them to see if this was allowed. Although no USTA or ALTA rule is being violated, you could always ask the player if he would refrain from vaping during your serve!
Blame It On the Rain
My partner and I scheduled to play our rain-out match on Saturday morning at 10 a.m. at our home court. However, our men were playing on the courts and stated we had to wait until they completed their matches. The opponents stated we needed to go to their courts to play. I replied that the ALTA rule for Sunday Women make up for rained out matches states we can start after the men have completed their regularly scheduled matches. The opponent stated that since we had scheduled to play early, we needed to go play at their courts or default the match. We were not sure, so we played at their home courts. Who was correct in this instance?
Diane Royston, Sunday Women’s League VP
Your opponents were correct. You scheduled to play early. Had you agreed to play at the default time of Saturday at 1 p.m., you would have been able to say they had to wait until your men had finished playing. ALTA Individual League Rules states, “Matches rescheduled due to inclement weather (precipitation or extreme weather) for weeks 1-6 must be started no later than the day and time listed in the chart for the specific league in accordance with ALTA rule VI.C. Regularly scheduled matches take precedence over all other ALTA league matches.”
For Sunday women, the time is Saturday at 1 p.m. or until the men have completed their regularly scheduled matches. This rule did not apply to your match as your match was scheduled to be played early.
You Can’t Be Serious
During my match, I was waiting to return serve. The server bounced the ball and then hit it into the service box. When I didn’t make an attempt to return it, the opponent tried to claim the point. I said, you can’t be serious. It’s a fault for you. You can’t bounce the ball then hit it as a serve. The server stated it was an underhand serve, and it was legal. After much debate, the server served a second serve, and we continued the match. Was I correct in the ball could not bounce before hitting it as a serve? And is an underhand serve legal when playing an ALTA match?
Seth Appelbaum, Senior Leagues VP
The underhand serve is legal in ALTA matches. However, the ball cannot hit the court from a bounce as a serve. You may bounce the ball, catch it, then release it and hit it before it bounces; that is a legal underhand serve. (USTA Friend at Court, ITF Rule #16 The Service… “The server shall then release the ball by hand in any direction and hit the ball with the racquet before the ball hits the ground.”)
