A Guide to Coping with Bad Line Calls

We’ve all been on the end of bad line calls and have given bad line calls! I believe that the majority of people that give a bad line call don’t mean it, they make a mistake or have poor eyesight! There are some players out there though that do it on purpose, to disrupt their opponent’s rhythm. Bad line calls are made all the worse when it’s a game, set or match point!

Coping with bad line calls!

In a tournament

Situation: no umpires on the court but a tournament referee is available.

1^st Bad Call – Ignore and don’t react as it could be a mistake.

2^nd Bad call – Politely but firmly question the call with ‘Are you Sure?’. If opponent doesn’t change the call say ok and make the opponent aware that on the next bad call you will have no choice but to go to the tournament referee.

3^rd Bad Call – Go to the tournament referee in a calm manner and ask for an umpire. Note that the umpire may not be able to do anything about previous points as they may not have seen them. They will be of help from then on.

Quote from online article:

‘If it’s just one call then I just forget it – but if they start doing it loads then I feel I have to do more
than just ask if they’re sure because they just keep saying yes…….If I’m sure they’re cheating I go and
get the referee – not because I expect the referee to do anything, but more to show them that I’m
not going to just stand there and let them take points off me…..’
‘You’ve got to put it to the back of your mind though – winning the match is the most important
thing to me and I know that if I think about it loads then I’ll get annoyed and I’ll lose’

Source: mauritiustennis.com

In a league match

When playing a league match more than likely you can’t call on a tournament referee or umpire, it can be very difficult. You can still question the calls, but try to stay calm.

If your opponent is giving bad line calls on purpose, try to think of it as your opponent doesn’t feel that they can beat you in a fair match, that you are the better player. Stay focused, concentrate on your game and trust in your ability that you can win the match despite the calls.

I have been in these situations a number of times, you learn to have to stay calm and be firm when querying a call.