Quote:
Originally Posted by PornMD
Regarding foot faults, I just played in a USTA sanctioned 3.5 level league months ago and it's just us players - there's no way in hell TO call foot faults. After my match one week, I was watching the #1 doubles teams playing and one of the guys on the opposing team kept sliding his foot forward about half a second before hitting the ball...obvious foot fault, and it was EVERY serve. But wtf are we supposed to do - if we WEREN'T watching it wouldn't be called, so it wouldn't seem right to call them on it simply because we happened to be done with our matches first and watching them. Didn't matter anyways because we were beating them, but still. Anyways, that's why I think it happens more often than it's ever called...it's something that I think a lot of people unintentionally do now and then without realizing it because it only takes a very slight foot movement to do.
|
I play USTA league tennis too. As I recall, the rule is that absent an umpire, the server has to acknowledge whether they think a foot fault occurred if their opponent calls it (in tennis they use an honor system for many calls).
Servers rarely ever admit to foot faulting (since they are usually looking at their service toss, and not at their feet and the service line), however it is good to let the server know that you think they are foot faulting anyway, since if a USTA umpire catches it, they can call it. If you advance to the District championships and beyond, USTA officials are on hand.
Also, if you think someone is repeatedly foot faulting, or making bad calls (calling in balls out, etc), you can ask for line judges (generally one person from each team) to watch the match, and if called upon by any of the players, make the call.
Whether the line judge was correct or not, what Serena Williams said and did is inexcusable in any sport, and in tennis in particular, which has very particular rules of etiquette. I think Serena is a very talented athlete, although I think both she and her sister often demonstrate gamesmanship (taking bathroom breaks at key points, faking/exaggerating injuries, etc) and have prima dona qualities (mostly only playing major tournaments), which takes away from their achievements.
On a happier note, what a great victory for Kim Clijsters tonight in winning the US Open Women's Championship, especially after being back from a 2+ year hiatus during which she gave birth to a daughter.
ADG