I know I’m not alone when it comes to certain annoyances that go along with being a fan of professional tennis. And with as much negative press as some of these things get, you’d think there would be some change, right?
Nope.
The scream queens
Sara Errani… Maria Sharapova… Victoria Azarenka… Just SHUT UP already! This is probably the biggest thing about professional tennis that annoys me the most. It has become such an annoying shriek-fest, distracting not only the players but also the spectators and at-home viewers. Even if I mute the matches, it’s STILL annoying because then I miss the commentary, which is usually quite entertaining and sometimes even educational. *Sigh* I was so hoping that by now, there would have been some kind of regulation in place to control the screaming banshees, but alas, it is not to be. Ugh!
Nadal’s constant butt-picking
Don’t get me wrong – I love Rafa. I think he’s one of the best players in the world. But (no pun intended)… He needs to STOP picking his shorts out of his butt – like yesterday! It’s the most ridiculous of the player’s bad habits, and I’m tired of seeing it dozens (hundreds..?) of times during his matches. You’d think that, at the very least, someone from his publicity team would tell him to stop or at least buy some properly fitting shorts! Hey Nike – you’ve been dressing Nadal for years… can’t you custom design a pair of shorts to accommodate the junk in his trunk?
The WTA/ATP ranking system
That a player can be number one in the world without ever winning a single grand slam is beyond me. Caroline Wozniacki held the coveted position for 67 weeks, Dinara Safina for 26 weeks, Jelena Jankovic for 18 weeks, and Marcelo Rios for six weeks. And how is that, you ask? Because the actual top players don’t play in every tournament – especially those with smaller purses – so the rest of the tennis world doesn’t have to beat them to claim those points. I’m sorry, but rankings shouldn’t be based on just point totals alone. That’s just wrong! If you can’t regularly take down a player like Serena Williams, you’re NOT number one!
The empty seats
This probably doesn’t annoy most fans of professional tennis, but it annoys me. Every tournament outside the Slams’ second week has way too many empty stadium seats. I know this because the TV cameras capture the hundreds of vacant seats during the matches. It gives the appearance that tennis doesn’t have that many fans, which we know is not true. If I were in charge of the venues, I’d drop the cost of these events so that Average Joe and his family can afford to attend and give most (or all) of the unsold tickets to local tennis clubs a day or so in advance. Those peeps would DEFINITELY use them. And, because those same peeps would no doubt spend money on food and beverages while they’re there, that’s a win-win!
Whew!! Thanks for letting me get that off my chest! Does anything about professional tennis annoy you? Let’s discuss in the comments below 🙂
Well said. I agree with everything here. I recently played a tournament match (4.0 level, so not anything close to professional!) where the adjacent court had 2 women having a shriek fest…it was completely distracting (for me and my opponent). I get the now and then grunt to get a tough shot, but not every single swing. Seriously.
Hi Carrie 🙂
That’s a good point! It’s understandable that there might be a grunt for those occasional, difficult shots, but definitely NOT every time.
I agree with EVERYTHING you wrote! The shrieking on the WTA really needs to be addressed, it’s surprising it hasn’t been already. One more pet peeve is watching spectators with front row seats to watch the finest players in the world on their phones for the better part of the match….Such a shame!
You’re so right! I can see taking photos, but not texting friends. That can be done later!
I’ll start with the empty seats- I so agree. Have you ever attended these- you can’t buy those seats unless you but for the entire tournament. That is unreasonable! I say , if a seat is empty after the first game, on the changeover, those who bought cheaper seats are allowed to move down and claim them for the entire session. Absolutely the most irritating thing.! I also dislike the enforcement of the time warning. Some points are really long and the player taking an extra few seconds might make the next point better.
I totally agree! Having the peeps in the higher seats move down and fill the lower empty seats is a great idea!