The other day, former World No.1 Andy Roddick posted on Twitter an instructional video with the tagline ‘how to throw a racket without getting into trouble’.
Roddick, a former World No.1 and a certified hothead of his time, held the racket by its throat and threw it face down. It bounced a few inches and settled not far from him. In a sagely tone he said this was a safe way to vent one’s frustration as it eliminated the odds of the racket turning into an unguided missile. Roddick further advised angry players to hit a ball high into the air and not strike at waist-height. This, he said, reduced the risk of the ball hitting the fans in the stands or the court officials.
How to throw a racket/hit a ball in anger without getting in trouble ……. pic.twitter.com/NTz2ff55Rw
— andyroddick (@andyroddick) March 25, 2022
Jenson Brooksby, the 21-year-old American, should watch Roddick’s video on loop. Recently, the World No.39 joined a growing list of players with anger-management issues. He flung a racket which hit the foot of a cowering ball boy during his first round win over Federico Coria at the Miami Open.
Brooksby received a point penalty. It cost him a game in the first set but he eventually won 3-6, 6-2, 6-3.
Gets away with it. #Brooksby pic.twitter.com/QGRFA5Uy5w
— Tennis GIFs 🎾🎥 (@tennis_gifs) March 24, 2022
At the same tournament, Australian Jordan Thompson had a ball girl, standing a few feet away from him, ducking in fear as he smashed a ball during his match versus Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. Like Brooksby, Jordan too finished on the winning side but their tennis strokes weren’t the talking point.
Their outbursts renewed the debate whether tennis was allowing players to get away too lightly for their boorish behaviour that puts others on court at physical risk.
Roddick mentioned the recent meltdowns of bigger stars Alexander Zverev and Nick Kyrgios, which preceded the outbursts of the lesser known players at the Miami Open.
Zverev at Acapulco, Kyrgios at Indian Wells to Brooksby and Thompson at Miami is a trickle-down-effect of officials at the ATP going soft on the bigger names in the sport.
Of the recent on court blow ups, Zverev’s was the scariest to watch.
Alexander Zverev has been THROWN OUT of the Mexican Open for attacking the umpire’s chair at the end of his doubles match 😮😮😮 pic.twitter.com/CWhQ1r6kwj
— Amazon Prime Video Sport (@primevideosport) February 23, 2022
The German just missed the umpire’s leg when he swung his racket in anger at the chair multiple times after a loss in the doubles game. Zverev was withdrawn from the singles draw and slapped with a fine of $40,000, pittance for someone earning hundreds of thousands of dollars. The ATP pussyfooted by putting the German World No.4 on probation for one year and withholding his eight-week suspension and additional $25,000 fine. Zverev is back playing on the tennis circuit. So is Kyrgios.
The mercurial Australian is ranked No.37 but is one of the biggest draws in tennis at present. He nearly hit a ball boy after smashing a racket following a loss to Rafael Nadal at the BNP Paribas Open. Post-match he continued to be short-tempered. “And what do you want me to say? It was three meters away from the kid. That’s a question you’re going to say after a three-hour battle against Nadal? That’s what you come here with?” Kyrgios countered.
That came really close! pic.twitter.com/8Bg4fJYLQG
— Billy Bang (@villievang) March 18, 2022
What is even more worrisome is the pattern which follows once a player cools down after the heat of the moment has passed. An apology to the ball boy or ball girl, often uploaded on social media, to pacify fans with their knives out. A few words are said expressing regret before a player shrugs his shoulders and moves onto the next tournament. This is nothing but tokenism, a lame fire-fighting choreographed by the PR team.
Thankfully, some of the greatest players have asked the ATP to crack the whip. Zverev should have been suspended for six months, former World No.1 Mats Wilander opined.
Rafael Nadal wants errant players to face the music. “The problem is, in my opinion, when you allow the players to do stuff, then you don’t know where the line is. And it’s a tricky thing. But probably because these situations are happening more and more often, the ATP should review things and make decisions,” Nadal said.
Suspension of upto one year for aggravated behaviour is part of the ATP Code. But is the governing body of men’s tennis ready to sacrifice their next crop of crowd pullers for long periods? Of the Big Three, Federer at 40 is on a lengthy injury break, Novak Djokovic’s anti-vaxx stand makes him a potential non-starter and Rafael Nadal is not getting any younger.
Ill-tempered players can’t be the perfect role models for youngsters with Grand Slam dreams.
World No.6 Stefanos Tsitsipas, tipped to be a future great, didn’t spare his father and Greek captain. During the 2020 ATP Cup he caught Apostolos Tsitsipas on the arm when he swung his racket in anger. Tsitsipas got away with a penalty point.
Angry Tsitsipas hurts his father while smashing the racket https://t.co/bJ9OmpE5qy чрез @YouTube Happy FathersDay
— Atanas Atanasov (@AtanasA16282446) June 21, 2020
Tennis has had players with a short fuse. John McEnroe won seven Grand Sam titles, weaponised on-court swearing. It helped him to raise his game and also sold shoes. Nike launched a commercial with the tagline ‘Rebel with a Cause’ with McEnroe at the centre of it. Yet when the ‘Superbrat’ crossed the line, he paid the price. He was disqualified from the 1990 Australian Open for intimidating a line judge, breaking a racket and using the F-word.
Hadn’t seen this before. John McEnroe being disqualified from the Australian Open in 1990. Fourth round match v Mikael Pernforspic.twitter.com/OtD5K1Us7r
— Francis Keogh (@HonestFrank) September 9, 2018
Two years ago Djokovic lost out on a potential Grand Slam title when ejected from the US Open for hitting a line judge in the neck with a tennis ball. The ATP should not shy away from cracking down on each and every dangerous racket-throwing and ball-hitting tantrum.
Novak Djokovic (-125), the #1 seed in the tournament just got defaulted from the US Open after hitting the line judge in the neck pic.twitter.com/dvJQgLPFfA
— Barstool Sportsbook (@BSSportsbook) September 6, 2020
Tennis should know the consequences of sparing the rod.
