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Less Bouncing at Wimbledon Please!

(40 Posts)
Sparklefizz Mon 07-Jul-25 12:22:37

I am fed up with players bouncing the ball so many times before serving. I don't know if it's done to give them a quick breather or to annoy their opponent, but it certainly annoys me!

I was just watching the Cilic match and one time he bounced the ball 12 times before serving. Ridiculous!!

DamaskRose Tue 08-Jul-25 14:45:14

Smileless2012

Yes he is a superb player but he's arrogant and that arrogance is what makes him for me, unwatchable. He's also not adverse to using tactics to disrupt his opponents concentration, and his 'do you know who I am' attitude to Covid vaccine rules in Australia was appalling.

He's more popular with his peers than he used to be but I don't believe he's one of the most popular.

This says it all for me. Just can’t watch him.

Foxyferret Tue 08-Jul-25 20:50:59

I think the grunting has got less over the years apart from Sabalenka who shrieks a lot. I loved Rafa and miss him, we always used to sing head, shoulders, knees and bum when he was preparing to serve

Luckygirl3 Tue 08-Jul-25 21:39:57

Quizzer

Watch this video… it’s hilarious!

www.facebook.com/reel/1043526597414769?fs=e&s=TIeQ9V&fs=e&fs=e

Love it!!

Mollygo Tue 08-Jul-25 21:49:39

Quizzer
Very funny!

DrWatson Wed 09-Jul-25 01:47:37

For Reka, I'm advised by a real tennis fan (I don't mind watching for a few minutes) that Djokovic is NOT the 'best player', and far from being massively popular, has had endless criticism for needing 'medical timeouts' to break up the flow of an opponent who's doing well.

Also as SmileLess says, his attempt to get around the Covid rules in Australia was just daft, hardly a good look for someone quoted as a 'role model'?

I'm further advised that a poll amongst tennis fans for who they really like to watch would see him placed some way down the list.

DrWatson Wed 09-Jul-25 01:58:53

For the OP (Sparkle) - I'm told that the bouncing thing is just a routine they get used to doing before a serve, to help gather their thoughts, 'focus', and remember their plan for the coming point.

Serving in pro tennis is a top priority, so they need that routine and rhythm to try and make it work to best advantage (no pun!). And that's why they sometimes chuck it up, but don't serve, if they immediately know the ball won't be quite where the racket is intended to hit it.

If you saw the coverage of the Eastbourne tournament (week or two before W'don), that was pretty windy, and lots of serves had to be stopped in that way!

Oh, and the ultimate in bouncing annoyance was surely Nadal, his routine was something like 15 bounces, scratch ear, pick nose, 8 more bounces, tug shirt, extract shorts from his derriere, 7 more bounces, flick hair back, scratch the ear again, couple more bounces, and serve. If anyone in the crowd coughed or something, he'd glare at them, then have to go back and start again, as he'd lost his place.

As has been said, they have a time limit now, between each point, if that had been used when he was playing, he'd have been chucked out of every match?!

Sparklefizz Wed 09-Jul-25 07:42:58

Luckygirl3

Quizzer

Watch this video… it’s hilarious!

www.facebook.com/reel/1043526597414769?fs=e&s=TIeQ9V&fs=e&fs=e

Love it!!

I've seen this before but absolutely love it (so true!) and it's great to see it again. Thanks for posting it Quizzer

David49 Wed 09-Jul-25 09:05:34

There is a time limit, watch the scoreboard you can see it counting down, call it gamesmanship, all players are going to use any allowable breaks or delays. Within the rules allowances are going to be used and abused.

SueEH Thu 10-Jul-25 10:28:09

I’m just utterly fed up with Wimbledon. Why on earth can’t they set up a “Wimbledon Channel”? They can do it for Glastonbury and football competitions 🙄

Mollygo Thu 10-Jul-25 12:38:25

SueEH

I’m just utterly fed up with Wimbledon. Why on earth can’t they set up a “Wimbledon Channel”? They can do it for Glastonbury and football competitions 🙄

👏👏👏

silverlining48 Thu 10-Jul-25 12:42:19

With you there Sue and Molly

Crossstitchfan Thu 10-Jul-25 13:02:18

I agree. Why can’t ‘they’ understand that we don’t all like Wimbledon, or Cricket, or Football, even Darts?
To take beloved soaps and other progs off just because of sport is disgraceful and shows how little the viewers are respected and valued.
If they can’t do a sport channel, how about a Soaps channel? Anything so that we mere mortals who like soaps don’t keep being inconvenienced and messed about with. Of course, this will never happen but one can always hope!

Crossstitchfan Thu 10-Jul-25 13:04:55

Chardy

It's habit, isn't it. And habits like that are hard to break.

Not just habit. In my opinion, they are pretentious prats who are too far up their own backsides to care about us!

Anniebach Thu 10-Jul-25 13:16:17

Quote Crossstitchfan Thu 10-Jul-25 13:04:55
Chardy
It's habit, isn't it. And habits like that are hard to break.
Not just habit. In my opinion, they are pretentious prats who are too far up their own backsides to care about us!

I love watching tennis but can’t think of players on court are there to entertain and please me, I think of it as they are sharing such a major part of their lives with me