Is unethical to score an Ace in Tennis like this?

Most Unethical Moves in Tennis


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There is a brotherhood in tennis. That is why players always apologize when they win a point off of a net interference.

You don't cheat each other like that. Very unethical.
 
The only time a player usually does an underhand serve is out of desperation. It acts as a surprise the first time but it would likely not work again.

Martina Hingis did this in the 99 French open final. First time she got the error from Graf but the second time she did it, Graf was all over it and hit a winner. Hingis started using this serve when she blew her lead the crowd was firmly against her.

So I don't think it's unethical, maybe a bit shitty but it wouldn't work more than a couple times per match.
 
Pfft. That's amateur hour.

I thought the thread would be about this:

pBCymdw.gif

Oh wow - I have to learn this. :D
 
It's like in little league baseball where the pitcher rushes the first pitch in as soon as the batter steps into the box and is still setting up.
 
Pfft. That's amateur hour.

I thought the thread would be about this:

pBCymdw.gif

That one is incredibly complicated and difficult to pull off. I have, however, practiced this serve and can pull it off consistently. Its fun in practice but I wouldn't pull a stunt like this in a match, although its technically legal

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Chang has been mentioned before, but this is the video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T9_smUdMqI4&t=2m28s

I don't think it's unethical. It's something you hardly ever see because the risks far outweigh the benefit, but it's cool that it is possible. If it would generally be seen as not done, it would have been banned a long time ago.

It's like a penalty in soccer, which you don't have to shoot at the goal directly, unless in a shootout.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XaPjKsBnMQk&t=1m22s

It's the kind of thing you don't see happen a lot and it takes some balls.
 
Look, if the returner is neutralizing your big serve by standing WAY behind the service line (look at what Rafa did in the US Open finals, you couldn't see him on the TV screen at times he was so close to the wall), why not drop one in.

There are no rules other than put it in the box. This would be like calling a change up or an eephus pitch unethical.

Edit - or "moon balls" in tennis. Perfectly valid strategy.
 
Honestly if I had an opponent drop a serve like that on me I'd be pretty impressed. As long as you're not breaking any rules then I'm fine with it.
 
It's as unethical as spamming fireballs in Street Fighter. You do whatever's within the rules to win.

I thought the form for the service was required in the rules to be overhead, but i guess not.
 
Someone serving like that probably doesn't apologize for winning a point via the net either.

It's a legal ball, but unsportsmanlike.
 
Tennis is a gentleman and gentlewomans game. Like cricket. This type of behaviour is unsportsmanlike and should not be condoned.

What? It is a sport. This is not unsportsmanlike at all. This is sheer genius. The reason more don't do it is because you will only have it happen maybe once or twice in a match and someone like Nadal or Djokovic would make you pay. No different than hitting the ball up and down the sides making the other person struggle to run.
 
No of course I isn't. If anything it's a message to your opponent "stop playing me so far back or I'll make you pay".

You're playing to win, you're not breaking any rules. All the fuddy duddies in this thread remind me of the "DONT FLIP YOUR BAT" crowd.
 
I was under the impression that professional players apologise for 'dirty shots' all the time, like net and edge shots.

Players will apologise for nets and mishits that are unreturnable because nobody intends to hit the net and mishits are by definition shots you didn't intend to make - it was a fluke you won the point. There's no fluke about an underhand serve. You made a strategic decision - do they have the reaction times and speed necessary to reach this ball? - and it played off. There's nothing to apologise for.
 
Players will apologise for nets and mishits that are unreturnable because nobody intends to hit the net and mishits are by definition shots you didn't intend to make - it was a fluke you won the point. There's no fluke about an underhand serve. You made a strategic decision - do they have the reaction times and speed necessary to reach this ball? - and it played off. There's nothing to apologise for.
Exactly
 
It's like in little league baseball where the pitcher rushes the first pitch in as soon as the batter steps into the box and is still setting up.

Interestingly Max Scherzer actually got a strikeout on a guy doing this just two starts ago. In MLB, though, the batter is supposed to be "reasonably set" or something like that before the pitcher delivers, which means more than just having both feet in the box. His pitch probably should have been considered an illegal quick pitch and a ball.
 
tennis-service.gif


Edit: Dammit, beaten while finding a .gif

The problem with this one is that you can tell it's not going to be coming at you fast anyway, so you're sort of prepared for something that slow based on the the manner of the serve. The one in the OP would def. surprise me though if i'd been returning screamers for two sets.
 
The clear answer to the poll is the overhead slam, since Djokovic's in particular are a crime under the Geneva Convention.
 
What's wrong with it? The opponent wasn't expecting it? Well more fool them then.
You are not supposed to act like that in Tennis.

Most people who play tennis make their own calls and this would be a considered a cheap and unethical tactic.

The point is to play your best and see who is the better man/woman on that day.

Single person sports are very different than team sports where being cheap or tricking someone is fine.
 
I've used this serve before. It's pretty effective in low level play when people aren't on their toes waiting to return. And if you get some choice swear words thrown your way too, all the better.
 
It can easily backfire which is why you don't see it a lot. Most trick plays are similar like onside kicks. High risk high reward but probably more risky than rewarding which is why you only see such plays in desperate situations. If the other player read the shot they could ram it down your throat.
 
Tennis is like a chess-match. You have to out think and outmaneuver your opponent. Shit like this is just part of the game.

You see it used so little in the pros because they're going to fucking murder you on the return. They will feast on weak-ass serves and ask for seconds.
 
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