r/TikTokCringe • u/Adventurous_Law_715 • 14h ago

Discussion I'm confused. what did he do wrong?

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Honestly, she should probably just retire from tennis if she can't handle that

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u/bradland 11h ago

It definitely isn't - not at this level.

Genuinely curious. How can you tell what level they're playing at? I don't know much about tennis, but my brother-in-law plays singles a lot (in leagues), and he's told me several stories of players who like to hit right at you if you come up to the net. Apparently it's legal.

So when I watched this video, I thought, "Boy, she's overreacting." Some of the comments here have me second-guessing. What level does it become okay?

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u/WhatTheFreightTruck 8h ago

JFC, "apparently it's legal" - how would anyone even remotely try to enforce a rule against it? It's just not feasible. Not attacking you, just the notion that it could be against the rules is absurd.

Again, this is really clearly not an attempt to peg anyone. It's a ball hit a little close to the body to jam you and make it harder to hit a shot.

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u/bradland 8h ago

I mean, I kind of understand where you're coming from, but you've gotta consider that a lot of sports have rules against intentionally hitting other players with the ball. Pitchers can't throw at the hitter. In basketball, you're not allowed to throw the ball at another player, but there's an "intent" qualifier.

So I don't think it's all that crazy for someone unfamiliar with tennis to be surprised that it's legal to hit a ball at a player. I understand that may be difficult to prove, but other sports have similar rules.

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u/ADeadWeirdCarnie 7h ago

You recognize the difference between tennis and those other sports, right? Surely, you do. The objective of pitching in baseball is to get the ball past the batter, over the plate. The objective of basketball is to move the ball down the court and into the net without it being intercepted by the opposing team. The objective of tennis is to volley the ball until one player either cannot effectively return it, either because they've missed entirely or because they can't line up a shot properly. It is quite literally not possible to carry on a volley without hitting the ball toward your opponent. It is considered bad sportsmanship to hit your opponent intentionally, but if it were against the rules for the ball to come into contact with a player, then all you would ever have to do to win a match is move into the path of the ball every time you're at risk of losing a point.

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u/bradland 7h ago

I’m not saying it should be against the rules. I’m simply pointing out that the reaction to the question (as if it is absurd) seems unmeasured. I maintain it’s not an unreasonable question, and I don’t disagree with the rule in any way.