Author Topic: Random Tennis Question....  (Read 214 times)

Offline saggs

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Random Tennis Question....
« on: September 10, 2011, 09:04:05 PM »
So, I'm not a tennis fan at all.   But I just flipped the TV on in the background while I'm working on the 'puter, and the US open is on, and it's somewhat entertaining.

While I'm not a fan, I do understand how the game works, scoring and stuff, but I just realized there is one thing I don't get at all.

Why aren't the fans/audience allowed to cheer or make any noises during the match?   They only seemed to be allowed to cheer between rallies?  Do the players need to hear the ball strikes for some reason?   Or is it just so the TV audience can hear them grunting?  During the match I just saw part of, they wouldn't let the guy even serve because some people where walking back to there seats.  The player (Andy something, I've forgotten already) seemed very frustrated and annoyed by it.  His attitude seemed to say, "Oh come on, just let us play, who cares if someone's out of their seat."

So is there a reason behind this, or is it just tradition?


Offline PFactorDave

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Re: Random Tennis Question....
« Reply #1 on: September 10, 2011, 09:09:58 PM »
Tennis, and golf for that matter, apparently has roots in "upper class" sporting circles and things such as cheering and grunting are unseemly.

It all seems rather silly to me really.  I like a game like basketball where the fans are encouraged to try to distract the guy shooting the freethrow...

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