Bad Characters Are Bad News

DID YOU KNOW:  John McEnroe (famously dubbed “Superbrat” by the British tabloid press) was thrown out of an elite tennis academy for bad behavior at a young age. IMAGINE THAT!

We hope you know that we care about junior tennis and we especially love good players with good behavior and good reputations! However, our cameras have seen way too many of the opposite. We see so many players who deserve their bad reputations as cocky, arrogant, disrespectful, and unpleasant. These players are “hot heads” and they are admired by few (besides themselves).

A bad reputation can follow the player and damage any future opportunities he might have with college coaches and others. In the words of an accomplished coach we know, “don’t be negative during your career on or off the court-word will get out and coaches won’t be interested in you.” 

On a related note, I overhead a radio interview with Tony Dungy (who coaches football, not tennis, but the point is a good one). Tony Dungy often had to choose between two players who were athletic equals and to help with this decision, he looked into the player’s character. One good way that he found to do just that was to speak with the staff members who were responsible for equipment and uniforms. Those staff members had frequent interaction with each and every player and, most important of all, they had it when no one else was looking. This gave them a unique glimpse into the player’s character and Tony Dungy said that, when choosing between a player with a great attitude and one who was just so-so, he chose the player with the great attitude every single time. He was proud of those choices and said he’d make the same choices again today.

So reputation and character really are important points…not just to the outcome of a specific tennis match, but to the player’s future. Think about what it means to be a good sport and what it means to keep your composure on the court. I think Pete Sampras had the right idea when he said “Be quiet and let your racquet do the talking.”

By contrast, our cameras have seen the player who shouts, complains, uses bad language, and even abuses the racquet or the ball. Is it really necessary to scream COME ON!!!!! after every single point???? This player is anything but a good sport. This player is embarrassing himself and others.

This player is a BRAT!!!

Finally, the bad behavior is frequently observed by other spectators and parents express how shocked they are that this kind of thing is almost to be expected at tournaments. How unfortunate that it’s COMMONPLACE, particularly at the higher levels.

One thought about sportsmanship (good and bad) comes to mind from a very recent tournament. As in all matches, both players clearly wanted to win but, of course, only one CAN win. I didn’t see the match but simply overheard the most astonishing remark to an official: “Thank you for watching my match.” Now I’m not sure that I’ve EVER heard a player say that – so I looked up to see who it was. I was so impressed with this GOOD SPORTSMANSHIP that I found that player’s mother and told her she should be proud of her child. I later learned (from other spectators) that there was some horrendously BAD SPORTSMANSHIP during that match from that player’s opponent. So….the beat goes on!

This article focused on bad sportsmanship, but the next article will share observations regarding our least favorite but unbelievably prevalent aspect of junior tennis: CHEATING.

Junior tennis is a journey, not a destination…
You might as well enjoy it!