Roger Federer and
Rafael Nadal have been dominant and fierce competitors on the tennis court for
many years, jostling with each other (and recently Djokovic as well) for world
number one. Nadal’s sheer power and Federer’s finesse make them vastly contrasting
as players yet both maintain their composure and cool on and off the court.
Both players are widely considered as two of the best players ever, they have
achieved enormous financial success, sponsor their own foundations and show
integrity and humility. All in all, they are incredible sportsman and are
wonderful role models for young tennis players all over the world. They are
even able to have a bit of fun occasionally.
Despite having such
fantastic role models for the sport this doesn’t seem to be reflected in the
behaviour of junior tennis players. Having younger brothers who have played on
the junior tournament circuit in Queensland, I have seen firsthand the very poor
behaviour of some junior players and their parents. I have spent more hours
than I care to remember on the tennis sidelines being bemused by the antics of
12 year old tennis players.
It is very common to
see some of the children (and parents) strutting around the tennis centre with
an air of superiority. At junior tournaments they are expected to umpire their
own matches and this causes all sorts of issues with dubious line calls and
blatant cheating. And of course there are the not-so-subtle mind games of the
little boys, not to mention the parents! The ball may be a metre within the
lines but the player will still question the call just to provoke their
opponent. Or my personal favourite, when the parents will clap the point even
when the ball is out to make their child’s opponent look they made a wrong
call. It’s appalling!
It is only a minority
that behave in this way but it destroys the experience for the other players.
Over the years I have seen children drop out of these tournaments simply
because they don’t want to have to deal with the poor attitude and behaviour.
Of course, it is understandable that many of these children are under enormous amounts
of pressure from their parents and coaches as they attend special tennis
schools. However, this is no excuse. The pressures of an under 12 tournament in
Brisbane doesn’t even measure up to the pressures of professional sport and yet
you never see Federer or Nadal step a foot out of line.
Perhaps it is just kids
being kids or perhaps it is an unfortunate culture that has developed in
Queensland tennis circles but it is a shame that some young players do not
follow the wonderful example set by their tennis idols. 
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