Sportsmanship is the character and conduct of a player who reacts graciously during competition. It is important to show good sportsmanship in both victory and defeat. This means sincerely congratulating an opponent when he has won the match and not gloating or acting pompously toward an opponent when you have won a match.
Good sportsmanship derives from a player’s character and is a quality that carries over from life to the tennis court. Bad sportsmanship can often be traced back to a high level of pressure to perform well.
One of the biggest issues in sportsmanship is that of cheating. In tennis, since players make their own line calls this situation is amplified. When an opponent makes a questionable call on a ball that is close to the line, it is best to give him the benefit of the doubt and assume it was an honest judgment and unintentional bad call. Good sportsmanship calls for a player to concede any point he does not see the ball clearly out.
Among some of the qualities of good sportsmanship are announcing the score before serving so the opponent can hear, making honest line calls, saying “good shot” when an opponent hits a winner or plays a good point and always playing to the pace of the server. Overall, good sportsmanship produces a positive attitude, which can also cause a player to play better. |
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