Our weekend of tennis “dad jokes” continues with the fake “out” call. In this scenario, the other player or team hits a clean winner that is called out in jest. Usually, the joke continues after a few beats with “out…of reach.” For more subtle dad jokers, the initial “out” is sometimes all that is uttered.
When telling any joke, it is important to read the room, or in this case, the tennis court. An ill-timed dad joke can quickly heighten preexisting tension in a match and create unintended confusion and drama.
One pattern of this joke backfiring occurs when the opponents believe the out call is sincere and immediately explode with a diatribe about the other player’s chronically bad line calls. Once that escalation occurs, it is hard to put the genie back into the bottle and restore emotional equilibrium on both sides of the net.
I have also witnessed an instance where one partner of a doubles team made the “out (of reach)” joke that their own partner thought was legitimate. A couple of points later, genuine confusion over the score transpired. The attempt at levity isn’t worth the potential fallout.
I am starting to see a pattern with tennis “dad jokes.” The “out (of reach)” gag should be used a maximum of once per match. Additionally, the perpetrator needs to ensure that all players quickly understand that the call was made in jest.
