Tanking the Warmup

One of my favorite aspects of writing this blog is that it opens the door for people to share their own tennis stories, which are fabulously entertaining and frequently provide me with new perspectives. Last weekend, after my first posts on the sportsmanship and etiquette of the cooperative warm-up in tennis, one of my readers reached out to share an experience. In short, he believes that one of his opponents deliberately “tanked” the warmup before a doubles match by consciously dialing it back to appear like he was the weaker link on the other side of the net. In doing so, he compromised the quality of the warmup for the player he was hitting with, which is similar to what I wrote about last weekend in “My Very Bitter Warmup Story.”

I’ve written before about the importance of using the warmup as a chance to scout the players across the net from you. If you haven’t played them before, this is where you can start to pick up on weaknesses, quirks, or tendencies that might shape your opening tactics. Even if you have played them a million times, you should still be collecting information about how they are performing on that particular day. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with hiding strengths during the warm-up or minimizing the display of your weaknesses. In fact, I’d argue that mastering the art of a smooth and consistent warm-up is an essential tennis skill for minimizing the insight your opponents can gather during those cooperative rallies.

Personally, I’m not a big fan of the idea that players should warm-up with their own partner in doubles. To me, that feels like wasting a prime and sometimes the only chance to gather intelligence on the opposition. I’d rather hit with the opponents and use that window for trying to suss out their strengths and weaknesses. In fact, if you have your warm-up routine polished to the point of being automatic, more mental energy can be spent scrutinizing the other side of the net instead of worrying about revealing too much of your own game.

It is an interesting question of whether it is unsportsmanlike or unethical to try to intentionally appear weak during the warmup. That would be of limited utility in singles, but could produce some semblance of an advantage in doubles if the other team noticed and elected to play the majority of the balls to the “weaker” player. Unless it deprives the opponents of a quality warmup, I don’t think intentionally masking skill crosses ethical or sportsmanship boundaries. Hitting loopy balls, dialing back your mobility, or avoiding certain shots might be fair play if you’re trying to plant a misleading impression. However, there is definitely a line that can be crossed.

Hearing my reader’s story reminded me of a similar incident I previously experienced. I once played a mixed doubles match where one of the women on the opposing team didn’t seem to grasp the basic flow of the warm-up and never came forward to volley, even after we specifically prompted her to come to the net. Naturally, my partner and I concluded that volleys were likely a source of personal embarrassment. After a few games, however, it became crystal clear that volleys were the strength of her game. We had been duped. However, she didn’t deprive us of a quality warm-up, so I can’t say she did anything fundamentally wrong. It was a strange mind game, though.

The warmup is both etiquette and strategy, a delicate balance of sportsmanship and gamesmanship. I’m curious to know where others stand on this particular nuance. Is intentionally tanking the warm-up a clever tactic, or is it a breach of good sportsmanship? What do you think? (And if you have any more stories, please provide those as well.)