It appears that an initiative to install towel rails on tennis courts in the future could be met with criticism from some high-profile players on the tour.
At present players are given their towels between points by the ball kids. Although this method has come under fire in recent weeks following Fernando Verdasco’s fiery interaction with one ball kid at the Shenzhen Open. The Spaniard has received heavy criticism as he was heard shouting at the youngster and told him to be more faster in handing him his towel. Former Fed Cup captain Judy Murray wrote on Twitter ‘“What about a rule that makes players get their own towels?” in response to Verdasco’s actions.
https://twitter.com/doublefault28/status/1046024008532144131
The controversy has switched focus on the upcoming ATP Next Gen Finals in Italy. For the first time a towel rail will be used for players to get their own towel when required. Removing ball kids from the equation. In the past the tournament has been used to test out new ideas before they are implemented on the tour.
Should the towel rail become a permanent fixture on the ATP Tour, it may not go down too well with some players. 20-time grand slam champion Roger Federer has expressed his concern about the idea. Arguing that players will have less time to get ready between rallies. Under current rules, players are allowed a maximum of 25 seconds between points. Should they violate that, they are subjected to penalties from the umpire.
“I think the idea of having the ball kids bring it (the towel) to you is to speed up the points in between.” Federer said following his second round win at the Shanghai Masters on Tuesday.
“If now you’ve got a hook or a rail in the back, It’s like are you wasting extra three seconds of time each and every point?”
“Which doesn’t sound like a lot, but you add that over a five-hour match, next thing you know, you saw much less tennis.”
Former US Open finalist Kei Nishikori also expressed a similar viewpoint to that of Federer. The Japanese No.1 says players are already ‘struggling’ to keep within the time limit.
“Maybe I don’t prefer that one. Maybe that may take some time,” he said.
“Sometimes you have to rush for the point. You have to think about the point, next points. So it may be good for tennis, but I think some of the players struggling too.”
Respect the ball kids
When questioned by the media over Verdasco’s incident, 37-year-old Federer has stated that all players must ‘respect’ ball kids on the court. The world No,2, who was a ball boy during the 1991 Swiss Open, refrained from criticising his Spanish rival.
“Sure you always want to respect the ball kids for who they are and the great job that they’re doing,” Federer explained.
“But it’s not easy for each and every player to control their emotions exactly.” He added.
Whilst there was no criticism directed at Verdasco, Federer has insisted that ball kids must be given a positive environment to work in at tournaments. Citing his own experience during his youth.
“The ball kids are really important to us because they are also maybe the future of our game,” Federer stated.
“I was happy when I left a tennis tournament, I felt like, ‘oh man, it was just all good’.”
“There were no negatives, so you don’t want to have them leave feeling like, oh my god, like I was not appreciated or I was not liked or it was actually a horrible thing, you know?
“So yes, it needs to be taken care of.”
As things currently stand, the ATP has not publicly commented about the possibility of towel racks being used throughout the World Tour in the future.
