The hidden hierarchy of tennis practice courts: I was back in the park, smelling the weed'

"On a cool Wednesday afternoon before the US Open last year, Daniil Medvedev and Alexander Zverev were busy fine-tuning their games in an intense practice set at Louis Armstrong Stadium. Danielle Collins and Christian Harrison, semi-finalists in the mixed doubles tournament, were scheduled to take their place at the hour and the American pair duly arrived a couple of minutes before their allotted slot."

"Medvedev and Zverev were clearly desperate to continue playing for a little longer, but their court time had run out. The pair began to sheepishly deliberate over whether to attempt to play another game, even lining up on the baseline again, and they still occupied the court past the hour. Finally, they admitted defeat, allowing Collins and Harrison, who had been standing quietly on the sidelines, to begin."

"Although tennis players happily train with their rivals throughout the year, the practice court can also be a source of friction. Some players are particularly irritated when some of their colleagues inconsiderately extend their practice sessions past their scheduled court time. An unwritten rule in professional tournaments around the world: do not hog the practice court. Many people shrug off poor timekeeping from their peers, but for others this is a cardinal sin."

At a US Open practice session, two top players briefly overstayed their allotted court time, delaying their scheduled opponents. Practice-court schedules at professional tournaments typically allocate fixed slots and foster expectations of punctuality. Some players express frustration when colleagues extend sessions beyond the hour, viewing poor timekeeping as inconsiderate and a serious breach of etiquette. An unwritten rule across tournaments discourages hogging courts. Some competitors tolerate minor overrun; others treat timekeeping violations as a major transgression. Young players report reluctance to confront offenders, while established players say they monitor and avoid exceeding their own allotments.

Read at www.theguardian.com