{"id":8490,"date":"2017-02-08T20:12:07","date_gmt":"2017-02-08T20:12:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.playyourcourt.com\/?p=8490"},"modified":"2017-02-08T20:15:38","modified_gmt":"2017-02-08T20:15:38","slug":"tennis-player-sends-umpire-to-hospital-is-tennis-in-trouble","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.playyourcourt.com\/news\/tennis-player-sends-umpire-to-hospital-is-tennis-in-trouble\/","title":{"rendered":"Tennis Player Sends Umpire To Hospital – Is Tennis In Trouble?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tennis is a gentleman's game. It always has been and it always will be. But, wait a minute. Is it? Will it always be? Long gone are the days of playing in long pants\/skirts and wearing all white (save for Wimbledon.) With this progress, the stale air of elitism that shrouded the sport for generations is melting away.<\/p>\n

Is this really a good thing? Most would say yes. It is. Tennis has allowed personality into the sport, and marketers, for one, adore it. John Mcenroe paved the way with his on-court outbursts. Andre Agassi rode his bad-boy image all the way to millions of dollars in endorsement deals and opened tennis up to a larger audience.<\/p>\n

It would be hard to argue that tennis has been hurt by taking the audience out of the country clubs and into the masses. But... tennis has lost something.<\/p>\n

It has lost what separated it from all the other sports. It is no longer a gentleman's game. Tennis is on a slippery slope, and if it doesn't reign in its image, it's decline will be swift. The same personality that attracted new viewers is in danger of chasing them away just as quickly.<\/p>\n

In a quest for social media followings the younger generation of players are kicking sand into the eyes of the sport that gave them their platform. These days tennis news is as much about the greatness of its top players as it is the nonsensical suspensions, fines and other scandals that its players are bringing upon not only themselves, but the image of the game.<\/p>\n

\"nick_kyrgios_drop_shot\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Nick Kyrgios is the perfect example. His countless childish outbursts and corresponding punishments have undoubtedly altered the career trajectory of what is sure to be the game's greatest young talent. His millions of fans are grossly outnumbered by the millions that would rather change the channel to watch curling than watch another of his meltdowns.<\/p>\n

I wish that Kyrgios was the lone black spot in the game, but we are seeing more and more of it. He wasn't the first, and surely isn't the last. Serena Williams, the greatest female player of all time, will also always be remembered for berating linesmen and umpires.<\/p>\n

This past weekend, in the first round of the Davis Cup, tennis reached a new low.<\/p>\n

Playing in the final match of a first round tie against Great Britain, 17-year-old Canadian phenom, Denis Shapovalov, missed a backhand. Rather than taking a deep breath and going to the towel, he aimlessly blasted a ball towards the stands.<\/p>\n

This would have been an issue in and of itself, but the real issue is that the umpires face got in the way. The umpire was taken to the hospital, and Shapovalov was promptly disqualified from the match. This handed the Canadiens a 3-2 loss in the Davis Cup, and a major setback for what promises to be one of the game's brightest young talents. Have a look:<\/p>\n