Well said. I share your sentiments. Good point. It's a pity that WSX lost the chance to grab her third AE title under such unfortunate circumstances, but the manner in which she conducted herself immediately after the red card and during the prize presentation ceremony was commendable. Just as importantly, in that fateful match, WSX proved herself at least Nozomi's equal, if not better. What is somewhat disappointing to me is that so few expressed shock, dismay, or sympathy for WSX's misfortune, whatever the degree of blame she should bear. Had it been Nozomi, would the reaction be any different? However, what's done cannot be undone. It's now left to WSX to draw the right lesson from it and emerge wiser and stronger for the future. I wish her success in the Rio Olympics.
Deserving of serious consideration, particularly points 2 and 3; point 1 need further study and it may not be easy to implement (the umpire or service judge to use a stopwatch to keep time? Also nobody likes to do more work. If I'm not wrong something like this is implemented in tennis, though).
What's the big deal about Lin Dan's throwing his racquet at the shuttle (not anywhere else) incident. Lin Dan is well-known to be a maverick, all the umpires know it, the fans know it, everybody , in fact. And he often plays to the gallery, much to the delight of the spectators and viewers. That's why the said umpire was amused, even GC wasn't critical, and the crowd didn't react negatively. Because everybody knew his intention was purely to entertain, nothing else. It's the true intention that counts, not just the act itself. Had he flung the racquet in anger in somebody's direction or carelessly into the crowd, and it hit and/or hurt someone accidentally, then it's an entirely different story. Put it another way, it's unlike what JOJ once did recently after losing the match to Lin Dan - he smashed the racquet on the floor, bending it, and then kicked it into the audience. For that he was rightly red-carded by the umpire. A somewhat different case was Viktor Axelsen kicking his racquet into the air in frustration after losing a match (I forgot to whom) and the umpire let it go at that.
Look carefully, Lin Dan didn't throw the racquet with force, the way he threw it was not with arms raised but sideways, and it landed safely well within the carpeted area. Another point is he aimed it at the shuttle which happened to be falling near the far corner, if the shuttle was hit by THW to the middle of the court, Lin Dan's racquet would be aimed there and it would certainly land inside the court area, again safely.
Indeed,in the WSX - NO finale, the umpire's red card spoilt what would have been a near-perfect match. I was really enjoying every bit of it from the beginning until the red card incident ruined it all. Though NO was elated with the victory, I'm not sure how self-satisfied or what sense of achievement she really derived from it. I remember the time she beat LXR who was clearly not herself (some injury problem or something), NO at the post-match interview expressed no particular happiness from it. As an aside, the way LXR handed Nozomi a resounding defeat with a scintillating attacking game at the German Open last week was tellingly impressive despite inexplicably dropping G1 after a hefty lead. Yet many NO fans either choose to ignore or pretend not to know it, conveniently brushing it away as if it never happened.
well i dont usually taking side of chinese player, but i fell sympathetic to WSX last night. The referee too harsh on her when he giving the chance to okuhara to "re-tidying" her shoelace..
I think it is mostly because of the disrespect it shows. She is visibly just walking around...while her opponent is ready to serve and everyone waiting. If she had fallen, or tying her shoelace or even feign injury, then her opponent and everyone else knows it's break time and can take that time to towel down. But she's just walking around...while everyone waits in anticipation.
My reaction when I first saw the ruling was that it was a dumb move for WSX. Just a few rallies before she was given a yellow card for wasting a little time, and then she responds by wasting A LOT of time. it only made sense for the umpire to give out the red card. and for some reason, the camera caught the whole incident. which was quite remarkable. having the new ruling that line challenges are counted per game, she should've do what the tennis players do which is to just throw out a random challenge.
Wow to say WSX is disrespectful in this game is kind of harsh I think. She is "visibly walking" around because that's exactly what most players do when they are tired or trying to regain composure - no clear rules against this yet and it's up to the umpire's discretion. I remember HK Vittinghus made Tian Houwei served twice even when he seemed ready in the semi-finals but the umpire played let instead - not even a verbal warning or yellow card....hmm. Your part about her being guilty having to make everyone wait in anticipation is really grasping for straws. How dare her! Make the English audience wait! We paid good money! Ain't easy being a Chinese mainlander these days
The logic is simple. One is 'during play' in a match, the other is outside of play 'after' the match. The officials are responsible for the action on court during a match, where there are rules to guide them. After the match, they are not officially responsible.
this red card incident reminded me of how Wang Xin's career ended in London. this stop-wasting-a-second mentality must end. Otherwise another athlete's career will end.
On the point of time-wasting, as a general rule, the receiver should be ready when the server is ready to serve. The server is not expected to wait for the receiver to get ready. The umpire can caution the receiver for time-wasting.
I think opinions will be split among fans. There is no need to say it is right or wrong, but it is as always, interesting to listen to different people's take on it.
Agreed. It wasn't wise for her to provoke the umpire. Nozomi is just smarter with her tactic for time wasting. But that doesn't mean she didn't delay the game.
Shixian had a momentary lapse biting her nail and ignored/tuned out the warning then she unfortunately got a yellow. Then, she slacked again complaining about the shuttle and faced down the umpire hence she got a red card.
i'm positive lin dan is aware of the rule: the racket must be in your hand to score a point. it was pure light humor showmanship.
getting a yellow card during an All England Final for biting nails is probably not what the originator of the phrase "a nail biting match" had intended it to mean.
