Brian Dimsho is a USTA certified official and the resident official of the Orange County Grand Prix.

by Caught acting up

Q: In my last match I received a point penalty for my first code violation. I am not saying that I should not have received a Code Violation for throwing my racket it did go very far. But I thought I should have received a warning before having a point taking away. When watching the Pros TV and they throw their racket they only receive a warning for doing the same thing I did whats the deal?

A: Will the 3 step Point Penalty System Point, Game, Default at the USTA Non-Professional level has been in effect for a few years now. It sounds like you got caught for a Racket Abuse which is a codeable offense and for the first offense you would have had a point penalty issued. Now at the the Professional level they act under a different set of Point Penalty Rules where the first offense is a warning, than a point, than a game for each other offense. It will be rare that you will see a Professional Player defaulted out under the Point Penalty System. Remember that Professional Tennis on TV is both entertainment, as well as both a physical and mental sport and it would not be good for a professional event to have a top player defaulted out of the event. So hang onto that racket next time. Brian