That Mixed Up Guy at Mixed Doubles Mixers

It seems (well, perhaps more than frigging obvious actually) that if I am a member of a club long enough or go to enough Mixed Doubles Mixers, there is always, at least one guy who shows up for these mixers gunning for women at the net.

He seems to be rather new to tennis, yet quite aware of tennis etiquette, but I believe he tends to place "winning the mixer" up there with winning a state or regional tournament. It seems this guy has a grasp of the game, perhaps not his yet, but this usually doesn't tend to be a control issue. Perhaps this is a symptom of the Charles Atlas Getting Sand Kicked In His Face Syndrome, otherwise known to everyone as Post Traumatic CAGSKIHFS Stress Disorder.

This conduct may be understandable (tolerable) if a club is holding a mixer for players of the same rating (rarely the case - silly idea). Of course, take this Targeting Tammy tactic up to the 4.0 and 4.5 level and Little Jimmy may be chasing or eating tennis balls instead of munching on tacos and sipping margaritas at his little party.

Firstly, it is a social event, but secondly and more importantly, it is a mixer - players are all mixed up with people of different levels and then they get even more mixed up because half of the time they have no idea what to expect from their partners. It's supposed to be fun and often, at times, it is hilarious. Not because of one's level of play, but because of some of the situations and shots produced.

If my name is rolled out of the lottery tumbler, along with Bess Schotts and Lou Strings and I know they have game, yeah, I'm gonna kick things up a bit. And if my unlucky partner is of similar play-level, I expect Bess and Lou to go for it. If she's not, I hope they gun for my side of the court and take it easy on the player who also just inherited a handicap (me).

Unless I know my opponents in a mixer, I just try to play sound tennis until I figure out what's what and who can handle some heat.

Target me at the net. Go ahead, make this set easy.

If you see Little Jimmy doing this, you and a few others (get that consensus thing going) may want to have a chat with him, but please don't kick sand in his face - poor etiquette.

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