Silence before a tennis serve is just plain polite

The French Open is underway once more and, in addition to the expected high-quality tennis and the odd controversy, there is the usual bugbear of the yahoos that insist on calling out encouragement just as players are winding up to serve.

Tennis is one of the very few professional sports where silence is the norm during regular play. Interestingly, there is no actual requirement for silence in the official rules. But there is very much a tradition and an expectation that fans will quieten down well before a serve, and, in general, during play. Of course, there will always be occasions where crowds let out an involuntary gasp or even a shriek of surprise during a particularly intense point, if they just can't help themselves. 

But, in the main, it is seen as a matter of respect that the crowd will maintain some composure and decorum while the players are in action. The umpire's long suffering "S'il vous plaît" or "The players are ready" attests to that. And no-one blinks twice if a player occasionally has a hissy fit at a thoughtless audience member taking too long over finding their seat, or heckling unnecessarily.

I've never understood, though, the mentality of those so-called fans who insist on calling out as a player is concentrating on preparation of a serve, up to and even past the reasonable cut-off time. Maybe they are just caught up in the drama of it all and can't help themselves. But I think some of them genuinely believe that their last second yell of encouragement will help their player, rather than put them off (or piss them off), as though their personal contribution is crucially needed to turn the game around. They really seem to be vying with each other to get the last inane yell in, the last name call, the last stupid little song.

These days, you do see players actively encouraging crowds, courting and orchestrating the applause (Nick Kyrgios takes this to extremes). But I have a suspicion that their intense concentration leading up to a serve effectively blocks out any sound at all, so all those "Allez!" and "Let's go!" calls are probably wasted. Clearly, top players can't afford to allow themselves to get distracted or annoyed at that point.

Anyway, official rule or no official rule, I wish those people would just stop (or be ejected), if for no other reason that that it annoys ME.