The effect of ball boys is completely underrated. If there were no ball boys present in the 2007 Wimbledon final, do you think Federer would’ve had the energy to overcome the youthfulness of Nadal? If there were no ball boys how do you think the female tennis players would be able to wipe the sweat of their foreheads after every match? I doubt they would make the trip to their seats just to get a towel each point.
It would help if after every match the umpire made the crowd acknowledge the work of the ball boys. During Wimbledon 2011, I heard the commentator say “The biggest compliment you can give a ball boy is if you say that you didn’t even notice them.” I think this is complete bollocks, if a ball boy puts 100% effort into making sure both players have enough balls to serve with & that the players always have a good supply of water, how can saying “oh I didn’t even know you were there” be a compliment. It’s more of an insult.
I would love to see a ball boy ask a player to say please before fetching his towel. What would happen then? It’s not a compulsory obligation that every ball boy should be a players slave. It would help if the players were a bit kinder to ball boys. What sort of example is it setting to the younger generation? If you’re treating ball boys like trash then they are going to copy.
We also shouldn’t underestimate the work ball boys put in every match. These guys are on their feet for 3 hours on average. How many of you can watch a match 3 hours nonstop and don’t lie. The probable answer is none. Imagine having to run nonstop for 3 hours? This is what the ball boys do, & I think it is excellent.
