Tanking versus Trying
Russian tennis player, Nikolay Davydenko, was recently fined $2000 by the ATP Tour for "lack of effort." For Davydenko, who was already being investigated related to betting regarding a match he lost in Poland during the summer, it was another potential smudge against his reputation. How do you know when a playing is simply playing badly, tired or nervous versus when he or she is intentionally tanking a match? Clearly, it is a judgment
call as it was in this instance when the umpire warned Davydenko that he was not "trying hard enough." Ironically, during the same tournament week at another event, top seed, Anna Chakvetadze, was upset by Patty Schnyder in 39 minutes 6-1 6-0 committing 44 unforced errors during the match. I'm not suggesting that Davydenko or Chakvetadze was tanking, but merely trying to illustrate how hard it can be to discern the difference. I didn't actually see any of the Davydenko match either, but I have played and watched thousands of tennis matches during my lifetime. Sometimes, I've been amazed at how badly a "good player" can perform and also watched players "lose it" at times during a match. Therefore, it seems as if there must be very careful review of matches before a player is accused of tanking. A tennis player's professional reputation is at stake every time he or she sets foot on the court and it should remain in his or her hands what happens to it.
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