What’s considered cursing and what’s not differs dramatically from country to country, as we’ve seen with such things such as the Oakland A’s unfortunate decision to run a “Rooted In Oakland” ad in Australia (where “rooted” means something very different). The latest example of a cross-country cursing communication collapse comes from the men’s tennis ATP Tour, where Russian player Karen Khachanov (seen above during a match Tuesday) was penalized during the second set of a second-round National Bank Open match in Toronto Wednesday for saying “shit,” and where he was rather confused by that penalty. Kenny Ducey has that video:
today in tennis, Russian Karen Khachanov has taken exception for getting a penalty for saying "shit."
"What do you mean it's a bad word? So if you go to the toilet, if you go to shit, it's a bad word? It isn't. And how do you say it another way?" https://t.co/zxgKt6b6gk
— Kenny Ducey (@KennyDucey) August 11, 2021
“What do you mean bad word, what is a bad word?” pic.twitter.com/2Rwokrkojh
— Kenny Ducey (@KennyDucey) August 11, 2021
While bears may shit in the woods, tennis players apparently can’t say shit on the court. (As we are not a member of the puritanical New York Mets’ beat, we will not be censoring shit.) And there’s maybe a wider conversation to be had about why cursing in English during a tennis match is apparently verboten. But for now, this wound up as a penalty. It didn’t hurt Khachanov, as he advanced with a 7-6, 6-4 win, but it did lead to an unusual moment.
[Kenny Ducey on Twitter]
