[teewHettive]

Playing devil's advocate here.....I believe that these rules were put in place as folks have been harmed and/or nearly harmed before. Not all that frequently, of course. SO, as/if folks have been harmed before- why wait until someone gets hurt again? You smash a racquet or ball as a lines-kid is nearby and/or the racquet/ball goes out of control....

Still, a silly little fine is meaningless. If you're serious about this- then, I agree with Jessie, you have to do something substantive, like take away a point/game, or whatever.

I'm quite undecided about this- albeit, this subject doesn't exactly stir me one way or the other.

Well, I think that something should DEFINITELY happen if the opponent gets hurt. No question.

But if there's no chance that someone will get hurt, I don't see why there has to be any sort of fine or penalty. The racquet is the only thing that's "hurt."

Plus, like Kirkus said, fans (typically) like watching players smashing racquets.