An engineer overthinks tennis in a daily journal.
I have previously observed that the word “grievance” is used a lot in the USTA League Regulations. I frequently cite this as evidence that something has gone terribly wrong with the spirit and intent of the league system. It is supposed to be fun. It is not supposed to be litigious.
Since formation of USTA League teams for 2022 is already in high swing, now is the perfect time to take an advance look at new rules which are expected to come into effect. The 2022 USTA League Regulations (apparently) have yet to be officially released. However, a draft document was circulated for review last June that is probably close enough for our purposes.
The ATP recently unveiled plans to modify medical timeouts for tour events. Since the announcement came in the same press release as the new bathroom break rules, it kind of got lost in the shuffle. Additionally, the ATP has not determined exactly when this new rule will be effective. The expectation is that it will come sometime in 2022.
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Last Wednesday we reviewed a new rule associated with toilet breaks that the ATP tour is implementing in 2022. It is a clear and direct response to the media coverage and backlash surrounding the toilet habits of Stefanos Tsitispas. Buried at the end of the ATP announcement of the rule, was an innocuous little sentence that the penalty for extended bathroom breaks are Time Violations.
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Last week the ATP Tour announced some new rules that will be put into effect for the 2022 season. While the Rulebook that reflects those updates has yet to be published, the organization issued a detailed press release outlining the changes.With all the attention and controversy on the bladder capacity of Stefanos Tsitsipas, it comes as no surprise that hard limits on toilet breaks have arrived.
The chair umpire has the right to overrule a line umpire or a net umpire if the chair umpire is sure that a clear mistake has been made.
I have a complicated relationship with the Fast4 scoring system. I like it when playing UTR tournaments as the shortened format enables completion of a three match tournament in a single day. I don’t like it for competitions where a significant number of the competitors had to get on a plane to get there. This week how the tiebreak format is handled at the #NextGenATP Finals was added to the mix.
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The #NexGenATP Finals is a veritable tennis Petri dish. Every year new rules are unveiled at the event to see how they work in practice. The players playing in the event this year profess that they are excited about the innovations. In related news, the young American stars in the same pre-tournament press conference believe that they will contend for Grand Slam titles in the near future. What else are they going to say in either case?
Just as line calling officiating positions have been sharply curtailed with the advent of HawkEye Live, the net umpire position has similarly been a victim of progress in technology. Nets at professional tournaments are equipped with sensors that inform the chair umpire when a service let is detected. When Hawk-Eye live is used, the let signal is fed directly into that system for an audible call.
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Tennis officiating is divided into quite a few sub-disciplines. At an event it is pretty typical have officials on site fulfilling various roles and responsibilities. The tournament referee is responsible for making sure the competition is fair. The referee is also responsible for ensuring the tournament is played under ITF rules of tennis in accordance with USTA Regulations.