The Rules of Tennis
Every Wednesday this site considers a rule from the ITF Rules of Tennis as published by the USTA Friend at Court. We are currently in the midst of a sequential march through the rules. Currently we are in Section 29, “Continuous Play.” Today’s topic is the Set Break.
At the end of each set there shall be a set break of a maximum of one
USTA Friend at Court, 29(a) excerpt
hundred and twenty (120) seconds. The maximum time starts from the moment that one point finishes until the first service is struck for the next point.
In adult competitive tennis it is fairly common for players to agree to forgo the set break when the first set ends with an even total game count. The general practice is to take the set break following the first game of the second set. After reviewing this section of the rules, I think I am going to start insisting on taking that set break as specified. It’s just the right thing to do.
I did once have an umpire chastise me and my singles opponent for taking a break after the first game of the second set taken under those exact conditions. Per the letter of the law, he was correct. The time from one break to the next is not transferable.
As we discussed last week in “Continuous Play: Set Breaks,” the time allowed for the change of ends is 90 seconds. Technically however, no break is allowed following the first game of the set. In practice, players tend to stop at the bench for water and a towel off following the first game. The only observable difference is the prohibition of sitting down at that juncture.
By my estimation, the break after the first game is rarely materially different in time from the others. I have never put a stop watch to it, but I do not detect a perceptible difference in the length of time taken between a set break and a normal game break in adult competitive tennis matches, either.
There is a pretty significant exception for those events which do tend to have a clock on the breaks. In other words, professionally umpired tennis competition.
Event organisers may apply for ITF approval to extend the ninety (90)
USTA Friend at Court, 29(a) excerpt
seconds allowed when the players change ends at the end of a game and
the one hundred and twenty (120) seconds allowed at a set break.
I have mentioned before on this site that I tend to favor the matches on outer courts during the early rounds of televised professional tournaments. Those matches are frequently streamed without the “benefit” of commentary. One side effect of that practice is that the entirety of the umpire pre-match instructions is audible.
It is fairly common for the umpire to ask the players to remain in their chairs until time is called. I am 99% sure that the request is made on behalf of event organizers who need the commercials to run without the television audience missing any live action.
Now that I know it is possible, I wonder how common it is for event organizers to request an exception. I suspect that it is quite rare. While an extended break would allow for more commercials, that would be at the expense of increasing the overall run length of the match which is bad for television.
One fundamental truth has become apparent to me during the sequential march through the rules this year. There are many of rules in tennis that are independent of actually playing the sport. I would lump game and set breaks into that category. A lot of the ballet of tennis does not involve swinging a racquet.
Referenced Sources
- United States Tennis Association (2020) Friend at Court. White Plains, NY
