The Rules of Tennis
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?
In case you aren’t up to speed on the alternate rules previously used at the #NextGenATP Finals, here is a short list:
• First-to-4, Best-of-5 Set Matches
• No-Ad Scoring
• Free Fan Movement
• Live Electronic Line Calling
• Shot Clock
• Video Review
• Towel Racks
It is interesting to note how many of these things have already transitioned to the ATP tour in the post Covid era. I would contend that Hawk-Eye Live, the shot clock, and towel racks are good innovations but adoption of two of those things probably had more to do with the pandemic than previous use at the #NextGenATP Finals. However, it was probably beneficial for the tour to have some experience with it before pressing those things into action.
This year’s #NextGenATP Finals will see some additional new innovations in the rules. Would it really be the #NextGenATP Finals without shaking things up a little bit? Here is a rundown of non-standard tennis rules that are in effect at the event this year.
• Shorter Warmups: Down from 4 minutes to 1. Less down time, more action.
• Courtside Coaching: Coaching opened up from the side-lines. No more headsets.
• Net Cams: Your front-row seat, right at the heart of the action.
• Limited Medical Time-Outs: One per player per match.
• Timed Bathroom Breaks: Max 3 minutes (+ up to 2 for change of attire). Clock’s ticking.
I am kind of interested to see how a 1 minute warm-up will work in practice. Cooperative warm up between competing players is a unique to tennis. At the professional level, the real warm up occurs away from the assigned court. If this rule ever gets adopted at the tour level, it will end as soon as one of the “Big 3” pulls a hammy in the first game following that abbreviated warmup.
Medical time-outs are a luxury at the tour level where a player can get a full body massage on demand. The reason why tennis has medical time-outs is because event organizers want to keep players on the court for the entirety of the match. They say it is for the fans who bought tickets, but probably has more to do with the opportunity to run a commercial at every changeover. Elimination or reduction of the medical time-outs would probably increase defaults. As much as I hate the momentum breaking dubious time-out in tennis, I don’t think that changing the rule would be good for the sport.
As for the timed bathroom breaks.. “Grand Slam Bathroom Breaks” pretty much already covered that territory.
- #NextGenATP Stars Excited About Milan Rule Innovations, ATP Staff, ATP Press Release, November 7, 2021.
- Young American Tennis Stars Say They Will Contend For Grand Slam Titles In Near Future, Adam Zagoria, Forbes, November 7, 2021.
