The Rules of Tennis
As we continue to work through the Rules of Wheelchair tennis, the final adaptation for delivery of the service presents a perplexing conundrum. While some wheelchair players can execute a conventional tennis serve, sometimes physical limitations make that action an impossibility. There is a rule adaptation that accommodates that situation.
If conventional methods for the service are physically impossible for a quad player, then the player or another individual may drop the ball for such a player and allow it to bounce before it is struck. If this is the case, the same method of serving must be used for the entire match.
The Rules of Wheelchair Tennis, (c.iii)
Lets break that down starting with “conventional methods for the service.” The ITF Rules of Tennis do not use the phrase “conventional methods” in describing the service motion, but it is probably a safe assumption that it is referring to the following paragraph in Section 16, The Service.
The server shall then release the ball by hand in any direction and hit the ball with the racket before the ball hits the ground. The service motion is completed at the moment that the player’s racket hits or misses the ball. A player who is able to use only one arm may use the racket for the release of the ball.
ITF Rules of Tennis, Section 16
Consequently, a conventional service motion involves releasing the ball by hand and hitting it before it strikes the ground. However, there is an adaptation built into the last line of this rule for players with use of one arm. In that case, the ball does not have to be released by hand and it is ok for the player to use the racquet for that purpose.
A Quad Wheelchair “Kick Serve”
After American Quad Wheelchair player Nick Taylor received a wildcard into the 2021 Australian Open, I zeroed in on him as my own personal rooting interest. It was a lucky break because his unique circumstances make a great backdrop for discussion of the service within The Rules of Wheelchair Tennis.
Taylor is somewhat famous for his “Kick Serve.” His standard service motion is to release the ball using his feet, essentially kicking the ball into the air and striking it before it bounces. Using the feet is not a mechanism that is explicitly allowed in the standard rules of tennis. However, he consistently uses it in competition, so that release mechanism adaptation is clearly allowed.
Bounce Serves
The next part of the wheelchair service rule that occurs during the service motion is that the ball is allowed to bounce. So while Taylor hits his toss before it bounces, he doesn’t have to. However, a player’s service motion has to remain consistent throughout the match. So every serve either has to be hit from the air or after a bounce.
Finally, if a player is unable to release the ball, another person can do that for them. The way the rule is presented, it kind of reads like the ball has to be allowed to bounce when released by another person, but I don’t think that is the actual intent. I suspect that the ball could be legally struck before bouncing in that scenario.
Presumably in doubles the player’s partner could release the ball for the server if the doubles partner is able to do so. Alternatively, an additional person could perform the service toss duties if that is necessary. I would find a non-competing designated ball tosser to be weird. I have yet to find a clip of the third party toss mechanism in action.
A Problem Begging to be Solved
That is where my engineering brain kicks in. It should be possible to create a technical solution for delivering a toss when a wheelchair player is unable to do so for themselves. I an envisioning some sort of vertical ball launch mechanism incorporated directly to the chair. When I first started thinking about the solution space, I was assuming that powered devices would be prohibited. However, Taylor uses a powered wheelchair in competition, so I don’t think that is a constraint.
This would be a great project for the engineering competition reality shows such as the PBS Kids “Design Squad” series. There were a couple of seasons of that show that ran when my kids were quite small and I am delighted to learn that new shows were being produced before COVID put everything on hiatus. I am dropping this post to them as a potential future project for an episode of the show.
Becoming a Fan of Quad Wheelchair Tennis
As a part of the research for this post, I wanted to double check the fact that Taylor uses his kick serve in competition. I was quite annoyed to discover that the recently concluded Australian Open matches for the wheelchair divisions are not available for on demand viewing on either ESPN or the Tennis Channel. Taylor’s first match that I stumbled across on YouTube was a doubles semi-final match from the Rio Paralympics in 2016.
Taylor used his kick serve throughout the match. While I had intended to watch only his first service game, I wound up getting sucked into the match and watching the full thing. The tactics of quad wheelchair doubles are very different from conventional tennis. The match was compelling and highly entertaining.
There have been a lot of discoveries along the way on this project. Since I knew very little about wheelchair tennis at the onset, I clearly had a lot to learn. The big surprise to me is how interesting and entertaining wheelchair tennis can be.
- United States Tennis Association (2021), Friend at Court: Handbook of Rules and Regulations, White Plains, NY
