This week, there was significant controversy in the first-round match between Coco Gauff and Laura Siegemund at the US Open. A dispute over the service shot clock enforcement erupted between the two players, who took turns complaining to the chair umpire. ESPN posted this clip of the debate that illustrated the drama.
In a nutshell, Gauff thought that Siegemund was taking too much time between points and was chapped that the chair umpire wasn’t calling time violations. On the other side of the net, Siegemund thought the chair umpire was starting the service shot clock too soon following the conclusion of each point.
The episode made me curious about the precise wording of the rule. Since this is the US Open, the Grand Slam Rulebook is the authoritative source for that information.
A maximum of twenty-five (25) seconds shall elapse from the moment the ball goes out of play at the end of the point until the time the ball is struck for the first serve of the next point.
2023 Official Grand Slam Rulebook, Chair Umpire Duties, Article III, Section J
That wording is precise and unambiguous. Unfortunately, it also does not reflect how the rule is currently implemented. I believe the divergence may have started during the resumption of play during the COVID-19 crisis when it was uniformly decided that ball kids would no longer handle the players’ towels. A little extra time between points was a sudden necessity.
Based on my sampling of matches yesterday evening, the umpires at the US Open this year consistently start the shot clock after announcing the score following each point. When the ball goes out of play, the crowd cheers. The chair umpire allows that noise to dissipate before announcing the score. Only then is the shot clock started. The crowd noise usually lasts perceptibly longer on the large stadium courts than on the outer ones.
Additionally, I have noticed that the chair umpires tend not to call service shot clock violations after the server has started their delivery routine. For Siegemund, her service motion seems to begin by staring down her opponent for a lengthy period of time. Perhaps she should consider bouncing the balls a few times before doing that. However, per the precise wording of the rule, the 25 seconds ends when the ball is struck rather than when the service motion is initiated anyway.
This is one of those rare situations where I think both players had a valid point. Gauff wanted the rule to be enforced strictly per the book, while Siegemund wanted the extra time typically allowed on a stadium court.
It is fascinating to find a rule that isn’t enforced as written. Perhaps it is time to consider updating the wording to align with current practice.
- 2023 Official Grand Slam Rulebook, International Tennis Federation, viewed January 1, 2023.
I do not think you should change a rule to fit current practice unless there are strong reasons to do so. Each player’s personal preparation to serve should be trained to fit the time allowed by the rule.
As an aside, I think a lot of this ‘change the rule to fit current practice’ is being done in many aspects of our lives these days.
During Wimbledon, it was noted by commentators during a Djokovic match, the Chair umpire was actually stopping the clock with about 10 seconds to go to give Djokovic more time.
Leaving the starting of the shot clock to the discretion of the Chair Umpire is open to abuse which is readily apparent.
Nadal once threatened a Chair Umpire, he would never umpire another of his matches after giving him a time violation… and the Chair Umpire never did.
Frequently, a first ‘time violation’ is awarded, never to be followed with a ‘loss of first serve’…. especially with the high profile players, it seems. If a time violation is called, there usually follows an argument between teh player and the umpire, causing more delay which I have never seen penalised.
One of the biggest causes of delay is the use of towels. It seems strange that players feel the need to towel down when receiving and often when their opponent has double-faulted! On the other hand, the server often downs’t need to use the towel between points….
It is about time the 25 second rule was enforced properly. Technology could be used to determine when exactly the previous point ended.