The Court is Lava: Suspending Play

There are provisions interspersed throughout the ITF Rules of Tennis and the USTA Friend at Court for suspending play when demanded by external conditions. In officiated matches, the decision on when to suspend play is at the discretion of the chair umpire or the referee. The rules are somewhat vague in defining the conditions under which a match may be suspended.

Play may be stopped or suspended at any time the chair umpire decides it is necessary or appropriate.
ITF Rules of Tennis Appendix VI (excerpt)

The words “necessary and appropriate” give officials a lot of latitude on suspending play. That is surely by design. Enumerating all the valid reasons would inevitably lead to protests when something new and previously unimagined emerges. If the competitors are not in agreement that the match needs to be paused, controversy will ensue.

The referee may also stop or suspend play in the case of darkness, weather or adverse court conditions. When play is suspended for darkness, this should be done at the end of a set, or after an even number of games have been played in the set in progress. After a suspension in play, the score and position of players on court in the match shall stand when the match resumes.
ITF Rules of Tennis Appendix VI (excerpt)

Darkness has unique conditions for suspending play. Nightfall is a predictable occurrence that increases gradually over time. As a result there are guidelines for suspending play when it is fair to both players/teams. There is also language that points suspension at natural breaks in the match.

I have a vague recollection from my junior days of a suspended match when the lights were switched off automatically at “closed hours” at a public park facility. More recently, I was involved at a match during USTA League Nationals when the lights failed to come on as dusk approached. In that case, the officials opened new balls for the matches still in progress. They were a little brighter than the balls that had been in play for a while.

The USTA League Regulations are silent on suspended play. League regulations do designate that a USTA Certified Referee or Umpire should be on site at all Championship Events. This is a fact that I mention because I have… a story. As so often is the case, that is a story for another day.

In local league matches played without an official present, it is tempting to assert that suspension of play is by mutual agreement of the players. Unfortunately, it is not terribly unusual that one player/team refuses to compete due to marginal playing conditions when the other wants to continue.

Adverse court conditions are usually (but not always) caused by weather. I once had a practice session disrupted by a swarm of bees. The same thing could easily happen during a sanctioned match. Any sort of debris, such as leaves, on the court could also force a non-weather related suspension in play.

One of my more memorable match suspensions occurred a few years ago at the Houston Senior Women’s National Clay Court Championships. A tornado warning sent all the players scurrying off the courts and into the locker room for shelter.

In celebration of that memorable event, here is a picture of the very same court I was playing on during the tornado warning suspension. This picture was taken yesterday morning… during a suspension in play.