The USTA has made updates to the Point Penalty and Suspension Point System for 2023. A series of these modifications were released in this year’s edition of the Friend at Court and included in the “Summary of Important Changes” in the introduction to this year’s document.
This site has yet to cover the section of the Friend at Court where this series of changes occurs. To put a pin in the relevant locations, the first “Important Change” appears on page 105. In contrast, this site’s “steady march” through the Friend at Court is currently on page 28 of the 2023 print copy. In other words, this section is still in the very distant future for full treatment by this site.
USTA Regulations are documented in Part 3 of the Friend at Court. The first update comes in Section IV titled “Player Responsibilities and Conduct.” That section starts out with general requirements such as USTA membership, checking in at tournaments, and a general directive to follow “The Code” outlined in Part 2 of the “Friend at Court.”
The new change is in subsection “C” which is titled “Standards of Conduct.” It is essentially a treatise on the importance to maintain high standards of proper conduct, fair play, and good sportsmanship. It also outlines the obligation to avoid acts that may be considered detrimental to the game of tennis. The section then goes on to outline things that are detrimental along with the potential consequences of those actions.
In 2022, subsection 11 was titled “No abuse of players or officials.” In 2023, the entire section has been revised including a new title of “Unsportsmanlike conduct by player or person associated with player.” In fact, the phrase “player or person associated with player” turns up repeatedly in detailed pdf comparisons between the 2022 and 2023 versions. The vast majority of those are not reflected in the “Significant Change” section and are simply clarifications that the player is responsible and could be penalized for the behavior of their entourage.
The new text is significantly more concise and now reads as follows:
Unsportsmanlike conduct by player or person associated with player. A player who enters a sanctioned tournament or match consents to being penalized under the Point Penalty System and the USTA Suspension Point System for any unsportsmanlike conduct, including conduct by a person associated with the player. Persons who are unsportsmanlike may be asked by any member of the Tournament Committee or any official representative of the tournament to desist and/or to leave the tournament site, and must comply.
USTA Friend at Court 2023, Part 3, IV.C.11
While there were a lot of changes in this year’s Friend at Court, the editors flagged what the organization considered to be the most significant in the “Summary of Important Changes.” That includes that the penalties for unsportsmanlike conduct can result from not only the player but also from a person associated with a player. That nomenclature is now found throughout Part III, IV.C.
The previous (more lengthy) version of that paragraph from the regulations required that an official direct the person associated with the player to desist before assessing penalties. Previously penalties before the directive to desist were permitted, but only for flagrant violations. The official may still ask the person to desist and/or leave the tournament site at any time.
Next Wednesday I will attempt to cover the remainder of the items listed in the “Summary of Important Changes” highlighted in the forward of the 2023 USTA Friend at Court. Following that, I may take a cut at seemingly minor updates to the document that didn’t warrant a mention in that overview. After all, overthinking is the hallmark of this site.
