Changing the rules - Innovation in tennis
Unique
scoring system to be outlined at the season ending tournament in Milan
A
tennis match doesn't always keep the audience entertained enough. Sometimes the
matches can last for up to 5 hours and there is a growing amount of people
arguing that this longevity takes away the enjoyment of a tennis match.
However, most tennis fans still prefer
the traditional scoring system and are strongly against any major rule changes
in the sport. Whatever your preferences are, major innovations plans have been
announced for this year's November and it remains to be seen whether it will be
a success or not.
Namely,
the governing body of men's tennis, the ATP, has announced a series of rule
changes and innovations that are going to be used at the Next Gen ATP Finals in
Milan this November. The season-ending tournament will see the world’s top
21-and-Under players compete for total prize money of US$ 1.275 million from
7-11 November. Nevertheless, no ATP points will be on offer. It will
take place on a singles-only court, featuring the best seven qualified
21-and-Under players of the season, plus one wild card.
The
rule changes are aimed at creating a fast paced and TV-friendly product. They
are focused more towards attracting new and younger fans into the sport, but at
the same time trying to keep the sport’s traditional fan-base.
Here
are the changes that will be applied:
-
Shorter Format: First to Four games sets (Tie-Break at
3-All),
Best-of-Five sets, with No-Ad scoring
- Shorter Warm-Up (5 minutes only)
- Shot Clock (to ensure strict regulation of the 25-second rule between points, as
well as during set breaks (1 min), and Medical Time-Outs)
- No-Let Rule ( will result in more fun and unpredictable points)
- Medical Time-Outs (A limit of 1 medical time out per player per match)
- Player Coaching - Players and coaches will be able to communicate at certain points in
the match. However, coaches will not be allowed on-court.
Many people are already claiming that this
changes and innovation will ruin the sport and take away the fun of the game,
as we know it. Do you agree or disagree with this statement? Do you think tennis
would become more or less popular if the rules get applied to all the tournaments
in the future?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8aSVpiBTSI ( short video explaining the rules)
I think that it is good trying to make changes to the sport to make it more attractive to young people, and this way keep a good number of tennis players around the world. However, in my opinion this changes they are proposing will make tennis a different sport, and I don't think that professional tennis players will be willing to apply them. We will have if this changes are applied, and in which way they are applied to not change the game completely from one day to another.
ReplyDeleteOriol Pujadas Fonayet
Thank you for your comment. As you said, "the changes they are proposing will make tennis a different sport. "I completely agree with this statement. Tennis is a sport in which a lot of emphasis is put on tradition and small changes are usually met with criticism and sometimes controversy like what happened in the draw ceremony for the Milan tournament. As a big tennis fan, who has followed the sport for more than 10 years I hope these changes will not get applied anytime soon.
DeleteBest regards,
Petar
I believe that chaining the time to a shorter format could help to gain more audiences. For example, as we have seen in class in cricket the reduction of the matches helped to reach the attention of the people as well as increasing the audiences. Nevertheless, changing the rules may affect the essence of the sport, tennis in this case and can have bad reputation. In my opinion, shorting the time could be a good implementation, but not changing the rules.
ReplyDeleteMireia Aymar.
Thank you for your response Mireia. Yes, like cricket, tennis has been critized at times for the matches taking too long to finish. By shortening the format and therefore the length, this may attract more audiences in the long run, especially the younger generation. We will see the feedback from the tennis world when the Milan tournament ends which may give us a hint if these rules will actually carry on or be forgotten.
DeleteBest regards,
Petar
I guess shorting the game duration can benefit to earn new audiences but it will not be approve by the fans. In my opinion, seeing the players struggle physically and mentally during hours is part of the legendary games ! I'm afraid this new rule will take away this dimension. However, I think that shorting the time between points and the number of medical time-outs can contribute to the fluidity of the game.
ReplyDeleteAllan Papadopoulos
Totally agree with you
DeleteThank you for your reply Allan. The mental and physical struggle is a big part of the game. If you take that out, it takes away a lot of the fun and battle out of the matches which is quite essential. Like you, I am against most of these new rules but I also understand the innovation desire from the governing bodies to try and experiment a bit.
DeleteLet's see how it unfolds.
Best regards,
Petar
I have to admit, I am not a big time fan of tennis. But I am aware of the risk in every sport, the worst is indeed injuries. And I think these new rules put players healt in danger. Especially Shorter warm-up and Medical Time-out. Because all these new rules will shorter the game by what ? 20min ? It will still be a 2-3 hours game, and such a small time to warm up added to the fact that in case of problem, you can only call the doc' one time ? I think it put the players wealth in danger !
ReplyDeleteGuillaume Picard
Thank you for your response Guillaume. Interesting point of view about the shorter warmup and the medical timeout implications. It remains to be seen how will people react to these new rules now that the tournament has come to an end oficially (yesterday)
DeleteBest regards,
Petar
This typeof format could engage more audience but I believe that tennis fans want to see real tennis. 🎾
ReplyDeleteMajority of tennis fans and players actually are not that excited about these rules. Nevertheless, it could potentially engage more audiences but more so the one that either watch tennis sometimes or have never watched it before.
DeleteThanks,
Petar
Well, I don't like tennis I prefer football. But I think in all the sports the injuries is a problem. Nowadays n most sports, health is taken care of to the maximum and an attempt is made to reduce the risk of injury, either through nutrition or through training. If this reduced the time that a game lasts it would seem perfect since I think it is a long time and the legs and arms suffer enough.
ReplyDeleteAitor Salinas
Thank you for your response. Injuries are a part of all sports and tennis is no different unfortunately. Accordingly, the reduced time could very well decrease the amounts of injuries players get during the season which is very long and demanding (only 2 moths of rest during the year). In this case, the new rules could prove to be quite beneficial actually and is one of the key arguments why the rules should get implemented eventually.
DeleteBest regards,
Petar