Next Gen ATP Finals

Bob in Spain · Tennis legend

Next Gen ATP Finals

Oakland2002 · All-time great

They play no lets in men's college tennis to stop cheating with limited to officials, seems to work well. No break in momentum

blob · All-time great

20/20 cricket comes to mind (or perhaps, uncharitably, the Intertoto cup).

I'm OK with no lets, reduced warm ups and the MTO limit. Just play the game.
Shot clock should be in discreet operation already, per the umpire, but not some sideshow for the crowd to gawp at.
Coaching has generally failed on the WTA experiment, the only interest is when it's awful or fractious to generate some artificial 'drama' that distracts generally from the actual tennis. The occasions when it has proved useful or insightful are vanishingly few.

But sport is almost all headed down the WWE route slowly. Artificial dramas and off field stories are much easier to manage than on field performance, and then easier in turn to sell as packages with built in 'hype'.
I fear this may be the thin end of tennis' wedge. It may not, but in 15 years, we will look around and realise that this, or something like this, started the trickle that eventually broke in to full flood, and devalued the actual game, in the way 20/20 has to test cricket.

The Optimist · ATP qualifying

A lot of junior tennis in this country is already played under these rules plus the Grade 3 'British Tours', the stated aim being to make it easier for parents to schedule the time for their kids to compete. Very few find it as satisfying as the full format though. Beginners (adult and junior) have an even more simplistic option. Play tie-break formula for x minutes and the winner is whoever is ahead at the end.

Wakey · Junior player

I hate the shorter sets idea. The best tennis matches are the ones that are a real battle and first to 4 just seems like it reduces the chance of that. If a player gets a slow start the first set can be over in no time and it could very well mean the match is over before the player finds their feet.

No-lets I'm fine with, it actually adds another element to the process of returning because if you start so far behind the baseline and it's a let you are never getting to it. As such it may also lead to more aggressive tennis on the return as they are going to need to start higher up the court rather than staying deep and just keep pushing it back waiting for the opponent to make a mistake

No Advantage I'm split on. I can see why they may want to do that from a watching pov but it seems like it makes it even easier for the big servers because they are going to be able to pick their strongest side and some players are almost unreturnable on one side.

Shot clock is a good idea especially a visible one. Just looking at Nadal right now it can seem that he is given special treatment to get away with taking longer than others who get warnings and a visible shot clock make things clear to everyone.

Limited medical timeouts seems a little unhealthy, might work in this 4 match set version but I couldn't see it working in a 6 game, 5 set match as its perfectly possible you could have more than 1 injury that needs treatment through a course of a match. If the medical team can keep a player competitive so the match can be completed its better than leaving the player no choice but to retire

The Optimist · ATP qualifying

It's the receiver who picks sides under no-ad rules. I've seen quite a bit of tennis played under these rules (juniors and full-set-no-ad college) and it is a lot less satisfying to watch. With the short sets, one break and you're done. No-ad, as in dubs just seems to be a 'lucky point' and the drama of deuce/ad/deuce/ad is often the most absorbing part of a game.

Sim · County player

Any trials that do actually increase the attendance have to be positive, but takes some time to show an increase, and can always have different formats in different competitions (just as in cricket)

Re the net rule I have never understood the logic of replaying a point on serve but not if later in the point, when on a lot of occasions the net has clearly influenced the result, so yes stop calling net on serves.

Another (small) time consuming issue is players examining multiple balls before deciding which one to use. They should just play with the ball they are given, it will all even out over the course of a game.

Also toilet breaks, has anyone analysed the percentage of times that a toilet break is taken by a player who has just lost a set? I suspect it is 80%+. Why not just have pre-arranged 5 minute break after set 2 (and set 4 for 5 set matches). Would also help spectators plan their own breaks, and then if wanted can have some pre-arranged other entertainment set up for the break. If a player has a medical issue then they can inform the umpire before-hand.

The Optimist · ATP qualifying

In days of yore, the nets were of a different make-up and ball weights were different resulting in balls clipping the net frequently being 'dead' balls and dropping straight down the other side. If it happened on serve and the point never got going, it presumably seemed logical to re-take the serve. These days it is often only the beep of the net machine which indicates a serve has clipped the net so the initial reasons for the let on serve are now redundant. Men's tennis (but not women's) in US college has played several years without using let on serve (mainly because receivers who couldn't get a racquet on a fine serve simply called it a let!) and there has been no adverse effect on the matches at all.

Jan · Hall of fame

Some of these I could live with - no lets, clocks, reduced warm up.
However, to me shorter sets, MTB's, no-ads just are not tennis. The whole "win by 2 clear points" system is a basic part of tennis scoring and shouldn't be tampered with any further in my opinion.

indiana · Tennis legend

No ad is certainly what I have most problem with re this and current doubles. They can experiment all they like ( and more generally fair enough ) but I will never take to that. It is a great part of current scoring as players strive to get that extra point to win often very important games while the opposition endeavour to keep it going and turn the tide. So much can be encapsulated in a deuce / ad battle.

I have never had anything like as much of an issue re MTBs though ideally I prefer normal final sets. I can understand trying to shorten expected playing times whether at pro doubles level or your local tennis centre. And that is a far more certain and effective way of doing that than no ads, which I question how much you benefit timewise against so horrifically ( to my mind ) changing such fundamental game scoring. Lose one set out of two and you know you're in a MTB, that's your problem, now deal with the MTB, and the MTB itself while of course generally much less clear than a normal third set is not as much of a lottery as some suggest, does at least retain the win by two clear points principle on balanced serve and return, and can be exciting and nothing ultimately wrong with that in itself.

Jaffa · Challenger level

How is everyone finding this?
For me some have worked some havent:

No lets NO - its a lottery. Shorter guys hit more lets, leave it.
Deuce NO - again a lottery.
Coaching NO - Just no, its a 1v1 battle, its terrible on WTA.
Shot clock YES YES YES - love this, I dont want to watch 10 replays of a point or watch Nadal scratch his behind. Perfect.
Shorter warm ups YES - a little gripe of mine is tjatmatches scheduled to dry at say 10
Start at 10:15.
Hawk eye all lines YES - I thought Id hate this but I think its better, again, no messing about, get on with the Tennis.

Oakland2002 · All-time great

No let's ... yes great idea stops cheating..... I am slightly predujiced against short people as they give me back and neck ache, but how many let's go in? I mean let's make it fairer my next suggestion would be the height of the net should be proportionate to the player hitting the shot and goes up and down between shots and similarly racket length should be restricted in taller players just to make life fairer. Nope

No Deuce Absolutely not! it's a fundamental part of tennis .... bit like baseball on the 3-2 pitch one more strike and your out, keep fouling the ball off you stay in the game and wear out the pitcher for later.

Coaching really don't care

Shot clock yep!

Shorter warm up OK as long as we don't see more injuries and the players feel their bodies are ready to play

Hawk eye YES YES

Etienne · Club Coach

Tournament draws with models having to take off clothing to reveal the players position - No No No.

Vandenburg · Futures level

Etienne wrote:
Tournament draws with models having to take off clothing to reveal the players position - No No No.

What exactly is your problem, this is common place in Italy, is part of their culture, remember this is a nation that elected silvio berlusconi numerous times to head office.

When you go to other people's cultures, you need to respect their ways, just like how in Arab countries women cover up.

I'm not saying I hate suffragettes, but feminists these days get upset about anything. Many female athletes from a range of sports in Arab countries are forced to wear full on clothes covering up to play sport or banned outright, is ludicrous, but yet you never see feminists getting upset about it.......

In year a when we have a female Dr Who, and mps are resigning over touching a knee, i'm lost for words in what is political correctness gone mad.

-- Edited by Vandenburg on Thursday 9th of November 2017 01:32:58 PM

Etienne · Club Coach

Nice try.