DOES TENNIS NEED BIG RULE CHANGES?

Markus Kaila

Markus Kaila

Rookie
Tennis and new rules

The best idea is this: Services would be allowed from a level with the shoulder at the highest. That was in use in the very beginning of tennis. The overhead serve was unknown. Back to the roots. Players are much taller nowadays!

My 2nd best proposal is smaller service courts like this:

My 3rd best idea "to slow down the game" is to paint service boxes of hard courts with rougher sand paint than the rest of the court. Then slowing would concern only a little while when serving (exactly before returning!). Nothing eise would change but the returner could get hold of the fast serve more easily.

My 4th idea would be to move the service line in the direction of the net with 1 yd. The old service line would be retained for recreational players and women.
 
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beard

beard

Hall of Fame
Some rule changes I would suggest:

- ohbh players should start each game with 15:0 advantage... Beautiful ohbh starts with 30:0 advantage...

- Laver cup to be 5th slam, retroactively

- Dirt is not a surface, ban it from calendar, erase all results retroactively

- frame touch which launches ball on upper part of stadium should be considered winner

- 40:15, with two match point, is auto win... No need for another point...
 
G

Greatgatsby

Professional
I think the rackets and strings need to be pushed back to the 1980 rules. Wilson should resurrect the original Pro Staff racket that Andrea Jaeger used back in 1980 to reach the semifinals of the US Open. That way one can take advantage of the graphite but not oversized head size/sweet spot. The strings should limited to gut.
 
ollinger

ollinger

G.O.A.T.
People have advocated for eliminating the second serve entirely, my proposal is a compromise that would to some extent preserve the second serve but add a new level of strategy to the game: in each service game, the server gets one (maybe two) chances to hit a second serve, at his choice when missing a first serve. Do you use it if you're at 0-15, do you save it for deuce, do you use it at your-ad or save it if needed when down a break point. Would add some thinking to this monotonous game.
 
UnderratedSlam

UnderratedSlam

Hall of Fame
Nooooooooooooooooo.

Those are dumb rule changes. Altering the size of courts and balls are too drastic, you're basically saying let's create a new racket sport that RESEMBLES tennis.

No.

Eliminate second serves!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

By far the dumbest rule in tennis is giving ATP pros an additional chance to whack a 500 mph winner.
 
Markus Kaila

Markus Kaila

Rookie
ollinger said:
People have advocated for eliminating the second serve entirely, my proposal is a compromise that would to some extent preserve the second serve but add a new level of strategy to the game: in each service game, the server gets one (maybe two) chances to hit a second serve, at his choice when missing a first serve. Do you use it if you're at 0-15, do you save it for deuce, do you use it at your-ad or save it if needed when down a break point. Would add some thinking to this monotonous game.
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When you are playing tennis you cannot think mathematics all the time!
 
B

BorgTheGOAT

Hall of Fame
People here advocating for banning second serves are talking as if the big servers Isner, Karlovic etc. were ruling the tennis world and winning slam after slam. None of them has ever won a slam nor was one of them ever ranked in the top five. Please let’s not get carried away and pretend that there are some drastic rule changes needed to save tennis from the dominance of big servers.
 
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junior74

junior74

G.O.A.T.
Winners should not be allowed. Tennis should be about hitting back and forth until one guy is more exhausted than the other. Errors should be disciplined, not only with point loss but electrocution, so we can see more gruelling rallies in the centre of the court. The serve should be hit inside a circle on the middle of the court, to secure an easy return.

Fitter, happier, a patient better driver.
 
dr325i

dr325i

Legend
Markus Kaila said:
Tennis and new rules

The best idea is this: Services would be allowed from a level with the shoulder at the highest. That was in use in the very beginning of tennis. The overhead serve was unknown. Back to the roots. Players are much taller nowadays!

My 2nd best proposal is smaller service courts like this:
Click to expand...
1) Yes, you can pull money from your 401k at the age of 37
2) If your touch your behind or/and your front, you must wash your hands (all within 25 sec current rule).
 
Markus Kaila

Markus Kaila

Rookie
Username_ said:
all hail the underarm serve
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I meant the shoulder(-level) serve. It is not much more difficult than hitting a high bouncing ball from the backcourt. Of course the service line compared to the baseline is a problem when serving. Marginals to get a ball over the net but into the service court are smaller.
 
StANDAA

StANDAA

Legend
tennis needs so many changes

besides the NextGen problem (they suck, everyone plays the same brand of tennis, too much social media, etc.), what they can actually change: tennis needs to go back to when it was 15 years ago, fast courts where fast courts should be, more variety in court speed in general, Masters finals and WTF final Bo5, Wimby and AO should go back to the old fifth set rule, and ffs don’t make any new rules. If there are people dumb enough to actually compare eras and throw around the GOAT term, tennis needs to be played under the same conditions and rules.
 
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BH40love

BH40love

Rookie
StANDAA said:
tennis needs so many changes

besides the NextGen problem (they suck, everyone plays the same brand of tennis, too much social media, etc.), what they can actually change: tennis needs to go back to when it was 15 years ago, fast courts where fast courts should be, more variety in court speed in general, Masters finals and WTF final Bo5, Wimby and AO should go back to the old fifth set rule, and ffs don’t make any new rules. If there are people dumb enough to actually compare eras and throw around the GOAT term, tennis needs to be played under the same conditions and rules.
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I love this all of what you said I agree with. Fast courts are needed the baseline bashing is one dimensional
 
Markus Kaila

Markus Kaila

Rookie
BH40love said:
I love this all of what you said I agree with. Fast courts are needed the baseline bashing is one dimensional
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I agree, fast courts are OK but returning could still be easier. My 3rd best idea "to slow down the game" is to paint service boxes of hard courts with rougher sand paint than the rest of the court. Then slowing would concern only a little while when serving (exactly before returning!). Nothing eise would change but the returner could get hold of the fast serve more easily.
 
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Dartagnan64

Dartagnan64

Legend
BorgTheGOAT said:
People here advocating for banning second serves are talking as if the big servers Isner, Karlovic etc. were ruling the tennis world and winning slam after slam. None of them has ever won a slam nor was one of them ever ranked in the top five. Please let’s not get carried away and pretend that there are some drastic rule changes needed to save tennis from the dominance of big servers.
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Big servers aren't dominating because they slowed down the ball and the courts to clay levels to compensate. If you eliminate the effect of big serves you could bring back faster courts, lower bounces and maybe, just maybe, the serve and volley game.

My personal opinion is that tennis would be more interesting with one serve only, max racket frame size of 90 sq inches (110 allowed for senior 55+ events), and all lets are played. Just those three things would change the game to reduce the impact of the first serve and allow us to speed the courts up again.
 
BHud

BHud

Hall of Fame
Markus Kaila said:
Tennis and new rules

The best idea is this: Services would be allowed from a level with the shoulder at the highest. That was in use in the very beginning of tennis. The overhead serve was unknown. Back to the roots. Players are much taller nowadays!

My 2nd best proposal is smaller service courts like this:
Click to expand...
You must be a pusher without a threatening serve...improve it, don’t cry about your lack of firepower!
 
SaintPetros

SaintPetros

Hall of Fame
Graphite & Gut only & no more bazookas or phoenix feather strings - no exceptions. Get rid of molasses courts while you're at it.
 
kramer woodie

kramer woodie

Professional
Yes, it is definitely necessary to change the rules of tennis for people who can not play tennis, worth a d.. under the current rules!!!!

Shalom
 
B

blablavla

Hall of Fame
TheIntrovert said:
I mean the taller the player, the taller the shoulder... so your idea still wouldn’t nullify taller players
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if you want to nullify, then consider as well:
players with height below average shall probably have some weights attached to their legs. we need to nullify their advantage in speed and stamina vs taller players, isn't it?
everyone must play FH with right hand for example, it is not fair when someone plays with left hand and has a different spin, isn't it?
everyone must play same BH, e.g. one handed backhand
everyone must play with same frame
everyone must play with same strings
everyone must wear same shoes and clothes
everyone must have same nutrition

or how and where do we draw the nullifying line?
 
Subway Tennis

Subway Tennis

Hall of Fame
Tennis definitely doesn't need rule changes in terms of what the players do.

Changes are definitely required at the operational and administrative level, though.

Tennis has always had significant conflict of interest issues, but the game is big enough now that we can work on removing them.

@ChaelAZ suggestion to remove human line calling is a good one. I think lines judges will be gone once the costs and technology get to the point where it is feasible for the ATP/WTA to compel professional tournaments of all tiers to use a Hawkeye style infrastructure.
 
TheIntrovert

TheIntrovert

Hall of Fame
blablavla said:
if you want to nullify, then consider as well:
players with height below average shall probably have some weights attached to their legs. we need to nullify their advantage in speed and stamina vs taller players, isn't it?
everyone must play FH with right hand for example, it is not fair when someone plays with left hand and has a different spin, isn't it?
everyone must play same BH, e.g. one handed backhand
everyone must play with same frame
everyone must play with same strings
everyone must wear same shoes and clothes
everyone must have same nutrition

or how and where do we draw the nullifying line?
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Agree fully. Why should a whole range of players be disadvantaged on their livelihood just because a few people don’t like the way they play.
 
Gazelle

Gazelle

Legend
Receivers should not be allowed to interrupt service rythm of opponent by holding up hand and saying 'I wasn't ready' for whatever reason (usually there's none, except purposeful interruption).

They should simply be ready. If they aren't and opponent gets his serve in, bad luck, they lose the point.

Only umpire should be allowed to stop play.
 
Gazelle

Gazelle

Legend
Dartagnan64 said:
Big servers aren't dominating because they slowed down the ball and the courts to clay levels to compensate. If you eliminate the effect of big serves you could bring back faster courts, lower bounces and maybe, just maybe, the serve and volley game.

My personal opinion is that tennis would be more interesting with one serve only, max racket frame size of 90 sq inches (110 allowed for senior 55+ events), and all lets are played. Just those three things would change the game to reduce the impact of the first serve and allow us to speed the courts up again.
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Reduce the impact? There would be no first serve.
 
A

Arvid

Semi-Pro
ollinger said:
People have advocated for eliminating the second serve entirely, my proposal is a compromise that would to some extent preserve the second serve but add a new level of strategy to the game: in each service game, the server gets one (maybe two) chances to hit a second serve, at his choice when missing a first serve. Do you use it if you're at 0-15, do you save it for deuce, do you use it at your-ad or save it if needed when down a break point. Would add some thinking to this monotonous game.
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Yes something like this is definately a good idea and would make it intriguing with how you chose to serve, and big serves would be even more spectacular...
 
Terenigma

Terenigma

G.O.A.T.
- Make all tournaments best of 3 sets. I know i know tradition ect ect but tradition is the enemy of progression. Barring 1-2 matches epic matches (Wimbledon final for EG) best of 5 set matches drag on too long and are almost always boring when it's obvious there is one winner. Compare that with the many great B03 matches we've had this year alone from new and old players it just makes sense to me. I also think time-wise it's just better for the game and for the viewer.
- Allow lets
- Remove linesmen and lineswomen. Hawk-eye is a well tested and accurate replacement and removes all debate and delay
- Stop allowing players to talk back to umpire and break rules because they are popular. Punish them quickly and get on with the game
- Make all tournaments have normal tiebreak deciders
- Upgrade Halle and Queens to masters.
 
ChaelAZ

ChaelAZ

Legend
Subway Tennis said:
@ChaelAZ suggestion to remove human line calling is a good one. I think lines judges will be gone once the costs and technology get to the point where it is feasible for the ATP/WTA to compel professional tournaments of all tiers to use a Hawkeye style infrastructure.
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From what I understand the issue has been in the accuracy and questions about reliability, which is kind of ironic since the system was created because of human accuracy and issues with their reliability. We are talking a pretty mature technology that has accuracy around +/- 5mm last I checked. I like whatever that newest one is that actually has the high speed cameras too that show how much the ball can roll during impact, and removes any questions of if it really touched the line or not.

On a related side note, I am amazed that baseball hasn't put this in, though the pace of the game is already soooooo slow you prbably only see like 15 minutes of action in a hour of watching, so any challenge system would make that worse. They could just remove the plate umps with high speed cameras too. And TV laready uses the technology to show which pitches are in and out.

But I digress.
 
D

degrease

Rookie
If I said it once I said it a 100 times... Why have we not switched to an alternating hand strike method i.e play a right handed shot followed by a left hand. so for example a cross court rally could go right handed forehand then left handed backhand. It is not madness as my former tennis club told me as I was banned for my so called spastic style !
 
Markus Kaila

Markus Kaila

Rookie
Dartagnan64 said:
My personal opinion is that tennis would be more interesting with one serve only, max racket frame size of 90 sq inches (110 allowed for senior 55+ events), and all lets are played. Just those three things would change the game to reduce the impact of the first serve and allow us to speed the courts up again.
Click to expand...
There has been two serves from the beginning of tennis. Its greatest disadvantage is that at least on club level it would make the game too stressing and you should try to avoid a solution where top players and amateurs have different rules.

But I don't understand your lets at all. Do you really want to see how the match ball is creeping over the net in Grand Slam finals? "Ace, game, set and match to Mr Fortuna!"
 
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