No-AD Scoring and No lets : Changes to the Sport

[tennisaddict]

Not sure if the tennis establishment is serious or the article below is just another media byte. But it is interesting that folks have started thinking about making changes to spice up the game.

Would you like No-AD scoring and No lets for starters ? How about 4 games to the set ?

Article :

The CEO of Tennis Australia says tennis has too much down time, while the ATP president wants to get rid of lets and lengthy pre-match warm-ups.

Some leaders in tennis believe that matches run too long and are hurting the game's popularity. While many top players are not in favor of drastic changes, there have been discussions concerning no-ad scoring, playing sets to four games, and points scoring as 1 to 4 instead of 15, 30, 40.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Craig Tiley, the CEO of Tennis Australia, said there would be more excitement if changes were implemented. "People want lots more points of pressure in tennis. They don’t want it to drag on as long as it does," Tiley said. "Look at the stadiums. Only after 3-all in the first set do people start filing back in to watch. We have too many moments of down time."

Chris Kermode, the president of the ATP World Tour, said that he would like to get rid of lets and reduce the length of pre-match warm-ups.

Canadian doubles player Daniel Nestor said most of the doubles competitions on tour are now no-ad scoring and that the players are OK with it. "I would immediately change tennis to no-ad scoring, all the way across singles and doubles," Nestor said. "When you get the same rally over and over again, 200 times in a match, I think it can be a little bit boring."

In a statement, USTA spokesman Chris Widmaier said there are no immediate changes for discussion, but that the "pace of play is an area that can be improved, and [we] are exploring concepts that can address this."

http://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2015...uss-possible-game-changes/55780/#.VbpSVrNVhBc

 

[Gazelle]

Or bring back faster courts, is it really that hard?

 

[eelhc]

Limitations on racquets/strings that bring back serve and volley might work better...

 

[heftylefty]

How about just enforcing the 25seconds rule and the receiver playing at the server's pace.

Tennis is great sport. No gimmicks needed.

 

[NaBUru38]

I disagree with faster courts. Tennis should be about putting the ball, not smashing it.

I'd have no lets and no second serve.

 

[berdychstan]

This is a terrible idea.

 

[Gazelle]

I disagree with faster courts. Tennis should be about putting the ball, not smashing it.

I'd have no lets and no second serve.

That's ridiculous. You clearly haven't thought this through. You should realize 'no second serve' in reality means 'no first serve'. We'll have WTA stuff all over the place, where people don't hold serve anymore.

 

[ScottleeSV]

I would get rid of lets. They're pointless.

I would also allow players to serve to whichever side they want to serve to first, thus taking away the advantage lefties have of going out wide on break point down.

I would make it so all sets have to end with tie breaks. Not interested in Isner-Mahut affairs.

Those would be my three votes. None of those other ideas interest me. The one about taking the sets down to 4 games was just ridiculous.

 

[tennisaddict]

When compared to other sports, the No-Ad scoring seems to be the way to go.

In which other sport you can have an endless game if you don't win 2 consecutive points ?

 

[eelhc]

IMO no-ad scoring eliminates one of the most exciting parts of the game. There's nothing like winning/losing a multiple deuce game.

 

[Hollywood401k]

Ad scoring is drama. Drama is good.

 

[tennisaddict]

Ad scoring is drama. Drama is good.

Sudden death is more drama.

 

[tacou]

It's hilarious that anyone, particularly in a position of power for the sport, thinks going from 15 30 40 to 1 2 3 is an important thing to be discussing

 

[Shaolin]

No let, no Ad and tiebreak at 5 all (not 4 all) would be awesome. No need to dumb down the scoring though.

 

[MichaelNadal]

Not sure if the tennis establishment is serious or the article below is just another media byte. But it is interesting that folks have started thinking about making changes to spice up the game.

Would you like No-AD scoring and No lets for starters ? How about 4 games to the set ?

Article :

The CEO of Tennis Australia says tennis has too much down time, while the ATP president wants to get rid of lets and lengthy pre-match warm-ups.

Some leaders in tennis believe that matches run too long and are hurting the game's popularity. While many top players are not in favor of drastic changes, there have been discussions concerning no-ad scoring, playing sets to four games, and points scoring as 1 to 4 instead of 15, 30, 40.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Craig Tiley, the CEO of Tennis Australia, said there would be more excitement if changes were implemented. "People want lots more points of pressure in tennis. They don’t want it to drag on as long as it does," Tiley said. "Look at the stadiums. Only after 3-all in the first set do people start filing back in to watch. We have too many moments of down time."

Chris Kermode, the president of the ATP World Tour, said that he would like to get rid of lets and reduce the length of pre-match warm-ups.

Canadian doubles player Daniel Nestor said most of the doubles competitions on tour are now no-ad scoring and that the players are OK with it. "I would immediately change tennis to no-ad scoring, all the way across singles and doubles," Nestor said. "When you get the same rally over and over again, 200 times in a match, I think it can be a little bit boring."

In a statement, USTA spokesman Chris Widmaier said there are no immediate changes for discussion, but that the "pace of play is an area that can be improved, and [we] are exploring concepts that can address this."

http://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2015...uss-possible-game-changes/55780/#.VbpSVrNVhBc

 

[Poisoned Slice]

 

[Bartelby]

Changes need to be made:

- to make tennis more affordable and accessible to young people and recreational players
- to make tennis more than a travelling circus that visits, if you're lucky, your city or country once a year

All the changes proposed are really about doctoring the game to increase television revenues, not improving it.

What needs to happen is more national and regional team based competitions.

Competitive tennis is a global sport which in many countries has under-nourished local roots.

 

[pat200]

the changes proposed to me would mean another breaking point in the history of tennis would happen. how will accomplishments of champions of pre new rules be compared to those of post new rules. already as is we have the pre and post open era issue as well as many other factors such as tournament sizes and importance in the past. plus as a player i prefer the rules we currently have.

 

[moonballs]

Sudden death is more drama.

Maybe, but multiple drama is more than single drama

 

[moonballs]

No lets, check.
25 sec rule, check.
Just these two changes will make things much better

 

[Inanimate_object]

Maybe, but multiple drama is more than single drama

I always said Citizen Kane would be better if it had 25 climaxes instead of one.

 

[Bobby Jr]

Wow, another post about changing the game. *Yawn*

The guy commenting, Craig Tiley, laps up his own ******** like nothing. He reckoned Fast4 tennis was great despite everyone I've ever talked to about it thinking it sucked - save for one elderly guy who I suspect enjoyed it mainly because Federer played.

 

[torpantennis]

My opinion: We need shorter times for matches, and more pressure moments on average. IMO No-AD is a bad rule since a long game with multiple DEUCES is exactly a great pressure situation. To get shorter matches and more pressure moments, I'd push for 4-game sets, tiebreak at 3-3. With those rules, the finals of MS1000 could well even be 5 sets!

 

[Inanimate_object]

My opinion: We need shorter times for matches, and more pressure moments on average. IMO No-AD is a bad rule since a long game with multiple DEUCES is exactly a great pressure situation. To get shorter matches and more pressure moments, I'd push for 4-game sets, tiebreak at 3-3. With those rules, the finals of MS1000 could well even be 5 sets!

A shootout - deciding point is far more pressure than a point where the winner may go back to deuce and then has to win two more straight points.

 

[dondropshot]

I don't think the "no ad" is a bad idea, but I'd hold off on that for the moment and try a few minor things first, like:
I HATE the on-court warm-up. I understand it, but I still don't like it. Warm up right before your match on another court. Courts can play differently, but, tough. Deal with it and adapt.

The other minor change is DON'T change sides after the first game. That will make the coin-toss and the choice of sides more important.

I hate the idea of shortening the sets. WTT did that. They play to 5, and it's stupid. I really like playing a ten-point tiebreaker in the 3rd set of doubles. That can really shorten the torture. There have been many women & men's matches in singles where I wish they'd do that. Something to consider in the earlier rounds, maybe, especially on clay.

 

[torpantennis]

A shootout - deciding point is far more pressure than a point where the winner may go back to deuce and then has to win two more straight points.

Sure, but you need whole six points to get to that 40-40, and then the seventh point would be a pressure point. So in that case, 6/7 points are "non-pressure". Then if you get a long game with multiple DEUCES, each and every second point is a pressure point, and even that DEUCE point is "semi-pressure". So if you get like 6 DEUCES, we'd have 6-7 pressure points and 6 semi-pressure points and only the first points up to the initial DEUCE would be non-pressure. That's the drama we're after!

Those couple of long games are a key ingredient in a great match. But watching guys hold serves for 6-6, and at worst case for multiple sets, is time wasting. So shorter sets, but still normal DEUCE/AD rule would be my recipe to get less "meaningless points".

 

[tennisaddict]

The 4 games to a set is a bad idea. From watching tennis over the years, we can say with confidence that in majors players multiple periods when they play well and each one of them typically last around 30 minutes which is typically a set.

Where players are equally matched, this results in 4 or 5 set matches.

If we end up with 4 game sets, it will heavily favor the front runners like Fed.

 

[tennisaddict]

Sure, but you need whole six points to get to that 40-40, and then the seventh point would be a pressure point. So in that case, 6/7 points are "non-pressure". Then if you get a long game with multiple DEUCES, each and every second point is a pressure point, and even that DEUCE point is "semi-pressure". So if you get like 6 DEUCES, we'd have 6-7 pressure points and 6 semi-pressure points and only the first points up to the initial DEUCE would be non-pressure. That's the drama we're after!

Those couple of long games are a key ingredient in a great match. But watching guys hold serves for 6-6, and at worst case for multiple sets, is time wasting. So shorter sets, but still normal DEUCE/AD rule would be my recipe to get less "meaningless points".

Think about the Isner matches. Do you really want him to give a chance to get the serve back after he loses a point at deuce ?

Matches will end much quicker. Imagine FO matches and 5 setters ending in less than 3 hours ? It is not a bad idea at all.

 

[Cowboyardee]

I would also allow players to serve to whichever side they want to serve to first, thus taking away the advantage lefties have of going out wide on break point down.

That's really not much of an advantage for lefties in the first place.

 

[swizzy]

this idea gets mentioned from time to time and i hate it. ad scoring is crucial to the drama of a close match. lets are pretty infrequent.. 1-2-3-4 is just stupid..in fact the whole thing is stupid. tennis is perfect the way it is.. i prefer no tiebreaks in the final set..and i wish every tournament was a best of 5 on both the mens and womens side. more tennis, not less.

 

[TheMusicLover]

Or bring back faster courts, is it really that hard?

This.

Again, these awful suggestions? Indeed, the ad scoring is crucial. Why not just play "who gets to 10 points first"... perhaps the mentally challenged who are in favour of these "adjustments" would start understanding the points count as well.

 

[Bobby Jr]

Think about the Isner matches. Do you really want him to give a chance to get the serve back after he loses a point at deuce.

No need to change the scoring for one in 200 anomaly players like Isner, Karlovic etc.

 

[bobtodd]

I would get rid of lets. They're pointless.

I would also allow players to serve to whichever side they want to serve to first, thus taking away the advantage lefties have of going out wide on break point down.

I would make it so all sets have to end with tie breaks. Not interested in Isner-Mahut affairs.

Those would be my three votes. None of those other ideas interest me. The one about taking the sets down to 4 games was just ridiculous.

I agree with all three of your suggestions. Especially, the suggestion relating to where to begin serve. I have long argued that lefties have a big advantage on the ad side.

 

[ScottleeSV]

That's really not much of an advantage for lefties in the first place.

They shouldn't have any advantage, even a slender one.

 

[Shaolin]

That's really not much of an advantage for lefties in the first place.

You either must be a lefty yourself, have the world's greatest backhand return or just don't understand tennis. Lefties have a HUGE advantage.

 

[ibbi]

I really do think that the let has got to go. If every once in a while someone is forced to rush the net in order to save a point is that so bad? No.

Absolutely no way that ad-scoring should go. You'd save time, and lose whole heaps of drama and excitement.

 

[Cowboyardee]

You either must be a lefty yourself, have the world's greatest backhand return or just don't understand tennis. Lefties have a HUGE advantage.

I am, in fact, a lefty. Decent server too. Nasty slice - rightys hate it. And what no one ever points out about the ad side lefty advantage is the undeniable fact that more points are played from the deuce side than the ad side. Rightys ******** and moaning about the lefty advantage are merely betraying their own mental weakness and looking for an excuse for losing. If I had a choice of which side to serve to first, I'd serve from the ad side.

More serves to your best side = bigger advantage

 

[Cowboyardee]

They shouldn't have any advantage, even a slender one.

The only advantage leftys have is that they're more accustomed to playing rightys than vice versa. Serving to ad side second isn't an advantage for leftys. It's a disadvantage. See post #37.

You don't have to worry about 'big point', triple deuce, ad side advantage if you'd won the game back when you were serving 40-15.

 

[swizzy]

this lefty gets a heaping helping of forehands. i hit cross court to their backhand so often they start cheating over.. and wham dtl to their forehand. the wide serve is helpful..but not huge

 

[Shaolin]

I am, in fact, a lefty. Decent server too. Nasty slice - rightys hate it. And what no one ever points out about the ad side lefty advantage is the undeniable fact that more points are played from the deuce side than the ad side. Rightys ******** and moaning about the lefty advantage are merely betraying their own mental weakness and looking for an excuse for losing. If I had a choice of which side to serve to first, I'd serve from the ad side.

More serves to your best side = bigger advantage

Wow…big surprise to hear that you're lefty.

 

[bigserving]

For professional tournaments.

1. No use of towels during games. Tennis is a warm environment sport where player perspire, deal with it. That is what wrist bands, caps, and bandanas are for. Players can show up with two, or more, sets of whatever and switch to dryer ones on the changeovers. Good enough.

2. Players only ever getting two balls from the ball kids. Could you imagine baseball games when the pitcher gets to choose from more than one ball before every single pitch? In pro tennis, they change balls after the seventh game and every nine games thereafter. The balls are always fine and playing catch with the ball kids merely wastes time. There are way too many times when the server has two balls but waits to get a third or fourth to choose from. Plus, it might add drama or add something to a match if a player got two more worn balls, or two brand new balls.

If a player ever has more than two balls in their possession, point penalty.

3. It might be fun to experiment with no-ad scoring until the final set, when regular scoring would apply. That may shorten the overall time of matches, while leaving some drama for the final set in competitive matches.

 

[Bartelby]

I agree with the banning of towels during games and on the restriction of balls to two as both of these things delay the game.

 

[Cowboyardee]

Wow…big surprise to hear that you're lefty.

So, I'm biased - I gather that's your point. True enough, in a sense.

Well, can I safely assume you're a righty? And that makes you somehow less biased? Do tell. And while you're at it, explain how serving fewer points to my stronger side is an advantage for me.

 

[eelhc]

I didn't watch any WTT this year...

How did the shot clock do?

 

[joekapa]

The game does not need any changes. Maybe only the constant towelling down after each point.

Apart from that, maybe speed up the courts a little.

 

[tennisdad65]

No need to change the scoring for one in 200 anomaly players like Isner, Karlovic etc.

1 in 200? there are 3-4 of them in the top 50.. Isner, Karlovic, Anderson. (you could also put Raonic into that group).

 

[PeteD]

Micro-lets are annoying. But imagine server hits a let and it dribbles over for GSM. Not the way to end a match.

 

[Inanimate_object]

Micro-lets are annoying. But imagine server hits a let and it dribbles over for GSM. Not the way to end a match.

Right, this is much better.

 

[swizzy]

if you don't have the tennis channel. then the last thing you want is shorter matches.. i can't believe how little tennis i get to watch as it is..even the majors are televised poorly.

 

[Shaolin]

Micro-lets are annoying. But imagine server hits a let and it dribbles over for GSM. Not the way to end a match.

That would probably happen about 1 out of 5,000 matches.