Tennis Time Regulations Are Getting Much Stricter

Written by: Staff on 7th January 2013

Tennis Time Regulations Are Getting Much Stricter

epa03522257 The umpire inspects a ball after Novak Djokovic of Serbia questions the balls during his game against Bernard Tomic of Australia in the singles match during the Hopman Cup tennis tournament between Serbia and Australia in Perth, Australia, 02 January 2013. EPA/TONY MCDONOUGH AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND OUT |

After the first week of competitive tennis on the ATP World Tour and WTA circuits, it appears clear umpires have been instructed to be far stricter with the time regulations. The two bodies have stopped short at installing a courtside clock to enforce the rule of 25 seconds between points but now umpires are instructed to initially give a warning to issue a warning to players who take longer and thereafter call a fault for all subsequent delays.

World no.3 Andy Murray maintained he had no problem with officials taking a stricter line on enforcing the rules after widespread criticism over his two great rivals Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic regularly contravene the 25 seconds rule.

However Murray would like to see a slightly longer period allowed between points. “I’m for them being more strict with the time, but I think they maybe should have increased the time allowed first, because 25 seconds goes by pretty quick,” said Murray, en route to retaining his Brisbane International title in the opening tournament of the year.

“We were told the reason for them changing the rule is because of the Aussie Open final last year, between Novak and Rafa, which I think everyone agrees was a classic match. Right now, that match is getting shown whenever there is a delay or someone has pulled out or something, so it’s not like the TV hated the match and they’re never going to show it again.”

At the end of last year, the ATP World Tour’s board of directors met during the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in London and ordered Gayle Bradshaw, Executive Vice President, Rules and Competition to inform supervisors and umpires to tighten up on the time regulations. Murray, along with Marcos Baghdatis in Brisbane, and Gael Monfils in Doha were some of the first players affected by the stricter ruling.

Murray insists the players should also have had an input and he pointed out: “I also think tennis has changed as well. The rallies are much, much longer, so therefore it takes longer to recover.

“I like that there is a time violation in there. I think it’ll be good. But I think starting off with 25 seconds at the beginning was a bit too much, because players just aren’t used to playing at that pace.”

Murray pointed out tighter adherence to the rules would benefit those players about to return “They can just get to the line and just stand there and say that they’re ready. However it’s different for the server because 99% of the players bounce the ball three or four times before they serve. That’s when guys are getting the penalties, when they’re actually bouncing.

“I got one the other day whilst I was bouncing a ball. I like the idea behind it. I just think they could have adjusted the time in between the points a little bit.”

©Daily Tennis News Wire

Topics: Andy Murray, Atp, Australian Open, Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, tennis time regulations, Wta