The International Tennis Federation has set out new rules for matches that have been delayed due to adverse weather conditions at ITF sanctioned events and at Futures events.
The rules that will be set out are similar to those implemented at the ATP Next Gen Finals in Milan back in November, these rules will only be applied due to a match being delayed due to bad weather conditions. It should also be noted that it will depend on the circumstance to see whether these rules are implemented. Here are the new rules:
- ‘No Ad’- At deuce, a deciding point shall be played, based on the receiver’s choice side of the court to return.
- Short Sets – A player who win four games wins the set, as long as there is a two game winning margin. At four-all (or three-all depending on the sanctioning body’s discretion) a tiebreak shall be played, where the first to five points wins the tiebreak.
- Match Tiebreak- In the case of sets being tied, in both best-of-three sets or best-of-five sets, Again, depending on the discretion of the sanctioning body, the tiebreak can be first to seven or ten points. Of course it has to be a two point margin as well.
- No Let- If the server’s serve hits the top of the net then the point will continue.
The idea of the ITF is to get more matches finished efficiently, in case a tournament is in danger of not reaching its scheduled completion. The new rules could be tried out as soon as January.
