The Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) is considering introducing a new time regulation rule at the Madrid Masters. This potential change aims to enhance the pace of the game and eliminate “dead time” during matches.
All you need to know about ATP’s new time rule
The proposed rule involves a 15-second shot clock, which will be put to trial at the Madrid Masters ATP doubles event. The rule stipulates that doubles players in Madrid will have just 15 seconds to start the next point where the previous rally lasted three shots or fewer. Longer rallies will trigger the existing 25-second shot clock.
This 15-second shot clock has been used at ATP events before, specifically at the Next Gen Finals in Saudi Arabia last year. The Madrid Masters, which starts on April 22, will serve as the trial event for this new rule. Rohan Bopanna, who clinched the Miami Masters title last week, will be the first Indian to experience the new rule as he will be the lone Indian to participate in this prestigious event.
The new trial will also involve doubles players being allowed no “sit-down” during the first set of the match, as opposed to the usual break of 90 seconds every two games. Instead, players will be given a limited amount of time to switch ends and start the next game. However, a longer break after the first set to compensate has also been proposed.
The introduction of a visible, on-court shot clock, as opposed to the discretion of the umpire, appears to have slowed players down between points. This is because players now take all the time they can and can run the clock down before serving. The length of men’s singles matches has increased by more than 25 per cent over the last two decades which sometimes hamper the scheduling of the event especially for the broadcasters.
 is considering introducing a new time regulation rule at the Madrid Masters. This potential change aims to enhance the pace of the game and eliminate “dead time” during matches.){kind=link}