Breaking... next year we could be looking at Australian Open without the "let" if Craig Tilley the C.E.O has his way !
Australian Open boss wants to make a radical rule change at every grand slam to tackle his tournament's biggest problem - and fans are NOT happy
- Radical change would impact all service games
- Aussie Open boss believes it will save 15 hours
- Fans have called for better scheduling instead
Australian Open boss Craig Tiley is set to lobby world tennis bodies to abolish the let service at grand slam tournaments in a bid to speed up the game.
The move comes after the
Melbourne slam came under fire in recent years as matches finished as late as 4am, with an extra day added to the 2024.
Now Tiley has come up with a radical suggestion that he wants to be applied to not only the Australian Open, but all grand slam events around the world.
He wants the let service, when the ball collects the tape at the top of the net and lands in the service box, to be abolished.
It's unclear whether that means lets would be called in under his plan, or whether they would be called faults.
Tiley will take the suggestion to the Association of Tennis Professionals and Women’s Tennis Association in a bid to have it implemented in time for the 2025 Open at Melbourne Park.
'We're looking at the entire puzzle and how to make it better for the fan and better for the player,' he told the
Herald Sun.
'We want to make the game faster and continue to grow its appeal … which is why we look at things like lets … it's a decision for the entire sport.
'I definitely want to speed the game up.
'For us the most important thing is to get to a position where the game itself is not too long. We've got to keep people's interest in it.'
I've asked players that before and most said they thought maybe one or two hours. But 15 hours?
'We will do it all in collaboration with the tour. It would be crazy not to.
'The more the rules can be consistent from event to event, the better it is for the game.'
However, tennis fans have not welcomed the call, saying there are other measures that can be taken to prevent long, late matches without changing the rules of the sport.
'To make it more appealing to fans the first thing to change is to stop a player bouncing the ball 19 times before they serve,' one fan suggested.
'Imagine is the match last night was short format or Fast 4? Who would the winner be? Medvedev. It's very silly the suggestions they put out,' posted another.
'Imagine is the match last night was short format or Fast 4? Who would the winner be? Medvedev. It's very silly the suggestions they put out,' posted another.
'How about we put four walls around the court and reduce the size of the racquets?' another asked sarcastically.
Others called for Tiley to stand down for not addressing the late finishes in a practical way.
'I've always given Tiley credit for being a good tournament director even as he was ruining the rest of tennis in Australia, but his scheduling this year
suggests he has absolutely no idea. Time to go,' a passionate fan posted.
Tiley will also call for a review of the 25-second service shot clock system in a bid to speed up matches.
'We need to review the shot clock because it has seemed to add more time into matches when it was supposed to add less,' he said.
It's when the official behind the clock waits for someone to be ready and then you push the button for 25 seconds, that player might bounce the ball for 25 times before they serve. I think that has got to be looked at.
'I think the use of the shot clock, which was a new innovation and a good one, has got to be looked at.'
- Written by Josh ALSTON,
Daily Mail Australia, Online
www.sportsbusinessjournal.com
