March 16, (THEWILL) – A scoring change is being effected in tennis such that, henceforth, when the score in the final set of a match reaches 6-6, all tennis Grand Slams will have 10-point tie-breaks.
The Grand Slam Board has agreed to apply the regulation change beginning with the French Open after conferring with the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA), Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), and International Tennis Federation (ITF).
On May 22nd, the main draw at Roland-Garros, the next Grand Slam, will begin.
A part of the Board’s statement read: “The Grand Slam Board’s decision is based on a strong desire to create greater consistency in the rules of the game at the Grand Slams, and thus enhance the experience for the players and fans alike.
“This trial, which has been approved by the rules of the tennis committee governed by the ITF, will apply to all Grand Slams across qualifying, men’s singles and doubles, women’s singles and doubles, wheelchair and junior events in singles, and will commence at the 2022 edition of Roland-Garros.”
The trial states that if the score in the final set is 6-6, the match winner will be the first player to win 10 points with a two-point advantage.
Since January 2019, the Australian Open has used first-to-10-point tie-breaks in the final set.
Following a 26-24 tie-break between Kevin Anderson and John Isner in the 2018 Wimbledon semi-finals, a final set 12-12 tie-break was adopted in 2019. In 1970, the US Open introduced a fifth-set tie-break.
The Grand Slam board has stated that if the first-to-10 points trial is successful, it will be evaluated for a full Grand Slam year before applying for a permanent rule change.
The regulation change will also prohibit a recurrence of the record-breaking match between Isner and Nicolas Mahut of France, which ended in a 70-68 tie in the final set at Wimbledon in 2010. The men’s singles tie in the first round lasted 11 hours and 5 minutes.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
