ATP Approves Rule Changes for 2013

By Chris Oddo

(September 13, 2012) -- The ATP Board of Directors approved a rule change and a trial for the 2013 season after meeting in New York recently. Both changes were proposed by the new ATP Competition Committee.

For 2013, the Board of Directors approved a trial elimination of the service let, only to be imposed on the ATP Challenger tour, for the first three months of the season. "Although this change will not materially reduce the length of a match, we believe it should have a positive impact on the flow of the match," said ATP Executive Chairman and President Brad Drewett. "We're certainly not ready yet to eliminate the service let, but believe a trial at the ATP Challenger level will be a good way to test the initiative in a competitive environment and get feedback from players and the public before deciding it could be adapted more broadly."

The Board of Directors also changed the rules governing the 25-second time allotted between points. From 2013, on both the ATP World Tour and Challenger Tour, a 25-second time violation will first be penalised with a warning, for the second and all subsequent violation the penalty will be a fault for the server, and a point penalty for the receiver.

Currently the rule is a warning then a point penalty for both the server and the receiver.

"There's been a lot of discussion about the amount of time taken between points," Drewett said. "We believe this modification will give officials a useful tool to allow for more consistent enforcement of the time violation rule."

The new six-person ATP Competition Committee serves in an advisory capacity, with any recommended changes requiring approval by the ATP's Board of Directors.