Tennis, doubles is renewed: new rules to attract top players and spectators

In an attempt to make the doublethe ATP (the association that brings together professional tennis players) has decided to continue change the rules of the specialty which has been speeding up for some time with the introduction of killer-point on 40 all and del super tie-break instead of the deciding set.

Even faster play and slots reserved for singles players

From Masters 1000 in Madrid (April 24-May 5) and in some other tournaments that will be selected during the season, some relevant innovations will be introduced:

1) At the time of the draw, 16 slots out of 32 will be reserved for couples who will enter using their singles ranking.

2) The tournament program, in the case of a Masters 1000, will take place over 5 days (from Tuesday to Saturday) during the second week.

3) the matches will be even faster with the time between points which will be reduced from 25″ to 15″ if the rallies are less than 4 shots.

4) players will not have the opportunity to sit at the changeover.

5) Spectators will be free to move around the playing field.

Attract top players and sponsors

The aim of the changes, conceived by a dedicated working group, established in 2023, which includes representatives of players, tournaments and ATP staff, is to bring the top players back to play the specialty and, consequently, raise the interest of the public and sponsors. “We believe the double has untapped potential,” he says Ross Hutchins, Chief Tour Officer of the ATP. “There is ample room for growth but to achieve the goal we must further change the format and rules. We will test them in some selected events, confident that we can add enormous entertainment value for fans.”