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As sports lovers, we enjoy a number of sports. However, in watching them there’s a feeling that many of them could be even better with a few rule changes, both minor and major.
Many of the sports that we love are the best part of 100 years old. However, for many of them, their foundation on which they are based, that is, mainly the rules, have tended to stay the same.
While it could be said that this is because the initial creators got the rules and structures correct, the passage of time has seen a great many changes in how these sports are played. Consider the effects of training, nutrition and fitness, professionalism, equipment, preparation and the junior systems and programs that feed up into these sports.
Tradition, acceptance and the passage of time tends to create a resistance to change. While rules shouldn’t be changed without careful thought and debate around the consequences, sometimes it appears that this resistance is the main reason why we don’t change some of these rules.
Consider a scenario where we could start over again with a sport and rewrite and rules and how the game is played. Wouldn’t we do away with many of the rules that don’t serve the sport and introduce others that do?
So, in this series of articles, we will explore a range of sports and their rules. It is not so much as to say that this rule or that rule should be changed, more to ask what would the game be like if we changed this rule? Would it create a better contest, a better product for the fans or encourage the players to be more daring, creative or positive?
Tennis
Let’s start with a game that seems more structured and defined in terms of its rules, and thus less open to the interpretation of officials or referees, namely tennis.
The let
This is a minor one, but why does the let trigger a dead point, where the server is given another serve in its place? When the ball hits the tape in the course of a point, it is play-on. Shouldn’t the ball hitting the tape be play-on irrespective of whether it is a serve or not? Or is there something about the server hitting the ball from a higher position that provides an unfair advantage when serving a let?
Allowing a let play-on on the serve may provide a little more theatre or changes in tempo or shot making.
The serve
In previous generations, the serve was seen as starting the point. It has evolved to be the main weapon in tennis, particularly in the men’s game. If you don’t have a quality serve, then forget about being an elite player. With providing the server with two attempts to start (or should I say win or obtain the upper position in) a point, does the serve deliver too much influence over each point and the match?
On numerous occasions, we have watched men’s tennis matches where 30-plus games in a row are won by the server. On another occasion, the 2009 Wimbledon final, Roddick lost 7-5, 6-7, 6-7, 6-3, 14-16, only losing his serve once, his last serve of the match.
So, what could be done about the dominance of the serve in the game of tennis? I have heard of people suggesting that tennis could change to a single serve. However, in this case, a single fault would provide the point to the receiver and would require the server to treat the majority of the serves like the second serve in the current format. Given the development of the return of serve over the past couple of decades, that rule change would then provide the receiver with too much dominance.
What about a rule somewhere between the current two serves and the single serve suggestion? What if the server is allocated three serves per two points? If the server’s first serve is in on the deuce court, then the player still has two serves left on the advantage court.
Alternatively, if the server needs to use the second serve on the deuce court, the player then only has the one serve on the advantage court. This would create the situation where the server cannot just ‘go’ for every first serve, knowing that they always have the second.
It would also bring a little bit more strategy and theatre to the process as the server cannot just blast himself out of trouble, not without the risk of losing more points.
The current two serve system could stay for the social and junior level of the game.
The grunt
The debate over grunting has seemed to have gone on for more than 10 years. However, the grunting in the woman’s game has continued to increase over the past few years, and it is a challenge watching any more than five minutes at any one time when a known grunter is playing.
What of the argument that grunting is needed to hit the ball hard or is a byproduct of the physical exertion of the player? In my mind, this argument was settled when watching the match between Sharapova and Azarenka at the French Open. During a long rally of shots and grunting, Azarenka grunts on a drop shot. I nearly fell off my chair!
Bottom line, at best, grunting is a habit associated with hitting the ball and at worst, a version of mild cheating.
What can be done to fix this? The players need to be given an incentive to practice non-grunting. As we know, practice will remove the habit. The incentive, or more correctly, the punishment should be that three audible grunts in any point will result in the point being given to the opposition player.
No if, no buts and no grunts. In all seriousness, the grunting issue could be resolved within one tournament if tennis officials had the will (or can I say the guts) to implement such a rule. Knowing there wasn’t any other alternative than to go along with it, players could eliminate the habit within four weeks of practice.
The Coach at courtside
Why not allow the coach to be courtside and provide coaching between the change of ends? They do this in the Davis Cup and it seems to add to the theatre of the match and allows for more tactical changes or insight. This would also remove the stigma of coaching from the supporter box and bring tennis into line with other sports where coaches are either down on the sideline or have trainers running on instructions.
What do you think about the above proposed rule changes? Do you have any other rule changes that could improve tennis?
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