Madrid (Spain) – With the aim of reducing the “dead time” of matches, shortening the players’ rest time and the interval between one point and another, the ATP is expected to carry out a series of tests during the Masters 1000 in Madrid. According to the British portal Inews, the measures will still need to be approved by the men’s association board this week, but if everything goes well they will be put into practice at the doubles tournament in the Spanish capital.
Among the expected changes, athletes will only have 15 seconds to start the next point if the previous play had three hits or less, as was done in the Next Gen Finals last year. If these three shots are exceeded, tennis players will have the usual 25 seconds to put the ball in play again.
Another aspect that can be tested has to do with players’ rest. They will not be able to sit on the bench for the entire first set, instead having the traditional 90-second break every two games. To compensate, at the end of the set they would have more time to recover before starting the next part.
Finally, the third and final measure that could be put to the test would change the formation of the doubles brackets, aiming to facilitate the participation of singles players. In this case, 13 places would be reserved for partnerships formed by singles players, while another 16 places would be reserved for doubles specialists, based on the specialty ranking. Another three invitations would be offered to complete the bracket.
