A potential double fault?
Players talk boycott as ITF considers changing 'let rule'
Posted: Monday June 15, 1998 01:51 PM
LONDON (AP) -- The prospect of tennis' first major rule change in
25 years is stirring up trouble.
The International Tennis Federation is considering abolishing
the "let rule" beginning next season, although some top
players oppose the change.
The rule change will be debated in July at the ITF's annual
meeting in Ireland and could be voted on before the year is over.
U.S. Open champion Pat Rafter and others have raised the
possibility of boycotting the Australian Open if the let rule is
not in place.
"You could have a Grand Slam final decided by a serve that
catches the tape and takes a really weird bounce, which gives the
returner no chance of getting to the ball," Rafter said.
Designed to speed play, the rule would mean no replay of serves
that hit the net before landing in an opponent's box.
"The players will be informed directly of the proposal at a
players' meeting during Wimbledon," ITF spokesman Alun James said
Monday. "At this stage there is little or anything to indicate a
backlash by players against any change."
James noted the rule change would be the first major one in 25
years. He called the let ball an "anomaly" since every other ball
in a match is played where it lands.
"The last rule change was the introduction of the tiebreak,"
he said. "The players objected to that at the time but in the long
run it's proven to be very popular."
James said the ITF studied the let rule for two years and
discovered that let balls had little influence on matches.
In 715 matches surveyed, there was an average of 4.1 lets a
match. About 25 percent of lets favored the server, 10 percent
favored the returner and 65 percent favored neither player.
"Part of our role as a regulatory body is to assess the needs
of players and officials at all levels, not just professional
players," James said.
"So abolishing the let rule would save interruptions and
increase the speed of matches on the professional circuit and also
alleviate the cost of a net umpire.
"But it would also eliminate disputes between players at an
amateur level, where the majority of games are played in the
absence of umpires."
Copyright 2003 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
| 
