Grand Slam, rule change, use of decisive tiebreaker in 10 points in the last set, Roland-Garros

All four Grand Slam tennis tournaments will now use a 10-point tiebreaker when matches reach 6-6 in the final set.

The Grand Slam board announced the move to the trial, effective immediately, on behalf of the Australian, French and US Opens and Wimbledon.

“The Grand Slam Board’s decision is based on a strong desire to create greater consistency in the rules of the game at Grand Slams, and thereby improve the experience for players and fans alike,” he said. declared.

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The Australian Open already uses the 10-point tiebreaker. The French Open, which begins May 22, was the only major not to use a deciding tiebreaker. Wimbledon had used a seven-point tiebreaker 12-12, and the US Open used a seven-point tiebreaker 6-6.

21-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal said he doesn’t strongly feel one side or the other has changed.

“I think the biggest impact will be at Wimbledon. Sometimes it’s so hard to break, then the matches get really long,” Nadal said from California.

“But I don’t think Roland Garros changes much. OK, yes, there may be a few more games, but I don’t think at Roland Garros you’re normally going to be 22-20. At Wimbledon it can happen . “

The Grand Slam Council has stated that if the score is 6 all in the final set, the winner will be the first player to reach 10 points with an advantage of two or more points.

Two-time Grand Slam champion and now French Open tournament director Amelie Mauresmo said the goal was consistency.

“That was really the priority,” she said.

“For the sake of consistency, for the understanding of the fans, the players, the media.”

Mauresmo added that this decision will help preserve “the players, the interest of the spectators and the viewers. We could no longer afford to operate differently”.

The plan has been approved by the Tennis Rules Committee governed by the International Tennis Federation and applies to all qualifying Grand Slam tournaments, men’s singles and doubles, women’s singles and doubles, wheelchair and junior events in simple.

“The Grand Slam Board plans to review the trial over the course of a full Grand Slam year, in consultation with the WTA, ATP and ITF, before seeking a permanent change to the rules,” he added.

Rule changes were called for after John Isner beat Nicolas Mahut 70-68 in the final set of their first round match at Wimbledon in 2010. The match lasted 11 hours, 5 minutes and spanned three days .

“It’s tradition and I’m going to miss seeing these crazy battles,” American Taylor Fritz said from California.

“But it’s probably good for the fans and good for the players if they want to advance in the tournament. If I end up in one of those in the future, I’ll be pretty happy they have that. rule now.”

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