Time limits for tennis players? Time for a response - a request to the ATP & ITF
228 Comments
L
Linda Wodyard
11 years ago
Please listen!
T
TeleRealite Man
11 years ago
Personally, I'm not bothered at all when a player takes 30 seconds to serve but there are rules and it is normal that be applied. The problem is that the Time Violation rule is not applied the same to all players. Giving the warning ONLY on crucial points can greatly alter the outcome of a match as we saw lately. One would want a particular player to lose, he wouldn't do otherwise.
PS : Sorry for my english.
J
Jan
11 years ago
If you're going to have this ridiculous rule enforce it from the first point of every match - as soon as a player goes over time start with the warning, second time they do it, penalty serve, etc. This would be fair on everyone, the serial offenders would soon learn to speed up and umpires wouldn't leave themselves open to allegations of match fixing. And please start penalising really bad behaviour on the courts such as swearing and racket abuse - far more offensive to the viewer than a couple of extra seconds between points.
L
Liz Hayhoe
11 years ago
I'm glad this issue is finally being raised I hate to see players or should I say a certain player be constantly given TV on break points
K
Kathleen Mellor
11 years ago
If this rule has to be applied then it has to be applied to everyone, fairly. It is obvious that the rule is being enforced to target one player and it is being used in such a way that the outcome of a match can be affected. It doesn't bother me one jot when a player goes over the 20/25 second rule, but it troubles me greatly when I see players smashing racquets and court furniture. I am disturbed when I see a tennis player having what amounts to a temper tantrum and I have to listen to foul mouthed tirades hurled at the crowd, the players team and the opponent. These violations are for the most part ignored and excused.
As a fan all that I ask is for is consistency in the application of rules. Currently I have no confidence that this is the case.
P
Pauline Mills
11 years ago
the ATP and ITF need to agree on the same time violation warnings and I think it's wrong that the chair umpire gives a warning at crucial points. Decisions need to be made!
D
DORA MENA
11 years ago
Estoy de acuerdo, las advertencias debe hacerse en forma y en el momento correcto no cuando el jugador está en un momento decisivo
S
Sarah
11 years ago
More importantly standardise the time allowed so ATP & ITF are the same or do away with so no more time violation warnings ! After all the players are playing their hearts out .....
T
Troy Bennett
11 years ago
Consistency will alter this problem no question.
J
janet gilman olson
11 years ago
Personally I think the whole TV should be abolished. I prefer baseline rallies and more arduous points which suffer from the result of the TV. I don't care how great an athlete is playing, when they hit a 15+ ball rally they will be tired. I don't want the quality of tennis to suffer because they have to try to end the point quickly in order to be ready to serve/receive serve again.
D
Danielle12303
11 years ago
At least be uniform among the players if you're going to enforce this dumb rule.
S
Sandra Kirk
11 years ago
Totally agree with this and I'm fed up with Time Violation Warnings given to Rafael Nadal mainly when he is facing breakpoint, whilst others who clearly go over the time limit never seem to get any warnings.
C
Chris Boardman
11 years ago
It is rather obvious that time violations have been targeted at certain players and increasingly given at crucial points in the match and not when the actual violation first occurred. Time violations rules need to be applied correctly and consistently for all players at all moments of the match.
J
Julie Tingle
11 years ago
It is quite correct that penalties should be applied for the infringement of rules, but that goes for ALL rules and ALL players. However what we are seeing today are umpires being inconsistent with their application of warnings and violations. This cannot be. Officials have to be fair, consistent, transparent and above reproach. Anything less can be detrimental to the game and be construed as disreputable. It is not for an umpire to potentially ingratiate him/herself on the potential outcome of a match by issuing warnings on crucial points unless fairly applied to all players that break the rules which currently, it is not. We love the game because of the uniqueness of each point which to a degree requires human intervention because of the length (or otherwise) of a rally, crowd noise and plain common sense. Change the rule to allow the umpire to call time as an indication that play should be ready to commence and start a stop clock from that very point - not the arbitrary way it is written now as the clocks starts from when the ball is called out until it is active again. It has to be fair, equal to all and visible to the player as to the time they are taking. Then they have to take responsibility. Because of the amount of time and airing the Time Between Points ruling gets, it is seemingly the most important rule in tennis today. If that is the case, then ATP and ITF it is in your best interests to interrogate thoroughly and ensure without question that it applied consistently and fairly to all. Do it.
G
Gloria Hamilton-Forde
11 years ago
The fact that only 20 seconds are allowed between points in best of 5 set matches and 25 seconds in best of 3 set matches makes it abundantly clear that there is no rhyme or reason to the time limit. It's just there for the sake of it and is now being used to fix matches with the official sanction of the ATP and ITF. If I were a professional tennis player, I would test the validity of being penalized with no proof. The reason they refuse to use a clock is so that they can manipulate the rule to hamper a particular player.
A
Anonymous
11 years ago
Also warnings are given typically when the player is at the line to serve-- not wasting time tantruming or what have you. It is stupid imho. Game is more physical and more entertaining now and umpires should let the game flow w/ out unnecessary interference. The rule itself should be abolitished as it stands currently or make recovery time more fair for both players, taking into acct the previous point, crowd reaction, etc. Now it looks so vulnerable to match fixing where umpires can determine the outcomes of matches,
A
Anonymous
11 years ago
This is a disgrace, the ATP are unfairly targeting Nadal.
M
Marian Hindley
11 years ago
This 'time violation rule' is the most ridiculous thing Ive ever known in the history of tennis and it is always aimed at the same player(s) at a crucial time in the match. It seems to be ok for some players to use obscene language for all to hear (including children) and also to smash their racquets!!! I dont see any violation warnings when THIS happens and that is very wrong. Not exactly an example to younger children who are interested in the sport. Stop the time violations NOW!!!! It was a ridiculous idea!!
M
Marilyn Turner
11 years ago
I think it's very unfair that Nadal always seems to be the only player to get gets time Violations, when Djokovic and some other players take a lot longer, but never get any warning. It seems that all the umpires seem to also give Nadal his warnings just as he's about to take an important shot. I think it's about time that the umpires treated all players the same, as it's very unfair on Nadal all the time
A
Ahmed Qaralleh
11 years ago
The rule is too stressful on the server. players cannot keep their calm and concentrate on their serves. Also 2 extra seconds won't hurt anyone.
Please listen!
Personally, I'm not bothered at all when a player takes 30 seconds to serve but there are rules and it is normal that be applied. The problem is that the Time Violation rule is not applied the same to all players. Giving the warning ONLY on crucial points can greatly alter the outcome of a match as we saw lately. One would want a particular player to lose, he wouldn't do otherwise. PS : Sorry for my english.
If you're going to have this ridiculous rule enforce it from the first point of every match - as soon as a player goes over time start with the warning, second time they do it, penalty serve, etc. This would be fair on everyone, the serial offenders would soon learn to speed up and umpires wouldn't leave themselves open to allegations of match fixing. And please start penalising really bad behaviour on the courts such as swearing and racket abuse - far more offensive to the viewer than a couple of extra seconds between points.
I'm glad this issue is finally being raised I hate to see players or should I say a certain player be constantly given TV on break points
If this rule has to be applied then it has to be applied to everyone, fairly. It is obvious that the rule is being enforced to target one player and it is being used in such a way that the outcome of a match can be affected. It doesn't bother me one jot when a player goes over the 20/25 second rule, but it troubles me greatly when I see players smashing racquets and court furniture. I am disturbed when I see a tennis player having what amounts to a temper tantrum and I have to listen to foul mouthed tirades hurled at the crowd, the players team and the opponent. These violations are for the most part ignored and excused. As a fan all that I ask is for is consistency in the application of rules. Currently I have no confidence that this is the case.
the ATP and ITF need to agree on the same time violation warnings and I think it's wrong that the chair umpire gives a warning at crucial points. Decisions need to be made!
Estoy de acuerdo, las advertencias debe hacerse en forma y en el momento correcto no cuando el jugador está en un momento decisivo
More importantly standardise the time allowed so ATP & ITF are the same or do away with so no more time violation warnings ! After all the players are playing their hearts out .....
Consistency will alter this problem no question.
Personally I think the whole TV should be abolished. I prefer baseline rallies and more arduous points which suffer from the result of the TV. I don't care how great an athlete is playing, when they hit a 15+ ball rally they will be tired. I don't want the quality of tennis to suffer because they have to try to end the point quickly in order to be ready to serve/receive serve again.
At least be uniform among the players if you're going to enforce this dumb rule.
Totally agree with this and I'm fed up with Time Violation Warnings given to Rafael Nadal mainly when he is facing breakpoint, whilst others who clearly go over the time limit never seem to get any warnings.
It is rather obvious that time violations have been targeted at certain players and increasingly given at crucial points in the match and not when the actual violation first occurred. Time violations rules need to be applied correctly and consistently for all players at all moments of the match.
It is quite correct that penalties should be applied for the infringement of rules, but that goes for ALL rules and ALL players. However what we are seeing today are umpires being inconsistent with their application of warnings and violations. This cannot be. Officials have to be fair, consistent, transparent and above reproach. Anything less can be detrimental to the game and be construed as disreputable. It is not for an umpire to potentially ingratiate him/herself on the potential outcome of a match by issuing warnings on crucial points unless fairly applied to all players that break the rules which currently, it is not. We love the game because of the uniqueness of each point which to a degree requires human intervention because of the length (or otherwise) of a rally, crowd noise and plain common sense. Change the rule to allow the umpire to call time as an indication that play should be ready to commence and start a stop clock from that very point - not the arbitrary way it is written now as the clocks starts from when the ball is called out until it is active again. It has to be fair, equal to all and visible to the player as to the time they are taking. Then they have to take responsibility. Because of the amount of time and airing the Time Between Points ruling gets, it is seemingly the most important rule in tennis today. If that is the case, then ATP and ITF it is in your best interests to interrogate thoroughly and ensure without question that it applied consistently and fairly to all. Do it.
The fact that only 20 seconds are allowed between points in best of 5 set matches and 25 seconds in best of 3 set matches makes it abundantly clear that there is no rhyme or reason to the time limit. It's just there for the sake of it and is now being used to fix matches with the official sanction of the ATP and ITF. If I were a professional tennis player, I would test the validity of being penalized with no proof. The reason they refuse to use a clock is so that they can manipulate the rule to hamper a particular player.
Also warnings are given typically when the player is at the line to serve-- not wasting time tantruming or what have you. It is stupid imho. Game is more physical and more entertaining now and umpires should let the game flow w/ out unnecessary interference. The rule itself should be abolitished as it stands currently or make recovery time more fair for both players, taking into acct the previous point, crowd reaction, etc. Now it looks so vulnerable to match fixing where umpires can determine the outcomes of matches,
This is a disgrace, the ATP are unfairly targeting Nadal.
This 'time violation rule' is the most ridiculous thing Ive ever known in the history of tennis and it is always aimed at the same player(s) at a crucial time in the match. It seems to be ok for some players to use obscene language for all to hear (including children) and also to smash their racquets!!! I dont see any violation warnings when THIS happens and that is very wrong. Not exactly an example to younger children who are interested in the sport. Stop the time violations NOW!!!! It was a ridiculous idea!!
I think it's very unfair that Nadal always seems to be the only player to get gets time Violations, when Djokovic and some other players take a lot longer, but never get any warning. It seems that all the umpires seem to also give Nadal his warnings just as he's about to take an important shot. I think it's about time that the umpires treated all players the same, as it's very unfair on Nadal all the time
The rule is too stressful on the server. players cannot keep their calm and concentrate on their serves. Also 2 extra seconds won't hurt anyone.