Have you ever had a dispute with a fellow player over a call on the court that you couldn’t settle? Or have you ever wondered why a certain ruling was made during a match you were watching? Maybe you’re just curious about how some scenarios, from the common to the ridiculous, are resolved.
The USTA constantly receives these types of questions from players and fans, so we figured it’s about time we provided a forum in which queries about rules can be answered. Thus, we present to you The Final Word.
Readers can send their burning questions about the rules of tennis along with their name and town to FinalWord@USTA.com. Each week, we will select submissions and supply the definitive rulings through a Q&A with USTA Director of Officials Richard Kaufman.
On to this week's questions and responses...
Q. Playing doubles on a Har-Tru court, I hit a ball close to the line on the opponent’s side. One opponent said it was out, the other said he thought it was good. After discussing it and looking at the court, they made the call of "out." I asked if the mark showed the ball to be out, and they answered that they were not sure which mark on the court was from my shot. In that case, I contended that the call was based on how they saw the shot, and since they disagreed about that the point should be awarded to our team. They countered with, "It is our call, and we are calling it out." I said that if a ball could not be called out with certainty it was in, and since they originally disagreed it was not certain. How do you rule?
Charlie S. (from Salem, S.C.)
KAUFMAN: You are correct. Unless they could produce a clear mark on a clay court verifying the call (if they cannot determine the mark then the call was based on what they saw) and since the two partners disagreed, the ball then should be considered good.
Q: While playing doubles, my partner was serving. His first serve was out and the ball landed on the opponent’s court. On the second serve the receiver’s partner started picking up the stray ball. My partner (server) stopped play immediately (he did not play any shot) and asked for a repeat of the point on the basis that he was hindered by the player picking up the stray ball while ball was in play. Our opponents did not accept the replay of the point arguing that it was not a hindrance and we had a dispute.
Were we correct on calling that a hindrance? More generally, in any tennis match if one of the players, while the ball is in play picks up something from a court (be it a stray ball which was lying there before the point started, or a leaf/stone etc.), could the opponent claim replay as he/she is distracted by that?
Ioannis M. (Athens, Greece)
KAUFMAN: The receiving team has the right to clear a ball from a first serve fault if it ends up in or near the court. The server must wait and then hit a second serve. If a ball is on the court before the beginning of the point, then the players are obligated to leave it there throughout that next point. After a first serve fault, a player cannot hold up play to clear a ball that was there prior to the beginning of the point. Anything that remains on the court prior to the point cannot become a hindrance during the playing of the next point. If a ball from an adjacent court or a tree branch arrives on the court during a point then that can be deemed as a hindrance.
Within reason, any player from either side of the court can ask for a ball to be cleared prior to the beginning of a point. They may ask that the first serve fault ball be cleared prior to the second serve if that ball is indeed in a position that it could become a hindrance. The server must wait after a first serve fault to be sure that the ball from the fault does not arrive in a position that necessitates the clearing of that ball by the receiving team. Such delays do not warrant a first serve.
Q: In professional ATP tennis there is 25 (or was it 20???) seconds between the time the judge states the score and the next serve. Is this the time between when the judge states the score and when the server starts to serve OR the time between when the judge states the score and the server hits the ball?
The reason I ask is I noted Novak Djokovic likes to bounce the ball a lot. It takes him 0.49 second a bounce (a very rough estimate). If he bounces 30 times, that's 13.7 seconds. Is that time included in the 25 seconds rule?
Sheng-Chieh
KAUFMAN: Different events have different time procedures. In general, it is 20-25 seconds between points. The time starts from the end of the previous point to the time that the first serve is struck on the next point. It is not dependant on the chair umpire stating the score. It is probably just enough time for Novak’s service preparation.
Past Articles:
Since 1997, Richard Kaufman has served as Director of Officials for the USTA and Chief Umpire of the US Open. He's an ITF Certified Gold Badge Chief Umpire and an ITF Certified Silver Badge Referee, and has been a USTA Certified Official since 1977. Kaufman has also worked as the Chair Umpire for the US Open men's final (1983, 1987, 1996), US Open women's final (1988, 1995), the Australian Open men's final (1987), the Wimbledon men's doubles final (1987), the French Open men's doubles final (1988), and the Masters Cup final (1985-96). | | The Final Word - Past Articles | |