New Texas Rule: Third Overrule Penalties

In each edition, a member of the USTA Texas Officials Committee tackles a unique challenge that has recently emerged on the court and breaks it down for everyone. This helps us all learn from each other's experiences, improve our understanding, and ensure fair play and accurate officiating. 

Bad Day on the Tennis Court:

You have a match today against an opponent you have never met.  You introduce yourself at the bench and spin a racquet. There is one roving official for eight courts.

On the third point of the match, your opponent calls a close ball out on the baseline, but you are not sure if it was in or out. You continue to play. It is now ad-out. You call the ball out on a shot that is slightly behind you that you really didn’t see land. The official at the net, calls “Correction, ball was good.” This is your first overrule and you lose that point. A ball you do not see cannot be called out. If your opponent sees their ball out, they can make that call for you. Good Sportsmanship.

Third game of the first set, the official is standing outside your court but in direct observation of the baseline on your opponent’s side. Your opponent calls a close ball out, the ball hits ¼ of the line and the official overrules the out call. You win the point. Both players now have 1 overrule.

Fourth game at deuce, you run to hit a wide shot and call it out. The ball touches the line, and the official overrules your call. You now have two overrules. You lose that point. You go on to lose the set and you are upset. 

Second set begins. You lose the first two games. There are no line issues. You become more upset. First point of the third game, you call a clearly-in ball out. No official observed the point. Your opponent goes to get the official. Second point you call a ball out that clearly hit the line and the official overrules your call. This is your third overrule. You lose that point. You are issued a Code Violation for Unsportsmanlike Conduct. You lose another point. You are now down a set and three games and are very upset.

You throw your racquet from the service line to the back fence. Official issues a Code Violation, Racquet Abuse, Game Penalty. You already had a code violation for the third overrule. You are down four games in the second set. 

Your opponent serves to start the fifth game of the second set. You call the serve out when it was in by several inches. The official at the net overrules the out call. This is your fourth Overrule, but because you have two Code Violations already for point then game, the penalty is Default. The match is over.

Does the above situation happen? Yes it does, but there are matches that are played where the players make good line calls and keep up with the score without an official ever going on their court. To receive good sportsmanship, you need to demonstrate good sportsmanship. 

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To ensure fair play for all players, the Texas' Third Overrule Penalty was approved to be implemented effective January 1, 2025.  An overrule occurs when a USTA Official in direct observation of the court corrects an out call. The player making the incorrect out call now has an overrule and loses the point. Everyone can make an error especially when running down a ball.  This rule is to prevent unsportsmanlike conduct by eliminating or at least reducing continuous incorrect calls. This new rule does not prevent an official from issuing a Code Violation for Unsportsmanlike Conduct for an egregious out call that is in on all lines by 6 inches. The rule is below. 

USTA Texas Third Overrule Penalty Enforcement. 

For all junior players, the third overrule will result in the application of the Point Penalty System (Code Violations). This system of penalties is designed to deter unsportsmanlike behavior. As a Texas section rule, this applies to Junior L7 through Closed L3 tournaments. 

Here’s a breakdown of how these would be enforced if no previous codes have been issued: 

• The first penalty results in a loss of a point; 

• The second penalty results in a loss of the game in progress; 

• The third penalty results in a default. 

Any intervening Code Violations will be applied in the order in which they occurred.

Suspension points will be applied accordingly.