The All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) has made a historic change to their rules after announcing from 2019 a final set tie-break will be applied to all matches.
In a statement released on Friday morning, the governing body of the grand slam has confirmed that tie-breaks will now be used when the final set reaches 12-12. The winner will be the first to reach seven points in the tie-breaker with a winning advantage of at least two points. The rule change will apply to all qualifying, men’s, women’s, mixed and junior singles and doubles matches.
“In reaching this decision, the AELTC Committee sought the feedback of both players and officials, analysed two decades of match data, and considered other factors, including scheduling complexities and spectator experience.” Chairman Philip Brook said in a statement.
“Our view was that the time had come to introduce a tie-break method for matches that had not reached their natural conclusion at a reasonable point during the deciding set. While we know the instances of matches extending deep into the final set are rare, we feel that a tie-break at 12-12 strikes an equitable balance between allowing players ample opportunity to complete the match to advantage, while also providing certainty that the match will reach a conclusion in an acceptable time frame.”
The change in rules follows two marathon men’s semi-final matches that took place at Wimbledon earlier this year. Kevin Anderson defeated John Isner 26-24 in the final set during a encounter lasting more than six hours. Then Novak Djokovic’s win over Rafael Nadal lasted more than five hours. As a consequence of the two lengthy matches, play was delayed until the next day. Resulting in the Women’s final being controversially delayed. Wimbledon are prohibited to play matches after 11pm is accordance to an agreement they have with the local council.
Anderson, who lost to Djokovic in the final, has previously argued that few players would oppose the introduction of a final set tie-breaker. The South African is a member of the ATP Players Council.
“I think if I asked most players, they wouldn’t be opposed to incorporating a fifth-set breaker.” Anderson told reporters earlier this year.
“ I’m sure there’s a few people that embrace the history, that you do play long sets. It is a unique point. I definitely agree with that.
“But I think just as tennis continues to evolve and just sports in general, I think the incredibly long matches maybe has had its place and time.”
Wimbledon is the second grand slam to implement the rule in singles competition. The first was in Flushing Meadows at the US Open. It has been reported that the Australian Open are also contemplating introducing a similar rule to their tournament in the future.
The longest match to have ever taken place in grand slam history occurred at the 2010 Wimbledon Championships when Isner defeated Nicolas Mahut 70-68 in the decider. The match was played over three days and lasted 11 hours and five minutes.
