From November 28 to December 2, the ATP Youth Final Championship will be held in Jeddah (Saudi Arabia). The competition is open to the best players under 21 years of age. Carlos Alcaraz, Holger Rune, Ben Shelton and Lorenzo Musetti withdrew from the tournament, although they had the right to compete in it. The competition is included in the official season calendar, the results of the matches are noted in the history of athletes’ personal matches, but tennis players do not receive ranking points. In general, this is a kind of Laver Cup for young people. The comparison, of course, is a bit far-fetched, but nothing else immediately comes to mind.
The Youth Final Tournament appeared on the calendar in 2017. The previous five editions (the event was canceled in 2020 due to the pandemic) were held in Milan (Italy), and only now has the championship moved to the Middle East. The main reason why the youth final attracts attention is not so much the opportunity to see head-to-head matches of future superstars (you never know how the players’ careers will develop), but rather the holding of matches according to experimental rules.
Some of the innovations are not innovations in the full sense, simply because they have already been used in this tournament. As in previous years, matches are played in a five-set format and to win a match it is necessary to win not six matches, but four. And if the result is 3:3, a regular tiebreaker of up to seven points is played, which must be won by a margin of two points. In this case, there can be no extended games: if the score is “even”, the decisive point is played and the server chooses where to serve from in this tie.
Spectators can move freely around the stands, but not near the baseline so as not to disturb the players. There is no transition after the first game of the set and the break between games has been reduced from 120 to 90 seconds.
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Is there any real innovation?
There are, and quite a few. According to the competition’s official website, the changes are designed to “accelerate the fast-paced format of the competition, enhance the fan experience and enrich players, coaches and fans with data and analysis.”
First of all, the organizers eliminated the traditional warm-up on the court. Matches begin immediately after the draw to determine the server for the first game. But tennis players can still warm up before playing on a separate court designed for this purpose.
What do the participants themselves think about this? “The lack of warm-up is interesting. It will usually take a few minutes to find your game. But here everything is different,” the ATP press service quotes Dominik Stricker.
To speed up the game process, no more than eight seconds should pass between the first and second serves. This rule also applies if “let” is declared (that is, the ball hits the desired square, having previously caught the wire). Additionally, as in previous tournaments, the time between rallies has been reduced from 25 to 15 seconds if the previous rally consisted of fewer than three impacts.
“I like the new timing rules: eight seconds between the first and second serves, and 15 seconds between rallies when the rallies are short. This is a good idea because you can save a lot of time after such short draws. Some players may feel they need more time. But I think it’s a very good idea,” Stricker said.
“I only hit the ball on the court three times [перед подачей]. So eight seconds between the first and second serve shouldn’t be a problem for me,” said Alex Michelsen, another tournament participant.
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For other players, these innovations can actually make life more difficult. But there is also help. Athletes can track their biometric data directly during matches through sensors that send information to the devices. This is said to provide a “comprehensive overview of physical fitness and stress response.” And for coaches, a special video system is available with data updated in real time, so they can analyze the player’s game on the fly and make adjustments if necessary.
In addition, the organizers introduced the so-called Basecamp, which was more necessary for fans than for players. This is a group of tests that tennis players perform off the court. During the tests they demonstrate their skills and level of physical fitness. Finally, the chief judge’s tower is no longer so tall, but has become a chair. Since outs are still tracked electronically, it is no longer necessary to set the lead high. But the view will improve for viewers.
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Abedallah Shelbaykh, another participant in the tournament, said the most difficult thing for him will be getting used to allowing fans to move around the stands. “I think it will be more interesting once everyone gets used to the fast pace of the game. And short series of four games… The fate of the match can be decided with a few points. I think this will help us show our best qualities.
One rule that can complicate my life is the free movement of fans, because I have never encountered this before. We are used to people walking around the court during training. But during the game it is something new for me,” he said.
***
It can be argued for a long time whether tennis needs new rules and, if so, which ones. But that is precisely why these tournaments exist: to test new products and, if successful, apply them. And in this sense, the Junior Final Championship seems almost an ideal event.
It is the young players who have not yet had enough of tennis and who, therefore, will not openly play in a half-exhibition tournament, who should experience the innovations. And it is better to do it at the end of the season, so that later, after collecting data, you can calmly sit down and analyze everything correctly. And besides, will young people treat the game carelessly if the tournament offers good prize money? The total prize fund is 2 million dollars, of which the winner, if he covers the entire distance without losing, will receive 514 thousand dollars (the format is the same as in the adult final: three group matches, one semi-final and a final.)
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