By Danielle Rendina
The ATP's flagship Next Gen ATP Finals for top-ranked tennis players aged 21 and under will feature pioneering new rules including short sets, shot clocks and no lets this November.
Milan, which is hosting this year's inaugural tournament, will showcase the rule changes that are geared towards attracting younger fans with a unique product that is hoped will bring tennis into the 21st century.
Chris Kermode, ATP chairman: "We remain acutely aware of the traditions in our sport, and we will be sure to safeguard the integrity of our product."Credit: AP
The most significant change will be to the scoring system. Matches will be best-of-five-sets with first to four games instead of the usual six, tie-breaks will be played at 3-3 and there will be a sudden-death point at deuce. Warm-ups will be restricted to "precisely five minutes from the second player walk-on", with a limit of one medical time out per player per match.
Comparable to the WTA Tour, players will be allowed to converse with their coaches at certain times, although they will not be allowed on court, which the ATP is hoping will "provide additional content and entertainment value for broadcast".
The governing body has also made mention of a "free movement" policy for the crowd, whereby spectators will be able to go in and out of the stadium during matches rather than just during breaks in play, except those seated behind the baselines.
ATP executive chairman and president Chris Kermode said: "We are excited to be bringing something new to the table with this event.
"The sports and entertainment landscape is changing rapidly, as are the ways in which fans are consuming our sport. This event is not only about the next generation of players, but also about the next generation of fans.
"We have created this new tournament precisely to allow us to look at some potential new elements, in a high-profile environment."
Similarly to what Twenty20 did for cricket, the ATP hopes the changes will help engage new and younger fans to the sport as well as creating "a high-tempo, cutting-edge, and TV-friendly product", but it is not about to abandon the long-established fundamentals of tennis.
"We remain acutely aware of the traditions in our sport, and we will be sure to safeguard the integrity of our product when assessing if any changes should eventually be carried forward onto regular ATP World Tour events in the future," Kermode said.