Tennis is dying slowly, year after year"- Fans react to all Grand Slams adopting 10-point tie-break rule in final set
Wednesday proved to be a historic day for the four Grand Slams -- the Australian Open, Roland Garros, Wimbledon, and the US Open. Jointly with the Grand Slam Board, the Majors announced that they will use a 10-point tie-break when the matches reach 6-6 in the final set.
It is pertinent to note that this new system will be on trial for one Grand Slam year, beginning with the 2022 French Open.
Tennis fans will no longer get to see epic drawn-out battles like the one between John Isner and Nicolas Mahut at the 2010 edition of Wimbledon or the one between Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic in 2019.
Tennis fans have made their feelings regarding the new scoring system known all across Twitter. It is safe to say that the majority of them are displeased with the rule, given they will be robbed of high-octane fifth set drama.
One fan lamented the state of tennis, pointing out how it was "dying" a slow death.
"Tennis is dying slowly, year after year. I'm so sad and angry," they said.
Tennis is dying slowly, year after year. I'm so sad and angry. twitter.com/Wimbledon/statā¦
You want tennis to become TikTok popular. Donāt cry when they start changing things for the TikTok crowd. twitter.com/BenRothenberg/ā¦
twitter.com/wimbledon/statā¦Good news: finally all Slams will apply the same rule to decide the final set.
Bad news: itās the wrong rule. š© twitter.com/wimbledon/statā¦
One fan opined that the new scoring system was the price to pay to protect the best-of-five format.
"If this is the prize to pay in order to keep best of five tennis around for a longer time, I'll gladly pay it," he said.
If this is the prize to pay in order to keep best of five tennis around for a longer time, I'll gladly pay it twitter.com/Wimbledon/statā¦
Another Twitter user hilariously mentioned that tennis was spiraling like their love life.
"Tennis breaking my heart more than any relationship and it's getting worse," she quipped.
twitter.com/Wimbledon/statā¦tennis breaking my heart more than any relationship and it's getting worse š twitter.com/Wimbledon/statā¦
John Isner and Nicolas Mahut set the record for the longest-ever fifth set in tennis history by going 70-68 during their 2010 Wimbledon encounter. The American tends to play really long matches, especially on grass, given how difficult his blistering serve is to break.
this is all *literally* John Isner's fault twitter.com/Wimbledon/statā¦
Another fan listed memorable matches that existed solely due to the earlier scoring system, indirectly lamenting its departure.
@rolandgarros RIP š¾
Nadal d. Federer 2008 W F
Djokovic d. Nadal 2012 AO F
Nadal d. Djokovic 2013 RG SF
Djokovic d. Federer 2019 W F
Djokovic d. Nadal 2018 W SF
Safin d. Federer 2005 AO SF
V. Williams d. Davenport 2005 W F
Federer d. Roddick 2009 W F
Halep d. Kerber 2018 AO F
Noted tennis journalist Ben Rothenberg expressed his displeasure at the new system, even though he has been a long-term advocate for best-of-three tennis.
Man I really, really donāt like this at all.
Abbreviating the tastiest, most climactic part of matches is not the way to shorten matches or standardize lengths. twitter.com/wimbledon/statā¦
100%, I have thought this for a decade.
Best format in tennis is best-of-three but play out the final set. Stakes are high from beginning so players don't tank sets. You don't abridge the best part at the end, and you almost never have 4+ hour slogs.
twitter.com/TheBoiledEgg/sā¦
Wimbledon may return to the 12-12 tiebreak after the trial period of the 10-point tie-breaker ends after the 2023 Australian Open.
Wimbledon has arguably had the longest final-set matches in the history of Grand Slams. The Australian Open has had lengthy fifth sets, but they switched to the 10-point tie-breaker format in 2019.
It gets hard for players to hold their serve on clay after a certain period, making long fifth sets uncommon. Meanwhile, the US Open has had a fifth-set tie-break in place for some years now.
Tennis journo Ravi Ubha detailed the existing system for each of the Slams in a tweet below:
So...
AO: Status quo
RG: Was lone Slam with no final set TB
Wimbledon: Went to TB at 12-12 final set, up to 7, winning by 2.
USO: Final set TB extends to first player to 10, winning by 2, rather than 7. twitter.com/Wimbledon/statā¦
The new 10-point fifth-set tie-break trial will apply across qualifying, menās singles and doubles, womenās singles and doubles, wheelchair and junior events in singles.
The Grand Slam Board plans to review the system at the end of next year's Australian Open before deciding on a permanent course of action.
Should they decide against sticking with the system, the previous scoring rules at the All England Club (tie-break after 12-all in 5th set) might continue to remain in place.