Fast4 Tennis
Fast4 Tennis is a proposed tennis format, initiated by Tennis Australia, which is a faster match and has fewer sets and varied rules than the traditional rules of tennis.
It has been described as the tennis equivalent of the Twenty20 format of cricket.[1]
History
Trials of the format began in Melbourne in October 2014, with clubs around Australia trialing it.
The first major public match of Fast4 was on January 12, 2015, when Roger Federer and Lleyton Hewitt played in an exhibition match at Qantas Credit Union Arena in Sydney, Federer winning 4–3(5–3) 2–4, 3–4(3–5) 4–0, 4–2. The match was broadcast live nationally in Australia on Nine Network[2] as well as some international networks.
Rafael Nadal also participated in the Fast 4 promotion with an exhibition match on January 13, 2015 at Melbourne Park, site of the Australian Open. The match was played inside Hisense Arena. Fernando Verdasco was one of the participants in the exhibition. .
Rules
The shortened format offers a "fast" alternative to tennis, with four points, four games and four rules: there are no advantage scores, lets are played, tie-breakers apply at three games all and the first to four games wins the set.
- 9 Point Tie-breaker
Similar to 12 point tiebreaker but with a few format changes especially on service order. First player to 5 points. Each player serves twice starting in deuce court switching sides after 4 points. At 4-all, the player who served second in the tiebreaker serves the ninth point with the receiving player choosing sides on the final point. 9-point tiebreaker details: .
The full explanation of the Fast4 format and rules is available at Tennis Australia.[3]
References
- ↑ "Roger Federer to pilot tennis version of cricket's Twenty20". Retrieved 12 January 2015.
- ↑ Knox, David (23 December 2014). "Nine serves up Fast4 Tennis". TV Tonight. Retrieved 12 January 2015.
- ↑ "Fast4 Tournament Scoring Format & Rules" (pdf). www.tennisworld.net.au. Tennis Australia.