Next week it is time for the Next Gen Finals 2019. Besides building new stars in tennis, it is also a testing ground for new rules and tech.
The Next Gen Finals 2019 will be played, like the previous editions, in Milan, Italy. The tournament features the best seven (age 21-or-under) qualified players of the season (as determined by the ATP Rankings on Monday, 28 October 2019), plus one wild card, battling for US$ 1.4 million in prize money over five days of competition. Read more on the official website.
The competition is a testing ground for new rules and tech.
Here are a few innovations:
- Best-of-five-sets format
- Shorter sets to 4 (tie-break at 3-All)
- No-Ad scoring.
- Electronic Line Calling through Hawk-Eye Live
- 25-second Shot Clock
- In-Match player coaching via head-sets
- Video Review
- (This year they will not use the no-let rule like previous years.)
What is new for 2019 is that the players will be permitted to use wearable technology.
The eight players of 2019: Mikael Ymer, Ugo Humbert, Casper Ruud, Alex De Minaur, Denis Shapovalov, Frances Tiafoe, Miomir Kecmanovic, and Jannik Sinner.
Why wearable tech?
The players will be using a wearable device. This will consist of a GPS receiver and inertial sensors that measure velocity and direction, acceleration and force, rotation, and body orientation. The data from the wearable device will provide accurate maps of movements and actions. The information will only be accessible by each player and those that the player gives access to.
Players and coaches will be provided with post-match and post-practice reports, and they will also have the opportunity to synchronize the data with match footage to add additional context.
Chris Kermode, ATP Executive Chairman & President, said: “From the outset, the Next Gen ATP Finals have been at the cutting edge of innovation in our sport, and the use of wearable technology this year during matches will provide some invaluable insights to players, coaches and ATP medical services. This is a unique tournament that has always embraced new technologies, and this is the latest step as the event continues to pioneer innovation in the game.”
What do you think about the Next Gen Finals?
Some people and players are critical of the whole idea with Next Gen. Partly because it puts too much pressure on the players to “deliver”, but also because they get a bit special treatment compared to the rest of the tour. Personally I can see why ATP wanted to introduce this. The fear of “what will happen to tennis?” when Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic retires is real and there for a reason. You need to build new stars to sustain a healthy interest in the sport.
I also like the idea of testing new rules and scoring. Tennis is a sport filled with tradition and it is healthy to test ways to inject more life into it and make it more appealing for a wider audience. My visit to Laver Cup was eye-opening in the way how tennis can create more entertainment and generate more buzz. Here are a few logical ideas, I am keen to hear what you think about them:
- More team tournaments – team sports generate more interest and is also good from a social aspect.
- Shorten matches – more sets, but shorter seems to be an interesting idea for more drama.
- The production around tour matches needs to be better. Announcer, lights, music etc.
I like tennis the way it is in many ways, but I am a nerd. So we have to think about the life of the sport outside our more hardcore group of tennis fans.
What do you think and will you be watching?
4 comments
I think that the Next Gen Finals is unnecessary thing. There is too much honor to create a separate tournament for hot youth who are greedy for recognition. They must deserve to be “adults”. Hard work will produce the results. Nothing personal just business from ATP Tour.
Wow… Next Gen backlash?
I absolutely LOVE IT. Right after the first 2017 tournament, my friend and I started mixing in matches with Next Gen rules. We both agreed the no let was a mistake. It could be worked in somehow, to keep better momentum, but OK, scratch that for now.
I LOVE practically everything else about it. . Shorter games, shorter matches. Linesmen??? Why if there is technology that is way more accurate? I was at the Qualifiers of the US Open this year. Up close to the action. You’d be surprised how many missed outs calls there were on those side courts. By inches sometimes. The main matches have the best lines people + hawk eye.
I enjoy watching tennis, but I couldn’t dedicate 5 hours to watch the Wimbledon final this year, and hence missed a good part of it. This has to change. Ask any player. The tour season is absolutely brutal. And some matches are just too long. I have a theory on why this hasn’t changed yet…. the longer the matches at Grand Slams, the longer people stay and spend on $8 hot dogs and $12 beers.
Lastly, not really Next Gen issue, but they should experiment with addressing the serves. With players getting taller and taller, a lot of matches are just service show downs. Either that, or it’s impossible to break serve. I’m 6’3″ and I get it, that’s tennis. It’s just boring to watch.
This all coming form a huge tennis lover. I cannot imagine a casual fan, sitting through a 5 hour match on TV.
Completely agree with this comment!
I completely agree with David. Especially the comment about serves dominating the matches. Many matches are just a serving procession, boring until the tiebreak – which often also goes with serve except 1 point which decides the set. Then turn it off for 12 games and wait for the next tiebreak. This is especially true for the faster surfaces like Wimbledon.
The best matches are ones where both players are not great servers, but move well and are good at playing the points out. Then you get long, exciting rallies. Aces are boring.
I doubt that the service was meant to dominate the sport. I think that it was intended only as a way to get the ball into play.
My solution – and I have written this as feedback to Wimbledon – is make it only 1 serve chance.
Another idea is to forbid jumping when serving if the player is more than 6 feet tall!