Saturday, October 05, 2019

Want To Create Absolute Bedlam? Just Try Enforcing This Rule...

From time to time we find a tennis rule that is absolutely ridiculous and totally unenforceable...

Here is one for you...

Source:  USTA Tennis Officiating:  Procedures and Techniques 2018  (Distributed to all USTA officials.

Rule:  Page 5 

B.  Roving umpire procedures.
     iii. Overrules - A Roving Umpire should never overrule an extremely close ball.
          1. Players are playing under The Code and are expected to give their opponents the benefit of the doubt. Therefore, a Roving Umpire should be reluctant to call a ball out that has been played as good.
          2. The overrule of an out ball that has been played as good may be made only when a Roving Umpire is stationed on court.

Let me assure you--if you are roving and start to call balls out for the players when they have played the ball as good is going to create ABSOLUTE BEDLAM!

It may be a rule but it is a rule that should be ignored and hopefully removed from the manual in the near future.

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