Jack Draper to be part of Next Gen Finals trial as players to face new rules in shake-up | Tennis | Sport
Jack Draper will be among the players to trial a new set of rules at the upcoming Next Gen Finals after qualifying for the 21-and-under event for the first time. The Milan tournament has always used a different scoring format to the rest of the tour and will now trial new innovations including shorter times between serves.
Draper is one of eight “next gen” players who have qualified for the season-ending tournament between the top 21-and-under players. The Next Gen Finals has previously been won by the likes of Stefanos Tsitsipas, while current world No 1 Carlos Alcaraz lifted the trophy less than a year ago.
As well as breeding talent – players like Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev competed in the past – the tournament is also known for its irregular format, with sets that are first-to-four-games used while other rules have been trialled in Milan, sometimes going on to be implemented on the main tour.
And it will be no different this year, as players like Draper and world No 18 Holger Rune will be the guinea pigs for new procedures surrounding changeovers and time between games. This year, the ATP will be experimenting with the shot-clock and reducing the time players get if a point is won through the serve.
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The Next Gen finals also trialled the new timed toilet break rule that was brought in at the start of this season, with three minutes given for a bathroom break with an additional two minutes if the player changes clothes. Reduced medical time-outs and a shorter warm-up also came from the Next Gen event, now used on the pro tour year-round.
Some rules have never been translated from the tournament, including the scoring format. As well as the first-to-four-game sets, there is also no-ad scoring with a sudden-death point at deuce which has long been used in the doubles on the ATP Tour but has never made its way to the singles.
