The 2024 Madrid Open begins in a few weeks, and it will gain even more attention than normal due to new rules that are set to be tested at the event.
Tennis fans have just enjoyed the first two combined WTA and ATP Masters 1000 events in Indian Wells and Miami, with both being utterly thrilling to watch throughout most of March.
The tournament in Madrid is the next of these events. Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal are on the ATP entry list for the event, while Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka are on the WTA entry list for Madrid.
There is always an outstanding atmosphere at the Madrid Open, particularly when home players are in action. This was seen in last year's final, when the fans roared Alcaraz to victory in three sets against a gutsy Jan-Lennard Struff.
The tournament will undoubtedly generate enough attention with the quality tennis being played. But additional headlines have already been created with the news of this 15-second shot clock trial.
Inews reports that players have been told that a 15-second shot clock will be tested in the doubles draw at the tournament. The singles players will not be using this since it is first being done as a narrowly focused trial.
The 15-second shot clock will apply to rallies under three shots. This effectively means that if a player hits an ace or an unreturned serve, the new shot clock will be used. 25 seconds is the current rule for all rallies.
Interestingly, this will not be the first time that this new shot clock is trialed. It was also used at the ATP Next Generation Finals in Jeddah last year. Many fans did enjoy the shorter time between points at that tournament.
Less time between points certainly suits some players more than others. This is a fascinating idea and it will be interesting to observe if the concept ends up going any further in the future.
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