Resistance and acceptance to Exhibition scoring format
Any abbreviation of the traditional match format of tennis, for that matter of any sport, will be a reduced expression of its physical mental and technical skills. With few options available, exhibition format events are being staged as substitutes. What we see are not the game manoeuvres that we are familiar with.
The attraction for tennis grew over the last 140 years from the late eighteen hundred. One ingredient for the growth was the scoring system. Upto date, tennis has permitted very little changes to it and the few that came were amidst great deal of opposition, resistance and long drawn over a period of time.
The tie-break which is a standard scoring system now, took well over 20 years to be accepted by the tennis community. Even now it is not fully accepted, often stated as a format adopted for TV, implying it to be of a lesser significance to the game.
Scoring is more than numbers
Players develop skills and play matches to keep the scores to their advantage throughout a match to win. Using the scores as the lead is best known approach to select strategy and tactics. This makes the scoring system more than a count of numbers.
At the inception the tennis scoring process must have evolved giving considerations to many factors. As a guide to play competition tennis must have been one. Today the degree of weight given to scoring process by a player shows the level of maturity of the player. World beaters possess the inner secrets to control a match through scoring process.
The path to take towards knowing the secrets of tennis is to be in the appropriate competition progression in the development phase. All of these are of spectator interest in witnessing a tennis match. Scores are an attraction of tennis. Exhibition formats cannot deliver it.
Charm of Tennis
Traditional scoring, that is best of three sets and best of five sets holds the charm of tennis and keeps the game open till the last rally is played and won. The hand shake after Umpire declares game, set, match to the winner by name is the acceptance of the outcome of the match played by the players.
A sporting tradition that used to be in our little Colombo and in the island was the winner takes the loser to the table for a drink with the winner taking the tab. They departed as friends and not as enemies. (Orange Barley, Lanka Lime, cream soda Bitter lemon and Ginger beer came to being here)
The foundation is shaken
Tennis at present regardless where we live is critically disturbed by the pandemic, like all other sports. Many exhibition formats are being tried out. Globally, most of these changes are suggestions of coaching stables and past professional players trying to gain from current events after their prime. Some are destructive. Tennis has survived this in the past. While it last, it will be irksome to administrators.
Davis Cup and Federation Cup permits captains coaching during the changeover of points. They are a team event in tennis. The same is being applied to individual tennis. In fact, this has been tried out in some events for a while. It is not going well. It makes tennis singularly a team sport and not an individual sport.
The loss of individualism in exhibition form is making tennis unpopular to spectators. It breaks the playing rhythm and the spirit of liberty of the player on the court. It also subjects opponents to unfair disadvantages. In singles especially a match is between two players. Where does the extras fit in? If they do, what is the meaning of Singles and Doubles in tennis?
TV exhibition format as substitute
At present stadiums without spectators are sad and a frightening reminder of the current reality. While regular tennis events were designed for spectators’ present by the courtside, exhibition format are a design for TV audience. All of us watch TV and we know it is not dedicated to tennis alone like in a packed stadium.
Exhibition format to me is creating the third body of Tennis. ATP, WTA and Exhibition Tennis Association (ETA). I do not know where will they fit in, the about retire players are busy with it.
Some time ago Mahesh Bhupathi of India started an exhibition format event. Mega cities in Asia with mega players flying country to country playing four days in one location. To my recollection origin of it goes to Ion Tiriac Romania staging a Davis-Cup event for corporate clients in Germany in the eighties. Spectator boxes were made of dining table, flowers and Champagne bottles. Davis Cup finals gets the selective elite players by its own elimination process. Bhupathi created it by invitation.
Roger Federer is doing it now as Laver Cup, pitching Europe against the Americas. The origin of Davis Cup goes to Dwight Davis, the American Diplomat in memory of his mother presented a trophy in 1900. It was England against USA. Today the whole world is engulfed in Davis Cup. Events take time, if any idea can be sustained it will become an institution. Davis Cup had that strength.
Tennis and sports in general always had and have challenges from outside. Right now, it is Corona, doping and others. Must survive!
—George Paldano, Int. competition player; Accredited Coach of German Tennis Federation; National coach Brunei, Sri Lanka, Davis-Cup & Federation-Cup. geodano2015@gmail.com