The game of Cricket evolved as one of the most followed sports in the world in recent years. Cricket transformed from comprehensive 5-day test matches to 60-over One-Day matches and then the 50-over One-Day matches. Most recently, the shortest format of cricket, Twenty-20 format has featured in the world of Cricket in the past decade and also attracted one of the highest viewership during these matches. The IPL has broken all the records of viewership and is known as one of the most entertaining tournaments in the world.
In today's fast-moving life and the time-starved world, Tennis should also try to adapt to the shorter format of the game to grab the audience attention. The tradition of 3-sets and the 5-sets game should not be demolished but a tournament of the shorter format should be brought in.
A new format, Thirty30 Tennis has been introduced in Tennis. This format is more fun and competitive version of the sport that a set is completed in no longer than 20 minutes. Thirty30 Tennis is equivalent to the T20 format of Cricket which is more entertaining than the longer format.
The rules of the games are the same as the traditional format except-
(1) EVERY gameplay starts at ’30-30′.
(2) At 6 games all in a set, a ‘Short Set’ ‘9-point tie-break’ is played, i.e. first to 5 points, sudden death at 4-4.
(3) Players serve alternative games, but only change ends after ‘two & four’ games are played, instead of after ‘one & two’ games as per traditional tennis, i.e. change ends after 2, 6 and 10 games and at the end of each set.
A set in Thirty30 format takes no longer than 20 minutes, best-of-3-sets 60 minutes and best-of-5-sets 90 minutes. Also, a best of 3 sets match played in 1 hour is ideal for a 1-hour court booking slot. The Thirty30 format retains the important traditions of tennis far better than FAST4 that is set to 6 games (lead by 2), Advantage points are played and a Tie-breaker is played at 6 games all.
The ‘final’ set, that is, lead by 2 games for example 7-5 or 8-6 of Thirty30 tennis produces a fairer match decider than the 3rd set 10-point match tie-break rule which is not well liked and can be a lottery.
When using Thirty30, the game score ticks over more quickly and the whole dynamics of a set are changed, unlike FAST4 which is basically just a set of tennis cut short.
The future of tennis requires having alternative shorter scoring formats. The Thirty30 format can be a good alternative for a shorter format of tennis and make the sport more entertaining than ever.
