NCAA Reverses Course on Contentious College Tennis Rule Changes

The NCAA decided to rescind their proposed college tennis rule changes, which were widely denounced by the tennis community.

According to the NCAA’s release, the Division I Men’s and Women’s Tennis Committee rescinded several proposed format changes, including the tiebreaker procedure for singles and six-all set doubles competition.

The original proposal was to eliminate a third set in singles and replace it with a “super tiebreaker” (first to 10), and in doubles to play one six-game set with a tiebreaker at six-all instead of the eight-game pro set.

“We heard the concerns, and we look forward in the future to working with the ITA and USTA to try to come up with formats that would make college tennis better and more fan friendly,” Cathy Beene, committee chair, said.

The other proposed rule changes, mainly aimed at shortening changeovers and shortening the time between matches, will proceed.