Grand Slam Board announces trial of new tie-break format in final set deciders
The Grand Slam Board has confirmed that final sets in grand slams will now be a contested as a race to 10 points.
The decision, which has been introduced with immediate effect, will initially be adopted on a trial basis.
It is hoped that the change will bring consistency to the issue of how to finish a match which is tied 6-6 in the deciding set.
Wimbledon, in contrast, used a first-to-seven tie-break at 12-12, while the US Open has played a first-to-seven at 6-6 since 1970. The French Open, on the other hand, didn't have a deciding tie-break.
Consistency across the board 🤝
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) March 16, 2022
10-point tiebreaks will be trialled for a year across all 4 Grand Slam events pic.twitter.com/5lUcAZSPXm
Calls for the rule change have been ongoing since John Isner's infamous 70-68 win over Nicolas Mahut in the final set of their first-round Wimbledon match in 2010. The marathon has gone down in history as the longest ever contest in Grand Slam history, taking over 11 hours to complete.