For Tennis Parents by a Tennis Parent

Parents, players, and coaches . . .

Please familiarize yourself with the updated Recovery Rule for junior tournaments. With the summer season getting underway, it is important that we know and understand the rule for how much time a player is entitled to between matches.

As is true with many USTA rules, tournament officials aren’t always up to date in their knowledge. We may be called upon to advocate on behalf of our players and must have access to the latest rules and regulations. I recommend that you save a copy of this rule on your phone/tablet so you can access it immediately if necessary. Safety first!

RECOVERY RULE

*Recovery Rule: After all singles matches in Junior, Adult, Senior, NTRP and Wheelchair Divisions in which the match format is two out of three standard tiebreak sets or more, the Referee shall offer a rest of two hours before the player’s next singles match. This rule does not apply to short set matches, matches that play a tiebreak in lieu of a final third set, nor to any match played indoors where the duration of the match is less than 120 minutes.

• FAC Comment III.C-1: A player plays a short best of three tiebreak sets singles match outdoors. The player’s next match is another best of three set singles match. Is the Referee obligated to offer the player a minimum rest of two hours? Yes.
• FAC Comment III.C-2: A player’s opponent retires before the end of the first set of a best of three tiebreak set singles matches that was played outdoors. The player’s next match is another best of three set singles match. Is the Referee obligated to offer the player a minimum rest of two hours? Yes.
• FAC Comment III.C-3. A player plays a long and competitive best of three set match with a Match Tiebreak in lieu of the third set. The player’s next match is a singles match. Is the Referee obligated to offer the player a minimum rest of two hours? Although the two-hour rest provision of the Recovery Rule does not apply, the conditions justify more rest and the Referee should offer more than the minimum rest in Table 11.
• FAC Comment III.C-4: A player plays a long and competitive best-of-three tiebreak sets singles match. The player’s next match is doubles. Is the Referee obligated to offer the player a minimum rest of two hours? Although the two-hour rest provision of the Recovery Rule does not apply, the conditions justify more rest and the Referee should offer more than the minimum rest in Table 11.
• FAC Comment III.C-5. A player plays a long and competitivematch.May the Referee offer the player more than two hours rest? When conditions justify more rest, the Referee should offer additional rest.
• FAC Comment III.C-6: A player has entered two singles divisions, each with the best of three tiebreak sets as the format. The player’s first match is in one division and the next match is in another division. Is the Referee obligated to offer the player a minimum rest of two hours between the matches? Yes.
• FAC Comment III.C-7: A player plays a long and competitive best-of-three tiebreak sets singles match indoors that lasts fewer than 120 minutes. Is the Referee obligated to offer the player a minimum rest of two hours? Although the two-hour rest provision of the Recovery Rule does not apply, these conditions may justify more rest and the Referee should offer more than the minimum rest in Table 11. Other indoor conditions that may justify additional rest include high temperature or humidity.
• FAC Comment III.C-8: May the Referee shorten the rest between matches in tournaments using No-Ad scoring? No.
• FAC Comment III.C-9: A junior player enters the 16 singles and the 18 doubles divisions. The player is scheduled to play two singles followed by one doubles match. How much rest must the Referee offer the player between the matches? The Referee must offer the player 60 minutes between the singles matches because the matches are in the same division. If the Recovery Rule applies because the format of the first match was two out of three standard tiebreak sets, then the Referee must offer two hours rest. The Referee is required to offer the player only 30 minutes between the second singles match and the first doubles match because these matches are in different divisions.
• FAC Comment III.C-10: Same situation as in FAC Comment III.C-9 except that the player is scheduled to play a singles match, the doubles match, and the singles match. How much rest must the Referee offer the player between the matches? The Referee is required to offer the player only 30 minutes between each match because in each case the matches are in different divisions.
• FAC Comment III.C-11: How does the Referee determine the length of an indoor match to decide whether the Recovery Rule applies? When officials are available, they should record the time when the first ball is struck and when the last point is over. When this is not possible, the Referee should record the time that the match was sent to the courts and the time that the players report the scores. This time should be reduced by the length of the warmup and by the additional time that can reasonably be expected for the players to get to and from the court.

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