And the long, drawn-out ties are negatively impacting broadcasters. A shorter shot clock was experimented with at the ATP Next Gen Finals last year in Saudi Arabia.
Part of the rules revamp will also look to address the problem of singles players entering the doubles draw before withdrawing without playing a match. A proposed new entry system, which could be tried out in Madrid, would reserve 13 places in the doubles draw for teams involving singles players, who would have a later entry deadline than their specialist doubles counterparts.
The Madrid Masters doubles draw is set to start on the second Tuesday of the event in an attempt to resolve scheduling issues after ESPN reportedly wrote to the ATP explaining why they don’t show doubles matches.
