Switch Receiving at 11

Rules Proposal:
"Tennis Doubles: Option to Switch Receiving at 11"
rev A, 2008-11-17, by Rules Officer Hans Mullamaa
Original proposer: Rules Officer Hans Mullamaa
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Revision History:
rev A, 2008-11-17: First version.
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1) In Short

The tennis rules for doubles offer each of the teams the option to switch "receiving set-up" between sets, meaning that the player that received on the forehand side in the previous set will move over to the backhand side and vice versa.

In order to be consistent with the tennis rules we should have the corresponding opportunity within the tennis set in Racketlon meaning that each team should have the option to switch at half time, i.e. at 11. (At present our rules say that it has to stay the same throughout the set.)

2) Amendment by Rules Officer

2.1) Existing Rule (3.2g)
As in badminton the cycle for serving in tennis is simply A1 - B1 - A2 - B2 throughout the set. As regards the receiving each team choose which player returns on the forehand and which player returns on the backhand side and this stays the same throughout the set.

2.2) Wording Proposed by Rules Officer (if proposal is accepted)
As in badminton the cycle for serving in tennis is simply A1 - B1 - A2 - B2 throughout the set. As regards the receiving each team choose, at the beginning of the set, which player returns on the deuce court (i.e. forehand side for right handers) and ad court (i.e. backhand side for right handers) and this shall stay the same until the half time break at 11, at which time each of the teams has the option to switch or leave it unchanged. This shall then stay the same until the end of the set.

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Attachment:
Comments by Rules Officer
rev B, 2009-01-01, by acting Rules Officer Hans Mullamaa
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Revision History:
rev A, 2008-11-17: First version.
rev B, 2009-01-01: Added a record of the final AGM decision.
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1) Aspects

1.1) Consistency.
Here is the relevant tennis rule:
"15. ORDER OF RECEIVING IN DOUBLES
The team which is due to receive in the first game of a set shall decide which player shall receive the first point in the game. Similarly, before the second game starts, their opponents shall decide which player shall receive the first point of that game. The player who was the receiver’s partner for the first point of the game shall receive the second point and this rotation shall continue until the end of the game and the set. After the receiver has returned the ball, either player in a team can hit the ball."

What this means is simply that the receiving shall stay the same within each set in the sense that the same player should keep receiving from the forehand side while the other should stay on backhand. But each pair has the option to switch between sets.

A tennis match contains sets. The tennis within Racketlon contains two halves. The tennis sets can thus be said to correspond to the halves in Racketlon. Therefore, if we want to be consistent with the tennis rules we should allow switching between halves.

However, it can be argued that the halves of the Racketlon set is not really equivalent to the sets in a tennis match. A tennis set is independent in the sense that you start from scratch and the result of the previous set does not have any direct influence on the next one. Whereas the second of the two halves in a Racketlon tennis set just continues the previous half as regards scoring and serving.

1.2) Unbalanced workload
A consequence of the above mentioned lack of equivalence is that a switch can lead to some imbalance in the involvement between the two players in a pair simply since the same player might get to receive twice in a row. This happens when the break occurs after an odd number of points and the receiving side decides to switch; then the player currently serving will serve towards the same receiver twice in a row. First on deuce court before the break and then on add court after the break.

This imbalance can, however, be regarded as an interesting feature that brings one more tactical aspect into play. Each pair has about a 25% chance to be on the receiving side at half time when an odd number of points have been played. If that occurs they have the opportunity to take advantage of the fact that one of them is a better receiver. Fair enough...

2) Proposed Voting Procedure
Simple "Yes" or "No" vote.

3) Recommendation by Rules Officer
Yes. For reasons of consistency with the tennis rules we should allow switching at half time. (This is probably what many players familiar with the tennis rules already assume.)

4) AGM Decision (According to Lennart Eklundh, acting Rules Officer at the AGM)
Proposal APPROVED.

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