The Ultimate Tennis Showdown kickstarts with its first season later today in Nice and the first weekend action will have Stefanos Tsitsipas leading the play.
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The newest format of tennis is in town and it is expected to blow almost everyone over with all its rule changes and glitz and glamour.
With each of the 10 players in action at the Ultimate Tennis Showdown associated with a unique nickname, there will be five matches on Saturday and Sunday each as Tsitsipas joins hands with David Goffin, Alexei Popyrin and a few others for this potentially path-breaking competition.
Some of the rules involved in the tournament include allowing players a freer hand in expressing themselves and if it means breaking one’s racquet on court, then so be it. There aren’t too many sanctions for it.
There will also be quarters instead of sets, and each quarter will last 10 minutes with the player leading at the end of the quarter winning the quarter. Players need to win three of the four quarters and in case of a tie there will be a sudden death tie-breaker with the first player to win two points in a row winning it.
Players also given seven cards which they can use at any time in consultation with their coaches during the match which should help them get an extra bonus during the match.
For instance there is a card for forcing the opponent to try and win a point in three shots or less! Similarly another for winning three points instead of one. And so on. Clearly not a tournament you want to be watching if you believe Wimbledon is the be-all of tennis!
There are some other rules along with its live streaming options which are described here.
The first weekend of this competition will be held on June 13 and 14 with these 10 players featuring in two matches apiece. The tournament will continue each weekend for five weekends and every player is expected to play nine group stage matches, followed by the playoffs on the fifth weekend.
The schedule for the June 13-14 weekend can be found below.
Ultimate Tennis Showdown Order of Play for June 13-14
June 13 (all times local +2 GMT)
- 4 pm: Pouille v Benchtrit
- 5.15 pm: Brown v Paire
- 6.30 pm: Goffin v Berrettini
- 9 pm: Lopez v Popyrin
- 10.15 pm: Tsitsipas v Gasquet
June 14 (all times local +2 GMT)
- 4 pm: Popyrin v Benchtrit
- 5.15 pm: Brown v Berrettini
- 6.30 pm: Lopez v Pouille
- 9 pm: Gasquet v Goffin
- 10.15 pm: Tsitsipas v Paire
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