Tennis
Tennis Match Suspension: What Does It Mean?
A tennis match suspension is one of the frustrating yet necessary things the sport must contend with. There are several reasons for suspension, and guidelines to be followed when that happens. We delve into them.
Workers clear water from the court//Getty Images
A tennis match’s suspension is the temporary halting of the match in the interests of all stakeholders. That is, players, fans and sundry.
The International Tennis Federation’s rule book’s provisions on a tennis match’s suspension indicate that the chair umpire or ITF referee may stop or suspend a match temporarily, owing to several conditions.
Frustrating as it may be for players in their rhythm, and fans captivated by the match, certain conditions dictate suspension. We investigate the reasons this may occur.
The Reasons a Tennis Match May Be Suspended
Wish it away as we may, weather is just one element all sporting codes must contend with.
Adverse weather conditions, darkness and the conditions of the grounds are the primary reasons a tennis match may be suspended.
As soon as the chair umpire undertakes the decision to suspend a tennis match, it must be reported to the ITF Supervisor who will assess the conditions and make a final decision. A decision to resume or postpone the match.
Until a final decision is made, the players, chair umpire and all on-court officials must remain ready to resume play.
Upon suspension of the match, the chair umpire has several things to make record of, as well as collecting all the balls in use for the match.
Details Umpire Has to Record on Suspension
- Time
- Point(s)
- Game and set score
- Name of the server
- Sides on which each player was situated
Re-Warm-Up Conditions of a Suspended Match
According to the National Institutes of Health, warm-up exercises are primed to help athletes adopt to the intensity demanded by competing, performance and the reduction of possible injuries.
But what about re-warm-ups because of breaks in sports, such as suspension of a tennis match?
They are just as important to maintain a certain level of performance and reduce injury risks, as are warm-ups.
With this in mind, the ITF has provisions on re-warm-ups for a suspended tennis match, to allow players to get back to their prior performance levels. They are as follows:
| Amount of Time in Delay | Re-warm-up Conditions |
| 0-15 minutes delay | No re-warm-up |
| 15-30 minutes delay | Three minute re-warm-up |
| 30+ minutes delay | Four or five minutes re-warm-up |
In September 2023, the US Open was forced to suspend matches due to extreme heat, after Novak Djokovic’s coach left sick.
Conditions for Suspension: Adverse weather, ground conditions and darkness
As already noted above, the ITF’s rulebook provides that there are three primary reasons a tennis match maybe be suspended for. We investigate each, as well as some of the rules pertaining.
Adverse weather/Rain
As soon as it starts raining, the ground staff must undertake several duties. Primarily, these are undertaken to ensure that when a decision to resume is taken, the conditions still allow for a tennis match to proceed properly.
The net, which is already there as a precautionary measure, must be pulled down to cover the entire playing area, to protect it from deterioration.
If the rain stops and there’s still sufficient natural light, the match is more likely to resume.
Ground Conditions
At a professional level and with the financial investment pumped into tennis, ground conditions alone, as a cause for suspension, is something that should not be happening.
In our assessment, it must be from the residual effects of weather conditions like rain, that ground conditions are cited as cause for suspension. However, stranger things have happened.
The US Open was recently brought to a halt for a very bizarre reason. The fire alarm at the event was triggered by the Hawkeye system.
Around five matches were suspended for just under ten minutes, leaving stars like Daniil Medvedev stranded.
Darkness
Darkness seems pretty much like a random condition for suspension, or one that is farfetched. However, it is worth noting and can occur owing to several reasons.
A change of weather, cloud cover, sunset and failing floodlights are one of those reasons we believe might lead to darkness and subsequent suspension of a tennis match.
The ITF’s rules for play suspended because of darkness basically incapsulate the aforementioned. There are certain steps the chair umpire and other officials must follow.
When darkness becomes a factor, play should be suspended at the end of a set, or after an even number of games have been played in the set in progress.
Instances Where Tennis Matches Were Suspended
Let’s have a quick look at a few matches that have been affected by suspension and the prevailing conditions. Most of the matches we cited here are very recent.
Elina Svitolina and Caroline Wozniacki at the Bad Hamburg Open
Darkness dimmed the suspense to a dramatic conclusion in the evening encounter between Elina Svitolina and Caroline Wozniacki.
Svitolina was leading 3-6, 7-6 (4), 2-1, when it was announced that the match would be concluded the following day.
Another prevailing cause for the suspension of this match was slippery conditions, attributable to rain.
Naomi Osaka and Katie Volynets at the China Open
Naomi Osaka and Katie Volynets also had to wait until the following day in their battle for a spot in the China Open Round of 16.
Rain was the primary reason for suspension, and not only did it cause the suspension of this match, but of all outer court matches.
No.10 seed at the time, Anna Kalinskaya was mounting a strong comeback against No.46, Peyton Stearns, when their match was also suspended.
Holger Rune and Grigor Dimitrov’s Matches at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters
Both players had a one-set advantage over their opponents when rain intervened, and suspension of the match was decided.
Holger Rune was leading India’s Sumit Nagal 6-3, 2-1 40A/d, while Grigor Dimitrov was up 6-4, 2-1 against Miomir Kecmanovic.
Both matches had to be suspended until the following day.
Andy Murray and Tomas Martin Etcheverry and 14 Other Matches at US Open
Perhaps this instance of match suspension is one of the extreme cases because of the number of matches that were affected and had to wait until the following day.
Andy Murray and Tomas Martin Etcheverry were tied at 3-3 in the second-round clash at the US Open when poor weather on the night was cited as cause for suspension.
One of the key matches amongst the 14 men’s singles that were suspended include Jannik Sinner’s tie against Andrea Vavassori.
The preceding day’s matches also experienced significant delays of around six hours because of rain, which was forecasted to continue all the way into the weekend of that Open.
Jimmy is based in Johannesburg, South Africa and has a Diploma in Journalism and Media Studies. He’s a sports fanatic of several sporting disciplines which he is well versed with.