When I was the Atlanta Open media director, one reporter who was new to tennis asked, “What’s a lucky loser? How can a loser be lucky?”
I explained tennis’ practice of letting qualifiers who lose in the final round of qualies move into the main draw if a main-draw player withdraws before play starts. The rule gives more players a chance to play and advance into the tournament. Plus, it gives the fans an extra match to watch.
So, why not do that with the main draw? Let’s let Taylor Fritz advance into the Wimbledon semifinals.
Rafael Nadal, who downed Fritz in the quarterfinals, announced today he would not play his next match. He was scheduled to face Nick Kyrgios on Friday in the semis.
But, there are no lucky losers in the main draw or in any tennis tournament. If a player withdraws, his/her upcoming opponent gets a walkover. No opponent, no match.
What is the alternative?
Just like the advantages to give a lucky loser a slot in the main draw, the advantages of moving a loser further in the tournament are the same.
- The fans, especially those who spent a whole lot of English pounds at Wimbledon, will get to see two semifinals instead of one.
- The losing player will be pleased to get another match and can continue in the tournament.
- No opponent would have one less match than another. In the upcoming Wimbledon singles final, Kyrgios goes in having played only five matches while his opponent will play six matches.
Oddly enough, there is a rule that allows Fritz to advance. If Nadal had decided to retire during the match (as seemingly he was encouraged to do by his camp), then Fritz would have been the winner. So, to a certain degree, it was the timing when Nadal decided to stop that means a Wimbledon semifinal won’t be played. Explain that to the fans and TV networks.
As happens when a player pulls out of a Grand Slam before the first round, both players would get a payday. To make sure giving up the match was not too attractive, the player withdrawing could get a small slice of the money. How about 25 percent?
What happens if Fritz is already on a plane to the U.S. when Nadal announces his withdrawal? Undoubtedly, he would return to London. But, what if this happens in a $25K low-level tournament and the player has arrived in the next city? Well, no penalty to the player if he/she decides not to play the match.
I’ve read criticism that allowing a loser to advance goes against the core of competitive tournament structure and it could contribute to intentional losing or, even worse, the temptation to have the player who would benefit influence the player withdrawing. All these are fair arguments.
There’s nothing wrong with questioning the tournament structure and making improvements.
Let’s discuss about how we can make tennis more attractive. If you have any thoughts on this rule change, please email me at cioffi@tennisreporters.net.