Governing Bodies To Unify Tennis Replay Rules

London, England (AHN) - All professional tennis tournaments using an electronic replay system starting next week will offer players the same amount of challenges per match.

The unified system that will commence next week at the Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Fla. will extend each player a maximum of three unsuccessful challenges per set, and an additional one wrong challenge in a tiebreaker, the International Tennis Federation said Wednesday in a joint statement with the ATP, WTA Tour and Grand Slam committee.

Unlike before where only two unsuccessful challenges per set and one in the tiebreaker were allowed in both the men's and women's pro tournaments like in the U.S. Open. The ITF's team competitions, on the other hand, including the Davis Cup and the Fed Cup, offered unlimited challenges while the Australian Open allowed only three.

However, matches that don't use tiebreakers, players will be given an additional three challenges for every 12 games played.

As for correct challenges, players can still enjoy the unlimited numbers of correct challenges.

"The players will know where they stand," ITF spokesman Nick Imison said. "There hadn't been an agreement up until this point."

"With an additional challenge per set, we look forward to the Chase Review being used more frequently at this year's U.S. Open," Jim Curley, tournament director said in a statement.

The only exception for this unified system is the French Open, which is played on clay. It doesn't need replay technology because balls leave a mark on the surface.

The implementation of the unified system will still depend on each individual tournament whether it wants to use the technology, as most will only have one or two courts wired for the replays. But it will ensure uniformity in rules for all major matches.