NEW YORK -- The USTA took a first tentative step toward embracing a shot clock intended to speed up play, utilizing a 20-second "serve clock" Sunday at the US Open junior championship. It was a feature of every match played on the tournament's opening day.
The experiment was judged a success, but that may have been because it was made clear to the players that the clock was merely advisory. The serve clock expired a number of times in various matches, with no penalty levied.
"We're not changing the rules," USTA chief executive for professional tennis Stacey Allaster wrote in a news release. "But we are testing the technology and getting the players and umpires used to it."
The debate over whether the game needs a serve clock to keep matches moving at a fan-friendly pace became a serious issue circa 2010, at about the time that Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic engaged in the epic duels that marked the height of their rivalry.
Nadal was by no means the only ATP star to take an unusually long time between points, whether serving or receiving, but his pace was the most glacial. His habit rubbed off on some of his peers. Along the way, the slow players also violated the basic if rarely cited rule that the game proceeds at the server's pace.
In November 2012, the ATP board of directors voted to alter the enforcement regimen for their existing 25-second rule. It amounted to a crackdown on slow players, with a warning for a first offense and a fault (for a server) or loss of a point (for a receiver) for all subsequent offenses. Nadal, who often took 25 or 30 seconds to recover after long points, termed the new rule and the ATP's emphasis on enforcement "a disaster."
The ITF has a slightly different rule. It calls for just 20 second between points but allows chair umpires discretion to apply or ignore the rule. The US Open is an ITF-affiliated event.
Allaster, the former CEO of the WTA Tour, tried to get the serve clock ball rolling when she was at the helm of that organization. But she had little support from her constituents. She is finding a more receptive audience at the USTA, which has a history of innovation.
Among other things, the US Open was the first tournament to embrace the final-set tiebreaker, and it also introduced Hawkeye line-calling technology.
"You've got to think maybe [the USTA is] headed in that direction of having a clock," Lew Brewer, the tournament director of the junior tournament, told ESPN.com. "They tend to try out lots of new things [like no-ad scoring and no-let serves] on juniors and college players."
Progressive administrators and fans are thrilled with the idea of an NBA-style shot clock standing prominently right on the court, like the serve-speed clock. However, the serve clock Sunday was a disappointment to them, as it was incorporated into the main scoreboard.
Most players had no trouble staying within the 20-second time limit, but a number of interested parties noticed that there was often a lag of five seconds -- or longer -- between the end of one point and the start of the serve clock.
Brewer was surprised to hear that. He said the process is designed to be automatic. The serve clock is synched with the scoring device; the countdown is supposed to start as soon as the chair umpire records a point on his tablet. The umpire does have a separate button at his disposal that stops the clock in the event some extraneous event (such as a paper cup blowing onto the court) causes a delay.
Brewer stressed that the chair umpire remains in control of tracking the time and can determine when to start -- or halt -- the clock. An umpire can do that simply by delaying the input of the score. That may explain the lag. "Keep in mind that this is all meant to be experimental and educational, not punitive," he added.
Sofia Kenin, a Floridian seeded No. 8 in the junior girls singles, won her opening match on Court 17 under the watchful eye of the serve clock. She said afterward that, like all juniors, she had been told to be aware of the clock and "try to go faster when serving."
At times during her match, she found herself glancing at the clock while waiting to return because she likes to play at a brisk pace.
"If you're losing, you want to take your time. So now you constantly have to think of the clock. That's the downside," Kenin said. "It's good not to give them too much time when they're losing, but at the same time, I'd like more time when I'm losing."
Catching herself, Kenin laughed.
For now, though, it won't make much difference one way or another. But the serve clock at major events is one step closer to becoming a reality.