Kyle Edmund calls for tennis rule change that won’t please Carlos Alcaraz
Former British tennis star Kyle Edmund has called for a radical new rule in tennis during the BBC’s coverage of Wimbledon.
Edmund believes the pre-match warm-up before matches should be scrapped and players should instantly play their match without the pre-amble.
Speaking on commentary during Arthur Fery’s match against Otto Virtanen, the former British No 1 said: “The one thing I would like to change is take out the five minute warm-up.
“Just from watching other sports, I know it’s probably not going to happen, but I think there’s something to be said for the product and the spectacle. When you come on court, you spin, who serves, I’d like to serve, I’d like this end, you play.
“I think that would be quite interesting. I do know they trialled that at the NextGen Finals in the last few years, but I’d love to see that. I think it would make such a difference.”
This is not the first time the rule has been called for, with the likes of Andy Murray and John McEnroe also suggested players just get on with the match.
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Speaking in 2023, Murray said: “I’d probably get rid of the four-minute warm-up. I’d probably do that,” said the three-time Grand Slam champion.
“It would make certain things probably a little bit trickier in terms of timing, like when you warm up for the match and stuff like that, because.
“I would warm up two-and-a-half to three hours before I go on, whereas my preference would actually probably be to warm up sort of 20 minutes before you go on.
“Because of the way that the matches are scheduled, you know, that’s a bit trickier. But, yeah, I’d probably get rid of the pre-match warm-up.”
That’s an argument that has also been backed up by tennis legend McEnroe, who told the BBC in 2011: “They should go out there like boxers – to huge applause and announcements – toss the coin and then, boom, first serve.”
However, if the rule does come into play, it’s very unlikely to please current World No 2 Carlos Alcaraz, who has often praised the five-minute warm-up.
In fact, when Alcaraz’s pre-match warm-up was limited to just one minute at the NextGen Finals in 2021, he criticised the lack of preparation.
The Spaniard said: “The one minute of warm-up, you have no time to warm up. I would say for the player, you can’t warm up everything, every shot, the volley, the serve, the backhand, the forehand, at all.
“I would say that you have to warm up four minutes to play forehands, backhands, volley, serve, smash, everything to start the match in the best way possible. There are some rules that I would keep and there are some other rules that I don’t really like.”
However, it did not disrupt Alcaraz’s tournament too much, as he still lifted the trophy after beating Sebastian Korda in the final.
