“Been screaming that for 20 years”: Martina Navratilova in favour of campaign to remove let rule from tennis

Martina Navratilova agrees with the proposal to eliminate the let rule made by sports commentator Steve Weissman.

Recently, Weissman discussed the let rule in tennis on the Tennis Channel podcast, referring to the replay of a point when the ball hits the net and lands within the service box.

According to Weissman, the rule lacks logical reasoning and does not align with other rules, making it necessary to consider its removal:

“I propose no more lets on serves. This rule applies to every other aspect of the game except for serves. Let’s eliminate lets,” Weissman stated on the Tennis Channel podcast.

As expected, this sparked a significant response among tennis fans worldwide. A clip of Weissman defending his idea went viral on social media, leading to strong reactions from tennis enthusiasts across the globe.

Renowned tennis legend Martina Navratilova seized the opportunity to share the post and express her support for removing the let rule. She mentioned that she has been advocating for its elimination for decades.

“I’ve been saying that for about 20 years!!! NO MORE LETS,” the 18-times Grand Slam champion wrote on X (former Twitter.)

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Currently, the evidence suggests that the rule does not significantly impact the majority of tennis players. The New York Times reported that the International Tennis Federation (ITF) conducted a two-year investigation in the 1990s, analyzing 715 matches and considering rule changes.

The most significant finding is that, statistically, each match has an average of 4.1 lets, and most of the time (65%), these lets do not provide an advantage to either player.

Most balls that hit the net and still land within the service area continue to travel in almost the same direction and at the same speed. It is also uncommon for these balls to slow down or change direction.