Everything you need to know about the Ultimate Tennis Showdown (UTS) Grand Final in London

The Ultimate Tennis Showdown (UTS) is a new, innovative form of professional tennis that pits talented ATP stars against each under a different set of modern rules.

Conceived by renown French coach Patrick Mouratoglou during the pandemic, the UTS has since become a staple during the season. Several high-ranked players including the likes of Andrey Rublev, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Gael Monfils have participated at the event, which gives fans the opportunity to see their favorite players under different conditions.

The final UTS event of the season, the UTS Grand Final will take place in London from December 6-8, 2024. Created to appeal to a younger generation, the event features a different set of rules that enhance the fast-paced nature of the game. They are listed below.

Each match consists of four quarters of 8 minutes + the time of a hypothetical Sudden Death.
The timer stops during the 3-minute changeover at the end of each quarter.
The 1st player to win 3 QTS wins the match. If both players are tied at 2 QTs apiece, the 5th QT is played in a ‘“Sudden Death’” format.
The “Sudden Death” is a dramatic cliffhanger where the first player to win two consecutive points wins the match. Every point from the second point onwards is a match point during the Sudden Death.
There is no warm-up: Players enter the court and the match starts straight away. During the quarter, Players serve two points each : player A serves for two points, then player B serves for two points, then player A serves for two points again, etc.
As a major change designed to reduce down time and create more rallies, UTS players are allowed one-serve only per point : missing the serve results in losing the point.
The “No-Let” rule during serve will be in effect.
Each quarter lasts 8 minutes of regular time + quarter points at the end. During the 8 minutes of regular time, players score as many points as possible (with a tie-break counting style).
At the end of the 8 minutes, quarter points are played, and the leader has an advantage: he must only score one more point to win the quarter.
If regular time expires on a tie, a deciding point is immediately played to award the quarter.

Coaches will be on the player’s bench all match long and will be allowed to coach at any time during the match, except during the point. As coaches are equipped with microphones, all coach-player interactions must be conducted in English otherwise the player receives a point penalty. Additionally, each player is equipped with a headset during the changeover so that he can talk to his coach, his fans, and answer questions from an interviewer.

All UTS events (Regular Events & Grand Final event) will follow the same format:
8 players line-up
2 groups of 4 players (Group A / Group B)
The best two qualify for the Final Four (semi-final & final)

The final standings of each group are determined by:
Highest number of wins
Highest number of matches played
Head-to-head results if only two players are tied.
If three players are tied, then:
a) Best quarter average (won quarters – lost quarters)
b) Best point average (won points – lost points)
c) Lucky draw