The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1919-12-18
E.. . .s.uJ>jl- MAKE CHANGES
 IN 1920 RULES

Now York, Dec 18-Reconmenda- tions of Jhe greatest importance to he future of tennis will be made to the annual meeting of the United States National Lawn Tennis Associ- allon by the executive committed which ended it's February session yes terday morning. Not only do the proposed changes effect the rules un-- der which the game Is played. but also, the conditions under which the National Ass liation has been organ- ized and operates. The fact that the various proposal Is will so to the an nu@I meeting with the general sup port of the committee, is a tribute to the efficient efforts of the subcom- mittees which prepared the reports and lhe merit of the documents themselves.
 In the changes that have been de- 'ermined for the playing rules after three months of deIiberation by S. Wallis Merrihew, Edward c. ConIin, BeaIs c. Wright, Abraham Bassford, IT,, Wa tson N. Washburn, Samuel Hardy and R Norris Williams, 2nd. three will claim attention wherever tennis is played. In order of appear ance they are.
 Rule 6.-The footfault rule.
 Rule 20-(Farmer law 22) relat- ing 10 handicaDs.
 Regulation 20 (former regulation 22) reIatine to handicaps
 The cor .fttee has swept aside the old footfault rule with it's numerous interpretations and proposes instead, the following: Before commencing to serve, the server shall stand with both feet at rest behind, f. e., further from the net than the base line, and within the limits of the center mark and the side line. Both feet shalt he kept behind the base line until the racket strikes the ball.
 In arguing for this change, the committee pointed out that it greatly simplifies the interpretation of the rule, by eliminating all argument about what constitutes a "hop, step, jump, etc" as mentioned in the pres ent law. The main purpose of such a rule is to prevent the server from taking an unfair advantage in getting to the net. In the committees judge ment, if he is kept back of the base line until the racket strikes the balI'' it makes little difference what he does there.
 The new rule 20 is even more strik- ing because il discards the old sys- tenn of scoring entirely and provides 9 1-2-3 method that will make such a score as "15-IOve' only a memory. The rule speaks for itself:
 If the server in the first point the score is called lin; if the re- ceiver win the first point the score i, is called Tout. If each player win one point the score is called 1-alI If the server win the next point, the , score is called 2-1, if the receiver win f, the score is called 1-2. and the scoring is continued in this manner until either player has won four points, when the game is scored for tha,t player, unless the other player has scored 3 points; when the score is called 4-3 or 3-4. as the case may be, and game is scored for the player who first thereafter gains lead ot ? points,
 Members of the committee and other players who have tried this new system admit that it sounds strange at first, to ears long accus-
 toned to the p1 esent scores. They gree however, that it is readily un- derstood, is easily applied and all be-
 iieve that it will add materially to tn. games present. appeal.
 The presnt method of handicap
 ping also has been ra ideally revised
 for Ihe following rule and simple table, replaces the laborate computa- tions that have been required for
 hopdicaps in the past:
 "The method of handica pping shall ! consist of aIloting to each player one | or more points in set these points j to be added to the points scored by ] each player in that set The points I scored shall be recorded aL the end ] of each game. and. al the conclusion l of the set, the allotted handicaps ! shall be added to this total The i player then having the grea est nunf- i Der of points wins the set, regardless l of the number of games won or losf.