Say it ain’t so! - LPRT changes match formats

The Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour (LPRT) announced this week via Facebook that they will be changing their match format to a best of 3 games - first two to 15, tie-breaker to 11 - from the best of 5 games format with each game played to 11. This format is effective immediately, so it will be in place at the start of the 2019-20 LPRT season, which begins next week with the Paola Longoria Experience in San Luis Potosi, Mexico, August 22-25.

Reasoning for the change was based on being consistent with other racquetball organizations. International Racquetball Federation (IRF) events use a best of 3 format, and the International Racquetball Tour (IRT) switched to the best of 3 format in January 2018 from the best of 5 format. Reportedly a vote on the LPRT format change was unanimous in favour of the change.

At the risk of sounding like the guys in the balcony on The Muppet Show, we have to ask “Does NOBODY care about TRADITION?!?!!” The best of 5 format has been used for decades in racquetball. Why abandon that? Just to be like everyone else? Is that a valid reason to making the switch?

When there is a major change like this one has to ask what is the problem being solved? Was there really a problem? The best of 5 format has been used in pro racquetball since the early 1990s. It distinguished the pro matches from non-pro matches. Best of 5 was part of the pro racquetball brand. Why abandon that? Are people really confused by whether matches are played to 11 or 15?

Now, while we'd prefer if the pro tours continued to play best of 5 games, as we'd previously stated when the IRT made this switch, rather than best of 3 games, we’re not too upset about the number of games in a match. But what we are massive proponents of is WINNING BY 2 POINTS. With the switch to a best of 3 games format, the LPRT will also have those games won by 1 point rather than 2, as in the previous best of 5 games format.

Winning by one point is inconsistent with every other sport that plays games to a limit (e.g., to 11, 15, 21, etc.). Every other sport - volleyball, tennis, squash - uses a win by 2 rule. Why not racquetball? We don’t have a good answer for that, and neither would any racquetball organization for why they insist on being different.

Canada remains the bastion of sensibility, where matches are played under a win by 2 rule. That just makes sense for a game in which serving is such a major factor. One serve - or one bad return - could be the decisive play of a match, when playing win by 1, and that’s just not good enough. Pretty much everyone in sport agrees on this.

Except racquetball people.

Follow the bouncing ball….