Challenge Round
The Challenge Round is a game mode in which the previous year's winner is automatically qualified for the final. It was widespread in tennis tournaments until the 1920s.
Procedure
All participants in the tournament except for the defending champion initially compete against each other in the knockout system . This part of the tournament is also known as the All-Comers competition. The winner of the All-Comers Final then plays in the Challenge Round against the defending champion for the tournament victory.
history
The Challenge Round was introduced in 1878 at the English Tennis Championships at Wimbledon . In the second final of the men's singles in history at Wimbledon , last year's winner Spencer Gore qualified for the final without having to fight his way through the entire field, but then lost to Frank Hadow in the final . In 1886 the Challenge Round at Wimbledon was also introduced in the women's singles and men's doubles. One of the first tournaments to abolish the Challenge Round was the Irish Open in 1903. In 1922 it was abolished at Wimbledon. In the US tennis championships , the mode was also used from 1894 to 1912. The Davis Cup was the longest-running tennis event. Here the mode was practiced from its introduction in 1901 to 1972.
background
The mode came into use at a time when the current seeding list was unknown. From the point of view of the organizers, they wanted to ensure that at least one well-known player was represented in the tournament finals, who attracted spectators and guaranteed income. The mode was controversial as early as 1910, for example, multiple Wimbledon champion Anthony Wilding spoke out in favor of abolishing it. Obviously, the mode makes it easier for last year's winner to defend his title, as he only has to win a single game, while his challenger first has to play through the entire field of participants. However, Wilding also criticized the defending champion for having a lack of match practice.
In the course of the 1920s, all major tournaments began to introduce the knockout mode for all participants in conjunction with a seeding list. This ensures that the two strongest players in the field will meet in the final at the earliest, which means that an attractive “dream final” is also possible.
Individual evidence
- ^ Anthony Wilding: On the Court and Off. Doubleday, Page & Co., New York 1912, p. 134