The US Open will experiment during its qualifying rounds this year with scoreboard clocks to limit how much time elapses between points and how long pre-match warmups or mid-match clothing changes can last.
Also set to be tried out at Flushing Meadows in August's qualifying matches: letting coaches communicate with their players from the stands between points.
Depending on how the test runs go, those changes could wind up being used during the main draw in 2018, according to Stacey Allaster from the US Tennis Association.
"We're all interested in being relevant to ... fans," Allaster said "Sports have to change."
During a meeting at the French Open, she said, the Grand Slam Board "supported trying out these initiatives" during qualifying and junior matches in New York this year.
"We'll gather all of the results and the data and then make a determination with how we go forward for 2018," Allaster said.
The serve clock - similar to a shot clock in basketball - would allow for 25 seconds between points.
That's how much time players are now given on the ATP Tour, with 20 seconds the limit at Grand Slam tournaments, but those restrictions are based on each chair umpire's determination, because there aren't actually clocks visible to players or spectators on court.
For breaks to return to the locker room for a change of clothing, the present rule simply allows "reasonable time."
For US Open qualifying, Allaster said, "it's probably going to be between five and eight minutes," with some flexibility based on how far a particular court is from a locker room.
Coaching has long been barred during matches at Grand Slam tournaments but Allaster said communication goes on anyway, so the idea is to bring it out into the open.
From their seats in the stands, coaches will be allowed to speak or motion to their players when they're on the same end of the court.
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