ATP matches at many autumn tournaments will feature no-ad games and sets played to five games rather than six, with a tie-break at 4-4.
Scheduling policies will be changed so that more doubles games will be prominently featured on show courts for spectators and TV viewers.
The ATP and tournaments are also developing a variety of promotional initiatives to boost the appeal of doubles.
Data has been used from surveys of four target groups: fans, players, media and tournaments. One hundred players equally represented from the Top 100 in doubles and singles were interviewed, and 4,837 fans responded to an ATPtennis.com survey.
Analysis of the ranking systems at all levels of tennis was also carried out.
Following a project team report, discussions between a number of stakeholders took place.
“All groups clearly acknowledged that doubles is an important part of tennis, but believe some enhancements were necessary,” said Horst Klosterkemper, ATP president Europe and player relations.
“Singles players said they would consider playing doubles on a more consistent basis if changes were made, citing the length of matches, which average more than 90 minutes, and scheduling difficulties as reasons for the lack of participation.”
Changes are also planned to the entry ranking system. “The long-term result of the ranking changes will mean most of the doubles teams will be made up of players from the singles draw,” Klosterkemper said.
