Players who want to look down or look at a line judge at the Australian Open after a close or controversial call will have a hard time doing so this year. They will not exist.
In the first instance, there will be no field judges in any of the tournament grounds in an effort to reduce the number of staff on the ground during the COVID-19 pandemic. Only the players, the referees and the children with the ball will be on the field.
Tennis Australia on Wednesday announced the introduction of live electronic line calls, saying that motion-activated and pre-recorded voices will be used for the terms “out”, “foot fault” and “fault” in the matches on February 8-21.
Live electronic calls are delivered via remote tracking cameras around the yard, automatically sending real-time audio calls.
“The Australian Open will be the first Grand Slam tournament to introduce live electronic lines that appeal to all venues, including major stadiums,” said Australian Open tournament director Craig Tiley.
The new system should mean fewer challenges from line calls by players and less time spent reviewing replays on the stadium’s big screens.
“The system will automatically display ‘closing calls’ on the big screen for finished photos,” the tournament said in a separate email to The Associated Press. “By default, it will be 150 millimeters (just under six inches) or less for a rally shot or 50 mm (two inches) or less for a service.
“If a player requests to show a blow that does not animate automatically, then the game may be stopped if the umpire is of the opinion that the request is reasonable and the umpire should announce the resumption. The game should not continue until the image is displayed on the big screen. “
Last year, at the US Open, Novak Djokovic, ranked 1st, was disqualified during his match in the fourth round because he accidentally hit a reserve ball to a line judge. During that tournament, electronic line calls were used off the field, but line judges were still used in the main performance courts.
Djokovic later demanded that tennis be permanently switched to electronic calls, although he said it had nothing to do with his ejection from New York.
“We have received a lot of criticism because we said we should consider excluding line referees,” Djokovic said last year. “This is an opinion I had a few years ago, it had nothing to do with the fact that I was disqualified at the US Open.
“I’m not a person who loves technology and can’t live without it, in some ways technocratic society has gone too far in my opinion, but if we, in tennis, can be more efficient and accurate, why not?”
This week at Melbourne Park, the same system is being used for six tuneup tournaments. Next week, at the Australian Open, they will be a plus.
The pre-recorded voices will be those of leading Australian pandemic workers in response to the country’s pandemic, firefighters, surf rescuers and other emergency services personnel.
“A ‘Behind the Line’ tribute will introduce community heroes who will be presented as the official voice of line calls in every match,” said Tennis Australia.