We all knew it was bound to happen sooner or later. Too many matches, tournaments, and championships have been decided thanks to a questionable line call. The top brass at the ATP and WTA Tours have been examining and testing the new tennis instant replay system for months, and now fans will get a chance to see it in real-live action at the NASDAQ-100 Open in Miami, Florida in just a few short weeks.
Hawk-Eye, the official name of the approved instant replay system, was actually used at last December’s Hopman Cup when Michaella Krajicek became the first player in tennis history to use instant replay to challenge a point. But the Hopman Cup is not an official ATP or WTA event, just an exhibition played like a tournament between countries. Now, four months later, we can expect to see Hawk-Eye in action at the Tier I event in Florida, and it has also been announced that the U.S. Open will become the first Grand Slam event to debut the new system.
As expected, player reactions have played a vital role in changing the current system. Who can forget Serena Williams and her infamous “the ball was in” t-shirt after her quarterfinal loss against Jennifer Capriati at the 2004 U.S. Open? We have grown accustomed to seeing players on both sides of the tennis tours pitch fits on court after having a questionable shot decided in their opponent’s favor. Is it just me or are their others that shake their heads in dismay after watching Spot Shot on ESPN clearly show that a ball was out contrary to the chair umpire during televised matches?
Questionable line calls could very quickly be a thing of the past, just like the days of wooden racquets and tennis only being played by the upper-class. The rules for using Hawk-Eye may still need some perfecting, but Charles Bricker of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel gives a great overview to how the new Hawk-Eye system will debut in Miami. Each player will be given two challenges per set that they can use at their discretion, although a challenge will only apply to point-ending shots. In the event that the challenge is upheld, the player will not be deducted a challenge. If the set goes to a tiebreaker, players will receive an extra challenge. Players cannot save their challenges after a set; in other words, after a set, players start over with only two challenges apiece.
Overall, it will be interesting to see Hawk-Eye actually in use, but most importantly, I am looking forward to seeing whether this is implemented at all tournaments, or just select locations. Apparently the directors at the French Open and Wimbledon are not interested in trying it out yet and at this point, the NASDAQ-100 Open and the U.S. Open are the only tournaments that have thus far confirmed the use of Hawk-Eye. Obviously it may not be needed as much in Paris, as the chalk lines leave residue on the ball. However, I believe this needs to be implemented uniformly around the tour. It should not be left up to the whims of tournament directors whether or not Hawk-Eye will be used at their tournament. This would only lead to more disgruntled players and fans. Perhaps the ITF, the ATP Tour, and the WTA Tour needs to sit down and rewrite some of the rules regarding tournaments and require that all tournaments, say Tier II or higher, use the system? For example, Hawk-Eye will only be used in the stadium court at Miami this month, not on any of the outside show courts. Unless you happen to be a top seed, make it to the later rounds, or are fortunate enough to be facing Maria Sharapova in her opening round match, forget about using Hawk-Eye at this point.
Anyone care to sound off with their opinion? Is this a good or bad thing for tennis?
