By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Thursday, April 27, 2023
It’s the end of an era for the ATP Tour.
Starting in 2025, electronic line-calling will be in use across all ATP main draw and qualifying events.
“The move is set to optimize accuracy and consistency across tournaments, match courts and surfaces, for players competing in both main draw and qualifying events,” the ATP said in a statement. “The decision was supported by extensive research conducted by ATP across tennis stakeholders, including fans, which identified accuracy and consistency as the most important factors in assessing different line-calling systems.”
According to the ATP, the new plan will also allow for a more comprehensive data set, which could lead to deeper and more thorough analytics for fans, players and coaches.
“All-court ELC Live coverage will also deliver comprehensive player and ball tracking across the whole Tour, leading to an unprecedented level of data for player-performance analysis and the development of new statistics in the game in collaboration with Tennis Data Innovations (TDI), in addition to future commercialisation opportunities,” the statement said.
“This is a landmark moment for our sport, and not one we’ve reached without careful consideration,” ATP CEO Andrea Gaudenzi said. “Tradition is core to tennis and line judges have played an important part in the game over the years. That said, we have a responsibility to embrace innovation and new technologies. Our sport deserves the most accurate form of officiating and we’re delighted to be able to deliver this across our whole Tour from 2025.”
The tour expects that multiple suppliers will provide ELC services, including on clay.