2023-04-28 17:11:17
It’s a small revolution in the world of the yellow ball. In a press release published on Friday, the ATP announced that the line judges will be replaced by an electronic device (ELC) from 2025. This device will be used to improve the precision of the refereeing and will signal faults in match.
“This change should help optimize accuracy and consistency between tournaments, courts and surfaces, for players participating in main draw tournaments and qualifying tournaments. This decision is based on extensive research conducted by the ATP with tennis stakeholders, including fans, who identified accuracy and consistency as the most important factors in evaluating different call systems. lines,” the body explained. For some years now, the technology has been used alongside line judges on the ATP Tour.
“This is a historic moment for our sport”
The president of the organization, Andrea Gaudenzi, also shared his joy in the same press release: “This is a historic moment for our sport, and we did not achieve it without having carefully thought about it. Tradition is at the heart of tennis and linesmen have played an important role in the game over the years. That said, we have a responsibility to embrace innovation and new technologies. Our sport deserves the most precise form of officiating and we are delighted to be able to offer it across our entire circuit from 2025.”
Many tennis players were already in favor of using technology. At Roland-Garros three years ago, the world number 1, Novak Djokovic had already campaigned for the abolition of line judges: “I understand that technology is expensive, so it is an economic problem. I feel like we’re all heading towards this, sooner or later. The ballboys OK, but there’s no reason to keep the line umpires. »
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