MILAN: For the first time ever in the history of men’s professional tennis, the ‘Video Review’ technology will be on trial during the second edition of the Next Gen ATP Finals, the season-ending event for the world’s best players aged 21 and below in the Italian city from 6-10 November.
The Video Review, delivered using advanced Hawk-Eye technology, will provide opportunities for players to challenge any judgement calls from the chair umpire such as not-ups, foul shots, touches, or invasion. The Hawk-Eye technology will use video feeds from all television cameras so that the Video Review operator can quickly search footage to find the correct angle for the decision to be made.
The relevant footage will be sent to the chair umpire’s tablet who will review the video and decide whether to uphold or overturn the original call. All relevant footage will be played out to the in-house spectators on large video boards in real time, as well as on broadcast, to take the audience even closer to the action.
There will be no limit to the number of Video Review challenges a player is able to make. Its future use could include decisions on whether to award the point or replay the point in the case of a corrected out to good call by an official. In Milan, however, such instances will not arise as all calls made by Hawk-Eye Live are final.
ATP President Chris Kermode said: “Innovation is at the heart of everything we do at the Next Gen ATP Finals, and we’re looking towards the future in all aspects of this tournament. Adding Video Review will give players a new tool that will further enhance the officiating in our sport. The Next Gen ATP Finals continue to position the ATP at the forefront of innovation in tennis as we also look to deliver on our mission to provide a global stage for the future stars of the ATP World Tour.”
Hawk-Eye Innovations Solutions Director Peter Irwin said: “We are delighted to be partnering with the ATP on this ground-breaking introduction of Video Review into professional tennis. Having had years of experience providing our SMART Replay technology for officiating purposes in many other sports, we firmly believe it can bring huge benefits to tennis. Tennis fans are used to Hawk-Eye’s ball tracking technology being used to decide if a ball is in or out, but Video Review will work alongside this to assist officials make the correct decision on other judgement calls. With Hawk-Eye Live again being used in Milan to call the lines live, the use of Video Review to help adjudicate on all other decisions means the players at this year’s Next Gen ATP Finals will get the highest level of officiating they’ve ever had.”
The 2018 tournament will continue with many of the innovations trialed at the inaugural event, with the addition of the Video Review, a further reduced warm-up (4 minutes), as well as the incorporation a towel rack at the back of the court which will remove the onus on all ball kids to handle player towels.
The tournament, which is set to stay in Milan till 2021, comes at a key time when innovation is being widely considered across the highest levels of the sport. The success of the inaugural tournament was recognised at the Yahoo Sports Technology Awards in London, where ATP & ATP Media won the Most Innovative Governing Body or Rights Holder Award, as well as at the Leaders Sports Awards, where the tournament was recognised with the Best Innovation Award.
