“I feel like in tennis, we should have a VAR(video assistant referee) system because these points are big deals,” Coco Gauff said after an unexpected defeat in the Paris Olympics. Many players and tennis experts have raised the need to introduce Hawkeye to tennis matches over the years. However, none has resulted in a change in the system. Instead, it has ignited new debates about the efficacy and sometimes the need for a VAR system. The upcoming U.S. Open might have been an exception in this case by welcoming this huge change in 2022. But how much more efficient they are than the line-calling system, explains the Director.

Following an outburst of Gauff on the red clay while playing against Donna Vekic in the third round, the issue of the faulty line calling system once again surfaced! Gauff was down in the second set when a disputed line call forced her to net the ball, giving Vekic a break point and sparking a heated argument with the umpire. It ultimately brought tears into the American’s eyes, while she called out the “unfair” means adopted in the match. Gauff was not done advocating for change after the match.

 Speaking with the press, Gauff advocated for tennis to adopt a VAR system similar to soccer. “There have been multiple times this year where that happened to me where I feel like I always have to be an advocate for myself on the court. I feel like in tennis, we should have a VAR system because these points are big deals. Usually, afterwards, they apologize. It’s kind of frustrating when the sorry doesn’t help you once the match is over.” As she refused to accept a “sorry,” after the match, surprisingly, it resulted in her upcoming U.S. Open tournament adopting a more revised system. 

In a historic event, the U.S. Open organizers swiftly brought the VAR technology into action this year. However, there is a catch! Even this ‘Video Assistant Referee,’ system will not be able to provide 100% accuracy in this case, as per an X post of August 15. The Hawkeye technology will only be 98% correct, which is still 23% more than the accuracy of the calls made by line umpires! However, citing this as a small ‘technical glitch,’ the U.S. Open director, Stacey Allaster, showed her full “confidence” in the new technology.

Moreover, Allaster has announced that all 17 courts have undergone resurfacing and the playing surface is designed to be “medium fast.” According to the International Tennis Federation (ITF), a medium-fast court speed rating falls between 41 and 44. Allaster confirmed that the current average court pace rating for this year’s tournament is 42.

Although it has a little inaccuracy as a drawback, the VAR system promises to bring a new change to the tournament after the successful trials of last year. After implementing this transition from line calling to Hawkeye system in four courts last year, this season it would be doing the same job on eight courts! The mechanism is simple.

By putting on a range of cameras in different angles of the ground to have the best view of a shot, the VAR official will send the videos of the shot to the chair umpire. The umpire will then decide the correctness of the call and will hence provide his/her verdict accordingly, minimizing the faults and perhaps increasing the satisfaction level of players on-court!

In 2023, ATP promised to bring the Electronic Line Calling system into action in all events, but surprisingly, not until 2025! Naturally, this frustrated many players and tennis enthusiasts, who emphasized the importance and urgency of bringing the new technology into action. Brad Gilbert, Gauff’s coach, was also one of them.

Gilbert’s take on the introduction of ELC in tennis

After watching the consequences of a faulty call made by the chair umpire in the semifinals of the Monte Carlo Masters match between Jannik Sinner and Stefanos Tsitsipas, Gilbert expressed his dissatisfaction on the entire matter on X.

“I will say again there is time for @atptour to make it happen, why wait till 2025 for electronic line calling, that missed double fault a 3-1 BP  just shouldn’t happen, Sin City 🌆 probably kicking 🦵 himself he didn’t 🛑 and how did umpire miss it to #disheveled.”

Although the ELC system has been around since the 1980s, its proper implementation in all matches is yet to be done. Interestingly, some Grand Slams, like the Australian Open (from 2021), have completely adopted the technology now. And as more and more tournaments walk on the same road, hopefully we will see the efficiency of the system (even if it’s 98%) soon!