With the advent of technology in sports, there have been rapid upgrades in its usage to provide a fair environment for the players and minimize umpiring blunders. Sports like soccer have seen very high usage of technology such as goal-line technology and the VAR system and Tennis isn’t far behind either. Ahead of the US Open, the tournament authorities announced that they will be expanding the VAR technology to eight courts this year. The technology had been introduced as recently as the US Open in 2023. But what exactly is this system and how does it help the players like Coco Gauff?

Earlier this season, Coco Gauff was hit hard by controversial umpiring decisions. The American sensation was at the receiving end during the French Open final against Iga Swiatek this year. Subsequently, she made an emotional appeal to introduce VAR at the tournaments. Looks like the US Open has paid heed to her requests and the technology will now be available at the US Open for all the main draw matches on Ashe, Armstrong, Grandstand, Stadium 17, Courts 5, 7, 11, and 12.

VAR stands for Video Assistant Review. With the help of this technology, the players can challenge controversial calls like a ball bouncing twice, the opposition player touching the net, foul shots, etc. When a player challenges the call, the umpire can take the decision based on a video review, which eventually helps in overturning wrong calls.

Under this rule, the players are allowed 3 video reviews per set (+1 in each tiebreak). However, the code violations cannot be challenged by the players and they can only challenge controversial calls like double bounce or a foul shot. Additionally, it may also be used to correct scoring errors and in the case of Electronic Line Calling system malfunction. The decision made after consulting the video review is final and cannot be appealed. Although the code violations cannot be reviewed, the VAR system can be used if the code violation results in default.

At a time when tennis is struggling with controversial umpiring decisions, this technology might prove to be a blessing in disguise, both for the players as well as the umpires. Additionally, with the US Open expanding its usage, Coco Gauff will breathe a massive sigh of relief.

When Coco Gauff got emotional and pleaded for VAR introduction

The American sensation was up against Iga Swiatek in the final of the French Open this year. However, things took a turn for the worse after the chair umpire overturned a decision of Swiatek’s serve against Gauff in the second set. Gauff failed to put that return back in play as Swiatek’s serve was initially called out but the chair umpire overruled the call. Eventually, the point was awarded to Swiatek at a crucial juncture in the match.

This led to Gauff clashing with the umpire, Aurélie Tourte, and subsequently got emotional after the umpire didn’t pay heed to her requests. The young American even accused the umpire, saying, “You’re wrong. It’s the second time that happened. You should be ashamed. It’s a grand slam semi-final, know the rules of the game.”

Subsequently, during the post-match interview, Gauff called for the introduction of VAR at the tournaments, and said, “I think tennis is the only sport where not only we don’t have the VR system, but a lot of times the decisions are made by one person. In other sports, there’s usually multiple refs in making a decision. I know the US Open brought some of it last year, I believe. I know we used it in our doubles at one point. I definitely think at this point it’s almost ridiculous that we don’t have it. Not also just speaking because that happened to me, but I just think every sport has it.”

As it turns out, every coin has two sides. The VAR technology hasn’t been short of controversies after trials at the US Open last year.

VAR System malfunctioned during Andy Murray’s match

At the 2023 US Open, the technology was in play during Andy Murray’s match against Corentin Moutet in Grandstand. Although Murray went on to win the match in straight sets, the match caught eyeballs for all the wrong reasons. During the match, Moutet hoped to get a crucial call in his favor and called for VAR to intervene.

However, much to his dismay, the chair umpire’s tablet malfunctioned and prevented her from watching the video replay. Eventually, the original call stood and the point was awarded to Murray. Subsequently, Murray called for improvements in the technology, saying, “It obviously didn’t go to plan in a pretty important moment of the match. So, yeah, it would be good if they could get that fixed.”

With the US Open expanding the usage of VAR technology, it is expected that problems like these will be solved. Do you think that tennis can benefit from the usage of the VAR system? Let us know your views in the comments below.