Live electronic line calling was supposed to revolutionize tennis, but it also has the potential to throw it back to the stone age, as a recent situation at the Miami Open proved.
Live electronic line calling has generally been a valuable addition to both ATP and WTA matches. Events don’t need human umpires anymore, and the error rate is basically zero. But is it?
According to one situation from this year’s Miami Open, it’s not like that because the system made a huge error in the match between Daria Kasatkina and Sorana Cirstea.
What’s even worse is that the match umpire couldn’t overrule even though he technically should have because Cirstea won a point with an ace that landed way outside of the field.
The system is here to stay and will be implemented on all surfaces starting in 2025. Many welcome that change, believing it will be revolutionary for tennis. It might, but it’s just not the way many people assume.
Another problem with the system arose in Miami when a match was stopped because the power went out. The power went out, which made the system basically useless.
It was the match between Victoria Azarenka and Yulia Putintseva, and it was stopped for nearly an hour. To the dismay of both players, the match had to be stopped because there was no one who could have called the lines.
Not only did they lose the replay mode, but they also lost the sound, and umpire Marija Cicak was instructed to hold off the resumption of play until either the sound or the replay came back.
It took a while, and it particularly annoyed Azarenka, who even left the court after growing tired of waiting for the match to resume. The Belarusian ultimately managed to overcome an unwanted break, winning the match 7-6(4), 1-6, 6-3.
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