Technology Passes Test: ITF Approves Hawk-Eye
from www.tennisweek.com
Technology is ready to call the the shots in tournament tennis. Electronic line-calling technology that may well revolutionize tennis officiating is officially ready for tournament play.
The British-based Hawk-Eye ball tracking system has made history as the first — and only — electronic line-calling system to meet International Tennis Federation accuracy standards in a series of tests conducted earlier this week at Arthur Ashe Stadium on the grounds of the National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows. The ITF announced today it has approved Hawk-Eye for tournament use in reviewing decisions made by on-court officials.
"The latest version of the Hawk-Eye electronic line calling review system has, following a series of tests, met the criteria set by a committee comprising representatives of the ITF, ATP and Sony Ericsson WTA Tour for use in reviewing decisions made by on-court officials," the ITF announced in a statement.
The ITF's announcement means professional tennis tournaments, including Grand Slams, Masters Series events and standard ATP and WTA Tour events, can use Hawk-Eye to review and correct calls made by officials during matches.
The sheer speed of tennis today makes calling lines about as easy as reading the registration sticker off the windshield of a car passing a pedestrian at 80 mph on the highway. The approval of Hawk-Eye as an electronic line calling device is a significant breakthrough in a sport where the human eye can often have difficulty detecting accurate line calls due to the accelerated pace of play as well as variables such as sun, shadows and the occasional need for lines people to duck for cover from the oncoming missiles approaching down the center service line.
In a two-day test staged on Arthur Ashe Stadium court on Monday and Tuesday, Hawk-Eye correctly called more than 80 balls fired at a fast, flat pace from a ball machine to pass the ITF accuracy tests. The test came less than four months after Hawk Eye failed to meet ITF accuracy standards in a test staged on the same Stadium court in July. Tennis Week caught up with Dr. Paul Hawkins, founder and managing director of Hawk-Eye, as he packed up his equipment at the National Tennis Center. Hawkins, who has been in New York refining Hawk-Eye since its failed test in July, is returning to the UK today armed with a new tennis title.
"The ITF were delighted that we met their criteria with flying colors and, indeed, pushed the bar higher," Hawkins told Tennis Week. "We're delighted and proud to accept the responsibility to take the sport forward. Tennis needs accuracy in line calling and Hawk-Eye can provide it. We're thrilled that we were rewarded for all our hard work by passing the ITF's accuracy tests and now any event can use Hawk-Eye. We look forward to working with the tournaments. "
Hawk-Eye has already taken its technology to televised tennis. If you've watched ESPN's tennis coverage then you've already seen Hawk-Eye at work. Branded "Shot Spot" by ESPN, Hawk-Eye earned an Emmy award in the "Outstanding Innovative Technical Achievement" category in 2003. The Emmy award came two years after Hawk-Eye claimed Britain's Royal Television Society award for technical innovation.
"I'm hoping that we can convince the Australians that they should be the first (to use it)," ESPN's voice of Tennis Cliff Drysdale, a long-time proponent of Hawk-Eye told Tennis Week. "I'm thrilled about it because tennis needs it for a variety of reasons, one of which, the main one being the viewing public, the second being the live audience and thirdly just because we don't need more repetitions of what we've seen over the past year with people getting hooked out of matches."
Critics cast doubt on Hawk-Eye's ability to accurately call the lines, but Drysdale believes even if the system is slightly off it's better than the human eye.
"Even if it's off by one-tenth of 100 percent it's impartial," Drysdale said. "And that's the key and it's better than the naked eye — I'm convinced of that. So if you combine those two things it's close enough to where it should be used. I'd like to see players have a chance to legally talk to a coach by calling a timeout, once per set, for example."
Throughout his career, John McEnroe had more clashes with Cyclops than Ulysses. The man who could make a chair umpire feel as comfortable as a vampire in a sun-tanning advocates each Grand Slam event adopts an electronic line-calling system.
"If anyone's been listening to my commentary the past year then they know I'm in favor of using replay. I think it will make it more interesting," McEnroe told Tennis Week in an interview prior to the U.S. Open. "The bottom line is if the U.S. Open decides tomorrow they'll use it and if Wimbledon decides they want to use it, then they'll use it."
Created in 2001 for television, Hawk-Eye combines the data recorded by a series of cameras placed around the court to register line calls.
"Hawk-Eye is a state-of-the art processing technology to accurately identify the center of a tennis ball in five cameras positioned around the court," Hawkins told Tennis Week. "Combining the information from each of these cameras together, we are able to work out the accurate three-dimensional trajectory of the ball throughout the rally and thereby accurately work out the position where the ball bounces to within three millimeters."
There was wide-spread speculation the U.S. Open would become the first Grand Slam event to use an electronic line-calling system in August, however the USTA wanted to introduce Hawk-Eye during one of the U.S. Open Series events so that players and officials could adjust to it before use at the Open. When Hawk-Eye failed to pass the ITF test in July, the USTA opted against experimenting with it. Hawkins said insufficient lighting in Arthur Ashe Stadium likely contributed to Hawkeye's three errant calls in its second test in July.
from www.tennisweek.com
Technology is ready to call the the shots in tournament tennis. Electronic line-calling technology that may well revolutionize tennis officiating is officially ready for tournament play.
The British-based Hawk-Eye ball tracking system has made history as the first — and only — electronic line-calling system to meet International Tennis Federation accuracy standards in a series of tests conducted earlier this week at Arthur Ashe Stadium on the grounds of the National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows. The ITF announced today it has approved Hawk-Eye for tournament use in reviewing decisions made by on-court officials.
"The latest version of the Hawk-Eye electronic line calling review system has, following a series of tests, met the criteria set by a committee comprising representatives of the ITF, ATP and Sony Ericsson WTA Tour for use in reviewing decisions made by on-court officials," the ITF announced in a statement.
The ITF's announcement means professional tennis tournaments, including Grand Slams, Masters Series events and standard ATP and WTA Tour events, can use Hawk-Eye to review and correct calls made by officials during matches.
The sheer speed of tennis today makes calling lines about as easy as reading the registration sticker off the windshield of a car passing a pedestrian at 80 mph on the highway. The approval of Hawk-Eye as an electronic line calling device is a significant breakthrough in a sport where the human eye can often have difficulty detecting accurate line calls due to the accelerated pace of play as well as variables such as sun, shadows and the occasional need for lines people to duck for cover from the oncoming missiles approaching down the center service line.
In a two-day test staged on Arthur Ashe Stadium court on Monday and Tuesday, Hawk-Eye correctly called more than 80 balls fired at a fast, flat pace from a ball machine to pass the ITF accuracy tests. The test came less than four months after Hawk Eye failed to meet ITF accuracy standards in a test staged on the same Stadium court in July. Tennis Week caught up with Dr. Paul Hawkins, founder and managing director of Hawk-Eye, as he packed up his equipment at the National Tennis Center. Hawkins, who has been in New York refining Hawk-Eye since its failed test in July, is returning to the UK today armed with a new tennis title.
"The ITF were delighted that we met their criteria with flying colors and, indeed, pushed the bar higher," Hawkins told Tennis Week. "We're delighted and proud to accept the responsibility to take the sport forward. Tennis needs accuracy in line calling and Hawk-Eye can provide it. We're thrilled that we were rewarded for all our hard work by passing the ITF's accuracy tests and now any event can use Hawk-Eye. We look forward to working with the tournaments. "
Hawk-Eye has already taken its technology to televised tennis. If you've watched ESPN's tennis coverage then you've already seen Hawk-Eye at work. Branded "Shot Spot" by ESPN, Hawk-Eye earned an Emmy award in the "Outstanding Innovative Technical Achievement" category in 2003. The Emmy award came two years after Hawk-Eye claimed Britain's Royal Television Society award for technical innovation.
"I'm hoping that we can convince the Australians that they should be the first (to use it)," ESPN's voice of Tennis Cliff Drysdale, a long-time proponent of Hawk-Eye told Tennis Week. "I'm thrilled about it because tennis needs it for a variety of reasons, one of which, the main one being the viewing public, the second being the live audience and thirdly just because we don't need more repetitions of what we've seen over the past year with people getting hooked out of matches."
Critics cast doubt on Hawk-Eye's ability to accurately call the lines, but Drysdale believes even if the system is slightly off it's better than the human eye.
"Even if it's off by one-tenth of 100 percent it's impartial," Drysdale said. "And that's the key and it's better than the naked eye — I'm convinced of that. So if you combine those two things it's close enough to where it should be used. I'd like to see players have a chance to legally talk to a coach by calling a timeout, once per set, for example."
Throughout his career, John McEnroe had more clashes with Cyclops than Ulysses. The man who could make a chair umpire feel as comfortable as a vampire in a sun-tanning advocates each Grand Slam event adopts an electronic line-calling system.
"If anyone's been listening to my commentary the past year then they know I'm in favor of using replay. I think it will make it more interesting," McEnroe told Tennis Week in an interview prior to the U.S. Open. "The bottom line is if the U.S. Open decides tomorrow they'll use it and if Wimbledon decides they want to use it, then they'll use it."
Created in 2001 for television, Hawk-Eye combines the data recorded by a series of cameras placed around the court to register line calls.
"Hawk-Eye is a state-of-the art processing technology to accurately identify the center of a tennis ball in five cameras positioned around the court," Hawkins told Tennis Week. "Combining the information from each of these cameras together, we are able to work out the accurate three-dimensional trajectory of the ball throughout the rally and thereby accurately work out the position where the ball bounces to within three millimeters."
There was wide-spread speculation the U.S. Open would become the first Grand Slam event to use an electronic line-calling system in August, however the USTA wanted to introduce Hawk-Eye during one of the U.S. Open Series events so that players and officials could adjust to it before use at the Open. When Hawk-Eye failed to pass the ITF test in July, the USTA opted against experimenting with it. Hawkins said insufficient lighting in Arthur Ashe Stadium likely contributed to Hawkeye's three errant calls in its second test in July.
