Official: ATP Tour tests Hawk Eye on sand
ATP announced on Friday evening that it plans to test Hawk-Eye technology at selected clay court tournaments in the 2020 season. The ATP 500 tournament in Rio de Janeiro is set to premiere in February.
by tennisnet.com
last edit: Jan 24, 2020, 06:08 pm
As the ATP announced, the ATP Board agreed on the test phase last November. In three tournaments, the players should now also have the opportunity to challenge the linesman's call electronically.
An event of the 250, 500 and Masters 1000 categories is to be equipped with the system. The ATP will only announce which two tournaments will be selected alongside Rio.
The electronic verification system was first introduced in the 2006 Miami tournament. Since then, the "challenges" have been established across all tournaments on the ATP tour, with the exception of clay court matches. Players can ask referees there to look at the imprint on the surface again. There is no limited number of prompts on sand.
Hawk Eye on sand: No limits on the number of challenges
Therefore, there should still be no limits for the challenges on clay court. Unlike usual, the Hawk Eye on sand should not only have three options per set for a challenge.
The approach of the ATP is justified with the fact that the system is initially only used in tournaments on large courts. So that players who compete on the outdoor courts without a Hawk Eye are not treated differently, a challenge can also be taken on the center courts without restriction.
According to its own statements, the ATP had long looked around for an exact application of the Hawk Eye on clay courts. The system has already been used in some Challenger tournaments. The qualifications were even checked without the players knowing about it to check the accuracy of the technology.
The first tests should now have been successful, so that the ATP is also using the system at the highest level. In the past, there were doubts about the accuracy of the Hawk Eye on sand. The place would change permanently due to wind, so that the system would have to be recalibrated regularly.