French Open: Is it time for Roland Garros to use electronic line calls?

In the 2021 French Open semi-finals, Barbora Krejcikova saw seat umpire Pierre Bacchi overrule a enactment judge's telephone connected a lucifer point

Seeing a seat umpire leap down to the court, scamper crossed the clay and constituent retired the people of a shot is 1 of the large traditions of the French Open.

But, successful a athletics of precocious stakes and good margins, is it clip to halt relying solely connected the quality oculus to determine important points?

At the caller Italian Open, Britain's Andy Murray was annoyed erstwhile a enactment telephone went against him due to the fact that the umpire ruled the shot people was connected the line.

Murray powerfully disagreed. Electronic enactment calling exertion - not utilized astatine the Rome tourney but seen by tv viewers - supported the erstwhile satellite fig one's view.

The incidental reignited a long-running statement whether an physics strategy should beryllium brought connected to each courts - including Roland Garros' celebrated terracotta surfaces.

Is the exertion unreliable connected clay?

Unlike the different 3 Grand Slam tournaments, which are played connected hard oregon writer courts, the French Open does not usage the exertion successful immoderate form.

The Australian Open and US Open - some played connected hard courts - person already dispensed with quality enactment judges successful favour of solely relying connected automated calls.

Wimbledon, played connected grass, introduced Hawk-Eye exertion successful 2007 but the enactment judges remain. Players astatine the Championships are capable to situation calls up to 3 times per set.

The French Open continues to afloat spot enactment judges and umpires, not allowing players to usage physics replays to situation quality decision.

For a agelong clip it has been felt the reddish ceramic particulate - a apical furniture of 1 to 2 millimetres - compromises the accuracy and reliability of an physics strategy due to the fact that it is simply a 'live' aboveground which moves during the match.

That has led to continuing issues of assurance from players, commentators and fans.

But Foxtenn - 1 of 3 systems utilized to justice enactment calls successful tennis, alongside Hawk-Eye and IMG Arena - insists it is reliable.

Foxtenn is the lone vendor which has truthful acold operated an physics enactment calling strategy connected clay courts.

It says its 'real bounce technology' - which uses ultra-high-speed cameras susceptible of generating much than 100,000 images per 2nd successful operation with a laser scanner strategy - is suitable for the surface.

"It delivers cleanable and changeless real-time calibration," accidental the Barcelona-based company.

"It fundamentally catches everything that happens connected the court; anyplace from infinitesimal item to each unthinkable angle."

Why doesn't the French Open usage it?

Last month, the ATP Tour - the apical tier of men's events - announced enactment judges volition beryllium replaced by an physics calling strategy connected each surfaces connected a full-time ground from 2025.

The WTA, the governing assemblage of women's tennis, told BBC Sport it has "been reviewing" going full-time with physics enactment calling and is "very interested" successful making a akin determination to the ATP.

Remy Azemar, the French Open's caput of referees, acknowledges the exertion has been palmy astatine different tournaments.

Yet the absorption remains firm.

Two factors substance the French Open's reluctance to change: maintaining traditions synonymous with the 100-year-old tourney and an unwillingness to cede quality control.

"Without the beingness of the enactment judge, it is so precise robotic," said Azemar. "But we indispensable besides recognise that it works.

"Will it marque the crippled look a spot colder and emptier connected the court? Everyone tin person an sentiment connected that, it's not for maine to answer."

France is wide considered 1 of the strongest nations erstwhile it comes to processing officials and Azemar says Roland Garros has "nothing to prove" successful presumption of its prime of officiating.

"As agelong arsenic the quality referee remains successful charge, we are a small little straight concerned. We support the state to marque our decisions," helium said.

Will we ever spot it astatine Roland Garros?

With an expanding fig of tournaments relying connected physics enactment calling, the French Open is accelerated becoming an outlier by sticking with tradition.

Foxtenn and Hawk-Eye person already been approved arsenic a reappraisal strategy connected clay with enactment judges, with Foxtenn being utilized astatine ATP events successful Barcelona, Estoril, Madrid and Bastad past year.

No vendor has yet been approved to marque sole decisions without the officials. Final investigating of the automatic exertion connected clay is continuing.

The ATP, the men's governing body, said its impending determination volition "optimise accuracy and consistency crossed tournaments, lucifer courts and surfaces".

Wimbledon is among the tournaments that person Hawk-Eye, an physics line-calling reappraisal strategy utilizing aggregate camera angles to hint the ball's trajectory

Last season, determination were 30 WTA events which utilized physics enactment calling - including 13 that did not person enactment umpires.

Only 2 WTA clay-court events - Madrid and Iasi - utilized an physics enactment calling reappraisal strategy successful 2022.

With an adjacent heavier reliance connected the exertion connected the horizon, Azemar conceded the French Open could beryllium forced into change.

"If 98% oregon 99% of the tournaments successful the play are played without enactment judges, we volition beryllium backed into a corner," helium said.

"I deliberation we person to measurement things up cautiously and springiness ourselves time. But we tin besides beryllium caught up by reality."

What disputes person determination been recently?

Disputes implicit enactment calls are regular occurrences during the European clay-court play and determination were a fig of notable examples during the caller Italian Open.

Murray's disagreement with Mohamed Lahyani successful Rome blew up due to the fact that of the three-time large champion's immense illustration - and his heated reaction.

Lahyani was besides progressive successful different akin incidental successful Rome. The Swedish umpire made a determination that near Danish subordinate Holger Rune furious successful a quarter-final against Novak Djokovic, which helium yet won.

Rune questioned whether officials were punished for "mistakes", arsenic did Russia's Veronika Kudermetova who remonstrated with the seat umpire successful her quarter-final.

Rune and Lahyani disagreed implicit their interpretations of a shot people successful the Italian Open quarter-finals

At the French Open, determination was a high-profile incidental successful 2021 that could person had adjacent much damaging consequences.

In a melodramatic semi-final against Greece's Maria Sakkari, Czech subordinate Barbora Krejcikova was denied triumph erstwhile seat umpire Pierre Bacchi overruled a telephone from a enactment justice connected lucifer point.

Television replays indicated the shot was out, starring Murray - watching connected the tv - to accidental Bacchi had made an "absolutely brutal error".

Krejcikova brushed disconnected the disappointment, took different lucifer constituent and won her maiden Grand Slam singles rubric 2 days later.

These disputes exemplify the disorder which inactive remains astir clay-court marks. Whether the incorrect people has been checked, oregon the people is not a existent practice due to the fact that of physics, hostility tin beryllium created arsenic a result.

"I don't caput that it's similar this with enactment umpires judging," said Rune. "But it's astir however you work the mark. Sometimes it is wrong."

Until the governing bodies are satisfied the exertion is much close than the quality eye, the play implicit disputes volition proceed - possibly implicit the adjacent weeks astatine Roland Garros.

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