You might have noticed something missing from the courts at Queen’s Club this year – where have the line judges gone?
A familiar sight around the edges of the courts for decades, the men and women who shout “out” and “fault” have been replaced by electronic line calling.
Electronic line calling uses cameras, computers and sensors to track a ball and is used by tennis umpires to judge whether a ball is in or out.
This season the men’s tour – the ATP – has adopted the technology across all of its events, while the WTA – the women’s tour – has also been using it at many of its events.
A combined men’s and women’s event, such as Queen’s, offers an easy opportunity for the technology to be used across the two tournaments.
The ATP said the move to electronic line calling was to “optimise accuracy and consistency across tournaments, match courts and surfaces”.
A new women’s event at Queen’s started on Monday, while the men’s tournament follows at the same venue a week later.
