The ATP has created a debate by announcing that it will try full electronic line-calling at the Next Gen Finals. The plan is to have no linespeople on the court.
Matches will be officiated with only a chair umpire, as Hawk-Eye will be making in-play calls. Foot faults will be called by an off-court review official using cameras at the center line and baselines. Players will not get to challenge under this system, but according to the ATP, tight calls will be shown on the big screen.
Hawk-Eye is an electronic line-calling system using 10 cameras to provide calculations of the path of the ball. The system only has an average 2.6 mm error rate.
But there appear to be concerns about the effect of the error rate if the system is used to make all calls, rather than just the ones that are challenged by a player.
