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The All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC), the organisation behind the Wimbledon Tennis Championships, has announced a multi-year extension of its partnership with Sony’s Hawk-Eye Innovations. This is why.
Hawk-Eye has been a grand slam for tennis officiating since its debut at Wimbledon in 2007, ensuring precision and fairness in line-calling. The system uses an array of cameras to track the ball and players, creating a digital footprint of each match.
We’ve come a long way from John McEnroe's infamous "You cannot be serious!" rant.
The baseline of Hawk-Eye
Hawk-Eye’s system uses a network of high-speed cameras positioned around the court. These cameras capture the ball’s movement at 340 frames per second, and the data is then processed using triangulation to pinpoint the ball’s exact location within a few millimeters.
This information is sent in real-time to the "Hawk-Nest" (authors note: I’m a big fan of this sort of commitment to naming conventions), where decisions about whether a ball is in or out are made in milliseconds.
Each court setup costs around $100,000, so it's probably not viable for your local tennis club! The system is carefully calibrated over three days to ensure absolute accuracy. This means that Hawk-Eye can track everything with near-perfect precision, whether it's a superfast serve or a delicate drop shot.
The system is not just about making the correct call; it's also about enhancing the viewing experience. This year, fans can expect to see new bounce visualizations on replays, modernized broadcasts, and live augmented reality views.
Bill Jinks, technology director at the AELTC, is enthusiastic about the continued partnership: "Since 2007, Hawk-Eye has delivered line-calling to the high standard expected at The Championships and has evolved their solution to fit the unique needs of the only Grand Slam played on grass. I am looking forward to working with Hawk-Eye on future innovations."
A global impact
Of course, Hawk-Eye's influence isn't limited to tennis. After starting in cricket in 2001 and being acquired by Sony a decade later, the company has extended its reach into 23 major sports leagues, including the Premier League and Major League Baseball. Its technology has replaced nearly 300 line judges at the US Open and has been a critical component in implementing the sometimes contentious VAR (Video Assistant Referee) technology in soccer.
Despite its widespread adoption, Hawk-Eye faces the same tech vs humanity critiques as any other AI or algorithmic-driven system. Critics argue that technology removes the human element from sports, which can be part of both the charm and drama.
And it is worth pointing out that the shift towards electronic line calling has not been universal; The French Open at Roland Garros, for example, still relies on traditional methods, sparking ongoing debate about the best way to maintain fairness and accuracy in officiating.
However, the human eye can definitely be fallible, as Serena Williams' infamous 2004 US Open match against Jennifer Capriati demonstrated. It's an extreme example, but shows why high-profile errors accelerated Hawk-Eye's implementation in tennis, backed by a desire to see top performers win or lose on merit rather than incorrect judgment calls.
Officiating the future
The AELTC and Hawk-Eye are not resting on their laurels. They are exploring how player and ball tracking information can further engage fans and enhance the dialogue around the sport.
Ben Crossing, managing director at Hawk-Eye, said, "We are beyond thrilled to continue our very successful relationship with the All England Club for multiple years to come. Tennis is at our core and we are excited to continue bringing our very best innovation and technology in order to deliver exceptional experiences at The Championships that the All England Club, the players, and millions of fans around the world deserve."
This year's Championships, which ran from July 1 to today, have showcased these innovations. And as fans watch the drama of the final matches unfold, the precision and reliability of Hawk-Eye's technology have been front and center, ensuring that every call is accurate and fair.
Further reading/watching
Tags: Action cameras Sports slow motion
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