Tennis Challenge Questions

[mugrad99]

Was watching the tennis for the first time in a long time this morning and saw a challenge. When did they start using a computer generated picture rather than an actual picture of the ball being in or out?

Being the cynic that am, why did they start doing this, and is it completely trustworthy?

[CAINMUTINY]

Its called the Mac cam (Named in honor of John Mcenroe) and has been around for a while; at a minimum its been around for 5+ years.

[dsfire]

Hawk-eye is actually the prevailing system in use, and I believe was adopted by most of the majors 2-3 years ago.

It's not 100%, but it's quite accurate and helps correct calls that line judges miss.  Federer really dislikes the challenge system because he feels it takes the pressure off the judges & chair umpire to make the calls and puts it on the player instead.

I don't recall actual pictures of the court being used in challenges so I guess I can't speak to that.  Apparently the Cyclops system (used to provide a beep when a serve went long) was ousted by Hawk-eye as well.

[Coach Norman Dale]

From a viewers perspective, I think it is one of the great inventions of all time.  I love the finality of the challenge and the strategy players have to use in allocating the challegences (like the red challenge flag in the NFL).

I think it is silly to suggest that line judges and umpires are now less diligent.  Those people take pride in their work and hate being overturned on TV.

[mugrad99]

I like the idea of challenges...I would just rather see the actual ball be in or out, and not a computer generated image..

It's like playing video poker or blackjack versus the real thing...I guess I am just old fashioned

[SaintPaulWarrior]

Its called the Mac cam (Named in honor of John Mcenroe) and has been around for a while; at a minimum its been around for 5+ years.

The reason for the nickname MacCam.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YxAPKtOe0fQ&feature=related

[dsfire]

From a viewers perspective, I think it is one of the great inventions of all time.  I love the finality of the challenge and the strategy players have to use in allocating the challegences (like the red challenge flag in the NFL).

I think it is silly to suggest that line judges and umpires are now less diligent.  Those people take pride in their work and hate being overturned on TV.

Well, Federer raised his objections before the system was implemented, but in his semifinal against Roddick yesterday he was 5/5 in challenges - including one where the ball was called out despite being about 1/4 on the line and 3/4 INSIDE the service box.  The chair didn't overrule once during the entire match.  That said, I do feel the challenge system is a net gain for everyone.

I didn't realize until I visited the Hawk-eye site that the same system is responsible for most of the neat CG graphics covering things like serve location over a whole set/match and return spots.

[Coach Norman Dale]

I did not intend to suggest that umpires and line judges are perfect, just that I do not believe they are less diligent or attentive with the new system.  They are still human and an ill-timed blink of any eye can be HUGE in that job.

Coincidentally, today I came across something on si.com that in answering a question virtually identical to the one that started this thread describes how the Hawk-Eye works:

Q:  Can you tell me how, technologically, the replay challenge is considered the absolute truth? From my perspective, any animation program could draw the ball bouncing in or out as shown on the challenge screens. How can we be sure this is exactly what happened using animation rather than actual video footage?
-- Steve Kowalski, Farmington Hills, Mich.  (a/k/a indeelaw90????)  

A:  Just to be clear, the replay is not "absolute truth." Hawk-eye uses these complex algorithms, to reconstruct the probable path of the ball. It doesn't show what happened. It shows what's likely to have happened. The system, however, has been extensively tested and the proven accuracy level is such that it is to be trusted.