Understatement of the year
Read this article on an instant replay system in tennis. It sounds eerily similar to the NFL system. Computers, two challenges per set, etc. Interestingly, there will be no videotape and interpretation – it will be wholely a machine that makes the call as I understand it. This begs the questions of why not on all calls? Why limit it to only a few calls a match?
I for one am not sure fans would like this. We’ll see. I personally enjoyed John McEnroe berating officials.
Are bad calls part of the game? It’s an old tired story. Who can forget JM yelling “You can’t be serious?”
One more reason for posting; I think this article contains the understatment of the year. When asked his opinion, John McEnroe himself, suggested:
“If anyone’s been listening to my commentary the past year then they know I’m in favor of using replay…”
Is John McEnroe serious? I bet he is.
–CT
March 8th, 2006 at 2:02 pm
In my opinion I think instant replay in tennis will help that sport the most because of the speed of the game. I hate the fact that the refs sit in the chair when they are referring the game. I think that the instant replay would impact the game because they have been a lot of close calls with balls going out and refs calling the ball in play and vice verse. Tennis matches may last longer if they replay every play or every point,so I think they should let it be up to the player who thinks the call was wrong something like the NFL. In the NFL if a wide receiver thinks he caught a ball for a touchdown but the ref says he stepped out of bounds then he could recommend that the coach get the booth to review the play. So in my opinion the tennis player should control their own destiny with instant replays during the game.
March 8th, 2006 at 3:44 pm
There is not one thing you could add to any major competitive sport that will please everyone. Instant replay in tennis will allow satisfation to some and will bother others. What happens when an NFL call is reversed? A 50/50 response from players and spectators. Inevitably leading to public outlashes against the system and the officials. Computers?? Why Not. If you’re going to take away from the original sport with a modern application like replay, you better get it right. Interestingly the question was brought up, “Why not make all calls with the computer?”. The answer, in my opinion is, wait… it will be soon. Which in my mind begs the question, WHY? Do we really need to change these games that have been around for centuries? Some people say football isn’t football anymore. Is tennis going to be the next revolutionized sport? I feel that instant replay usage in tennis will help and hurt the sport in equal ways. But there will be a new J.M. comment the first time he feels robbed by the machine.
March 11th, 2006 at 12:28 am
I believe that instant replay should not be used in professional tennis matches. The use of computers to monitor each time where the ball lands, whether in our out, detracts from the true spirit of the game.
With computer monitoring a whole element of the game would be lost. That lost element would be the on-court attitude that makes up each players personality. JM’s outbursts from years past, although a bit ridiculous at times, kept the human element in the game. A lousy call by an official does deserve questioning by the athlete, but when that athlete does not win the call from the official it sparks anger within. This anger forces the athlete to pick his/her game up a notch and play more aggressively. With a computer calling each shot now we will lose the ferocity and aggressiveness that has made tennis what it is today, a big sport with bigger attitudes, paying the biggest one-event earnings!
March 11th, 2006 at 3:13 pm
Etienne de Villiers, chairman of men’s tennis’ governing body, the ATP, expresses my sentiments exactly. Technology is always a step forward, and advancement is a good thing. Imagine, if you can, a class without internet access, a dorm or library without computers, or a professor trying to grade hundreds of papers without Scantron. This will be the way pre-technological tennis will be viewed in a few years when Hawk-Eye replays are commonplace. Instituting technology would decrease the margin for human error. Tennis – and all sports — is about winning and fair play. Technology can increase accuracy on the tennis court as it has on the football field. Certainly replays may prove to be a bit time-consuming. However, a referee’s bad call could cause considerably more distraction and frustration for tennis players as well as their avid fans.