“When in doubt, call it out.”
That’s the unfortunate philosophy many players use when it comes to line-calling. Tennis is one of the few sports in which the participants also serve as the officials. Players rule on their opponent’s shots, and vice versa.
When honesty is upheld, the system works. However, as anyone who has played competitive matches knows, the stress of competition often tests its integrity. Whether by human error or something more nefarious, getting hooked and arguing line calls is a rampant problem in the game. When a player loses a close match, and the outcome is influenced by questionable calls, there’s no worse feeling.
To remove any doubt, automated line-calling has been a part of the professional ranks for many years. However, up to this point, the cost to install such systems has been prohibitive at amateur levels. The equipment is not only expensive and often permanent, but requires significant maintenance.
SwingVision wants to change that.
The app from the California-based company gained its foothold in tennis tech by using artificial intelligence to provide detailed match stats and highlights all from a smartphone. It then added line-calling to its host of features and has been working to refine its accuracy. It currently gets 97% of calls correct for shots landing within 10 centimeters of line. The human eye is only 90% accurate in the same situation.
To put the technology to the test, SwingVision recently teamed with the USTA’s Southern California section to use its electronic line-calling at four different tournaments at four different sites over the past year. On each court, an iPhone was mounted on a fence behind the baseline on one side of the court which would record the match. That phone communicates with an iPad on a tripod stationed at the net post.
