(Paris) Line judges will be replaced by electronic refereeing on the entire main men’s circuit from 2025, the ATP, the organization which governs it, announced in a press release on Friday.
The Australian Internationals and the United States Internationals, in particular, had already generalized the use of electronic refereeing since 2021, giving up on the linesmen.
For several years, the technology was also often deployed in addition to the linesmen and players could use it in the event of disagreement with human refereeing.
“This is a historic moment for our sport, and we didn’t come to this without careful consideration. Tradition is at the heart of tennis and linesmen have played an important role in the game over the years,” ATP boss Andrea Gaudenzi of Italy said in the statement.
But “we have a responsibility to adapt to innovation and new technologies. Our sport deserves the most precise form of officiating and we are delighted to be able to offer it on our entire circuit from 2025.
The ATP specifies that final tests are underway for clay, when several suppliers are already approved on hard and grass.
The organization adds that the technology will operate from the qualifications.
Electronic arbitration was first tested at the end of 2017, during the Masters reserved for young nuggets in Milan, before being adopted or not by tournaments on a voluntary basis.
