USTA officials have announced that the 10 tournaments of the U.S. Open Series, the lead-in events to the U.S. Open, will all use instant replay. The USTA presented the technology on June 12 at an event in New York City’s Grand Central Terminal with two-time U.S. Open champion Tracy Austin, former pro and ESPN commentator Mary Joe Fernandez, current ATP player Taylor Dent, and Paul Hawkins, the inventor of the Hawk-Eye instant-replay technology.
Fans tested their line-calling skills on a makeshift court against the instant-replay technology, which was first used on the pro tours at the NASDAQ-100 in March. As a machine fed serves, the contestants acted as linespersons and called the serves in or out to win tickets to this year’s U.S. Open.
Fernandez and Dent talked about instant replay and its advantages.
“As a commentator, I like the strategy behind it,” Fernandez said, referring to instant-replay challenge system. Each player has unlimited correct challenges, but only two incorrect challenges per set, so they must use them wisely. “It gives the commentator more to talk about.”
The use of instant replay at the U.S. Open Series events is the result of collaboration between the ATP, WTA, USTA, each tournament, and the broadcasters of the events. Fernandez thinks that the USTA's action- making the 2006 U.S. Open the first Grand Slam to use instant replay and using the technology at all the U.S. Open Series events- will spur other tournaments to consider the technology more seriously. “I would find it hard to believe if the Australian Open doesn’t follow suit,” she said.
Dent, who hopes to recover from recent back surgery in time for the U.S. Open, likes the excitement instant replay brings to the game. He played at the Hopman Cup, an ITF event in December, that used instant replay, and he’s played some exhibitions that have used it. “I played an exhibition where the crowd was asking for [challenges] on every point. I definitely challenged a few that I normally wouldn’t have,” Dent said. “But it’s always a good thing to get the crowd involved.”