Wednesday, August 23, 2006

New Rules to be introduced at the U.S. Open

Aside from being a badminton fanatic, I also love watching tennis tournaments, especially the 4 grand slam tournaments. I also have lots of books about tennis at home. Sadly, I can only manage a decent forehand and backhand stroke. I don't even know how to serve...that's because my tennis lessons went only as far as those 2 strokes before I eventually ended up playing badminton exclusively. (Previous story on this topic.) However, my love for tennis still persists.

I'm glad to learn that the upcoming U.S. Open Tennis Championships at Flushing Meadows will introduce a new innovation to the sport...instant replay. What happens is that when a player questions a call, above-court video screens show a graphic rendering of the ball's flight, in slow motion, with a dark spot indicating where it landed. That spot either touches a white line -- the ball was in -- or it doesn't -- the ball was out. Simple as that. (Wow!)

(Photo courtesy of the official website of the U.S. Open)

According to the U.S. Open official website, here's how it works:
- Each player will receive 2 challenges per set to review line calls.
- If the player is correct with a challenge then the player retains the same number of challenges.
- If the player is incorrect with a challenge, then one of his/her challenges is lost.
- During a tie-break game in any set, each player will receive one additional challenge.
- Challenges may not be carried over from one set to another.

This is a major change in a sport steeped with tradition. I'm glad to see that they're moving in step with advances in technology. I'm certainly looking forward to it! I just hope that the International Badminton Federation also adopts this new rule. Now, wouldn't that be something?

9 comments:

ipanema said...

I love tennis! Ey, that's welcome news.

Rey said...

I personally think this further complicates the role of the umpire and its decision.

But anyway, this is something you love that i do too. I don't play it but I'm an avid fan of the grandslams.

I'm going for Nadal this time.

Anonymous said...

I love tennis too. I'm trying to learn but it's so tiring and I'm so unathletic. I like this new rule. After all, if the television viewers could see this instant replay, why not the players? I think it's just fair.

So excited... I'm watching the men's quarter finals at Flushing Meadows. I hope that Federer (sigurado na kaya 'yon), Nadal, and retiring tennis master Agassi all make it. I also like Baghdatis but he could be so kenkoy.

ladybug said...

ipanema> yes! I was glad when I heard the news. :-)

rey> I'm glad you also like to watch the grandslams. They're more exciting because majority of the top players compete in the grandslams. My favorite is the Wimbledon and next is the U.S. Open. Hahaha...i'm still going for Federer. I hope Federer and Nadal both make it to the finals. That's gonna be very exciting.

toe> You must be so excited by now! Lapit na yun ah. It'll start next week, so the quarterfinals will be the week after that. Kwento mo sa blog mo ha. I'm looking forward to it. :-)

SeƱor Enrique said...

Wow! High tech at the US Open. Reminds me of John McEnroe and his annoying antics :) They should have had this gizmo and rules then.

Now, this will really show what an old geezer I am: I used to go over and watch the US Open games live at Forest Hills before it moved to Flushing. A friend's family was a member and used to invite me to play there, too. Only place I ever played on grass. Didn't like it; love their clay courts, though.

Anonymous said...

Wow! Technology at work... in the court. :-)

ladybug said...

eric> When I read this story at Yahoo, there was an accompanying story about John McEnroe. Apparently, they also think that this innovation would have silenced him during his time. Wow! So you also play tennis. Buti ka pa.

snglguy> Yes, technology at work indeed. I wish they could also device this kind of technology for boxing and taekwondo. The scoring system is very subjective.

Anonymous said...

Although late in coming, at least they implement it after long years of talking.

Good blog you have here.

ladybug said...

myepinoy> I agree. What's important is that innovations are being made to improve the game. I hope others follow suit. Thanks for dropping by! :-)