In the last two decades, tennis has become one of the most popular sports in the world. Sure, it attracted much interest before that, but it needs to be said that the last two decades are the most important years.
There are many reasons for that; many TV stations have started broadcasting the most significant tournaments, more children have started training in the sport, etc. But there is one reason above all others.
We are discussing the emergence of a generation of players often regarded as the best in the sport’s history. Most people will immediately think about Federer, Djokovic, and Nadal.
However, we want to add more names like Andy Murray, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, etc. It is widely believed that this generation of players has inspired many young athletes who entered the big stage years later.
On the other hand, we can see that the sport has undergone a revolution. What do we mean when we say that? Well, modern technology has made the sport much more precise than it ever was.
The appearance of modern technology impacted the sport in more ways than we can count. Today, we want to talk about this aspect in greater detail. Without further ado, let us begin.
Different Court Surface
The first thing we want to discuss revolves around the courts. We all know three main court surfaces: clay, grass, and hard courts. Of course, each surface comes with a string of unique elements.
Therefore, it does not come as a surprise that every player has a surface that fits his or her characteristics. The most widely known example of this is Rafael Nadal. We all know that he prefers clay because of his playing style.
Naturally, all players are professionals and adapt to the courts’ needs regardless of the tournament. Some experts say this separates the best players in the world from those who do not have the best possible career.
There are some interviews where experts pointed out that Djokovic, Nadal, and Federer are the most versatile players in this regard. So, nobody should be surprised why they are on that level.
While discussing the nuances of court surfaces in tennis, it’s crucial to focus on your agility and speed, which are enhanced through proper footwork fundamentals. This aspect is closely related to the concepts covered in the article about enhancing agility and speed on the court.
Grass Court
Grass courts are the most widespread and the most traditional ones. The grass is the surface that made this sport popular. Whenever we think about tennis, we think about the fine grass of Wimbledon, right?
At the same time, the grass surface is the surface where the ball has the most unpredictable bounce. Furthermore, the ball’s speed will remain unchanged. So, you know just how challenging it is.
Clay Court
Clay is the slowest of all surfaces if we can say it like that. The reason is that it is made of crushed stone, brick, or shale. It has a completely different effect on the ball than any other surface. Players who rely on tactics heavily adore this court.
We already mentioned how popular Rafael Nadal became for his performance on this surface. The most popular tournament played on clay is the French Open. Explore clay-court legends in men’s tennis history.
Hard Courts
Hard courts are different from the previous two. However, they have become quite widespread in the last couple of years. You will see there are numerous tournaments of a lower tier that are now focusing only on these.
The ball’s speed depends on the sand percentage present in the surface’s top layer. You will see that hard courts are now present in the Australian Open and the US Open.
Video Replays
Tennis has become so popular among sports bettors. It is present on gambling sites you can find on gamblingsites.com. Thankfully, this has become much easier for them since the appearance of video replays.
Video replays have the goal of deciding the uncertain moments where it is not clear where the ball has landed. Before they became a standard, there were many controversies throughout the history of the sport.
The reason why this is so important for sports bettors is that the decision of the judge determines whether they will get their prize money or not. Just think about how many of these situations have occurred throughout the last couple of years since sports betting has become highly popular.
At the same time, this is something that helps players themselves since it helps them in unpleasant moments.
There are numerous matches where these video replays decide the winner. Of course, we are not talking about the last points. However, it is more than visible how sometimes they can overturn the whole match.
We can even find examples of this happening in final matches both for high-tier and low-tier tournaments. Over time, it has become a standard, and it will continue to be crucial for the sport in many years to come.
Hawk-Eye System
One of the best video replays we can see today in Tennis is the Hawk-Eye system. We are talking about the system that was developed by Paul Hawkins back in the early 2000s. Before it became a part of tennis, it was tested on numerous other sports.
Over time, we can see that Hawk-Eye has become so advanced that it was tested as a complete replacement for human judges. The test occurred in 2020 when human judges were replaced on the 15th and 17th lines.
The system was able to make recorded voices to voice the decisions. It proved itself efficient, and we can expect this to be the future of the sport. However, we would like to say that human judges are here to stay for at least a decade before humanity experiences AI automation.
It is already present in some tournaments where it serves as a secondary judge. It confirms or declines the decisions made by human judges.
Summary
The popularity of tennis guarantees this sport’s discipline that will be the main drive-force for implementing modern technology in other disciplines. Hawk-Eye is probably the best example of this happening.
Understanding the intricacies of the game, such as how points are awarded and matches are won, can greatly influence your appreciation of the role that technology like Hawk-Eye and video replay plays in the diverse scoring system of tennis.
On the other side, we’ve also discussed court surfaces and how they impact the game overall. Here, you can find interesting information on both of these subjects. We are certain you will find this insight interesting.
