This week’s Charleston Open marks a new first in the world of women’s tennis when it comes to the use of technology on clay.
The WTA 500 event has fully implemented electronic line calling (ELC) which is something that hasn’t been done at a clay court event on the WTA Tour before. The system is being provided by Hawk-Eye which has operated in tennis for a few years and in 2024 they were granted approval to use it on clay courts. In recent years ELC has become a more frequent occurrence in the sport but using it on clay where players can see the ball markings will be a true test of its accuracy.
“I’ll be very curious to see how it’s going to be,” Belinda Bencic told reporters on Monday. “Obviously, you have a mark in front of you, so I’m very curious to see if it’s going to be accurate … Maybe in the heat of the moment, you’re going to see the mark out and the electronics call it in. I don’t know what that is going to cause.”
Charleston serves as the warm-up event for using ELC on clay ahead of two WTA 1000’s in Madrid and Rome which will also be using the same system. Supporters say the software is highly accurate, consistent and will help speed up matches.
One of those supporting the initiative is fifth seed Daria Kasatkina who was runner-up in Charleston last year. The 27-year-old is representing Australia for the first time this week after completing her switch of allegiance.
“It’s less drama for the players because you just play, and you don’t think there are no interruptions,” Kasatkina commented. “You know, like when linesmen say out and you check it’s in, and then everyone is thinking if it’s we’re playing the point or not. You’re more focused on the game. You are not thinking about this drama.”
However, seventh seed Amanda Anisimova is sticking more to the cautious side when she was asked to give her views on the matter.
“I feel like, ’cause it’s on Clay gets to actually see the mark, so in a way it was like, I don’t know, you could go over and look at the ball and kind of have that interaction, but we’ll see,” she said.
“I mean, hopefully, it’ll be good.”
Besides ELC, there is also a Video Review System used at the tournament but only on two courts.
