London: The 2020 ATP Finals, for the first time in tournament’s history, will feature electronic line-calling and video review.
According to the ATP Tour website, the lines will be called electronically by hawkeye live – as there won’t be line judges this year amid the Covid-19 pandemic — and a chair umpire will oversee the action. Players will be able to request video review for suspected not-ups, foul shots, touches and other reviewable calls.
“Innovation and technology have always played a central part in the success of Nitto ATP Finals, and we’re pleased to be incorporating electronic line calling and video review in our 12th and final year in London. And for different reasons, this year also provided the right opportunity for us to use it due to the challenges we’re facing with Covid-19,” ATP Chief Tour Officer Ross Hutchins said.
“We believe it’s the right time to use and because of the restrictions that are in place in London, and specifically to tennis with the interaction between players and officials,” he added.
However, there is one difference between video review at the ATP Finals — to be held between November 15 and 22 — and the ATP Cup, where it was used in January.
Since there will be no line judges at The O2 due to Covid-19 protocols and electronic line-calling will be in use, video review cannot challenge whether a ball is in or out.
World number one Novak Djokovic has been drawn in Group Tokyo 1970 with Daniil Medvedev, Alexander Zverev and Diego Schwartzman while world number two Rafael Nadal leads Group London 2020 alongside Austrian Dominic Thiem, defending champion Stefanos Tsitsipas from Greece and Russia’s Andrey Rublev for the tournament.
This is the 50th anniversary of the ATP Finals, which was first held in 1970 in Tokyo and it is the tournament’s 12th and final edition in London. Next year, it will move to Turin, Italy.
