Electronic line calling and retractable roof among future innovations for Monte-Carlo

Monte-Carlo tournament director David Massey has outlined a series of changes to the tournament, some of which will be implemented as soon as next year.

Of those, perhaps the most significant is the introduction of electronic line calling at the event, which is being mandated by the ATP for use across the tour next year.

Already in use at many events – including the two hard-court Grand Slams – the use of technology to establish line calls on clay will mark a seminal moment for both clay-court tennis and the tour more generally.

There is never a clay-court swing during which there aren’t a catalogue of erroneous line calls – many of which come at crucial moments and incorrectly change the course of matches.

Indeed, at this year’s Monte-Carlo Masters, Jannik Sinner was denied a double-break lead in the deciding set of his semi-final match against eventual champion Stefanos Tsitsipas – a call that led to the Italian losing a contest he would almost certainly have won had technology been allowed to make the correct call.

It is a desperately-needed and long-awaited change that should be welcomed with open arms by all quarters. The only real question is why this has taken so long, and why it required a mandate from the ATP in order for it to happen.

“This decision has been confirmed, and unless ATP changes their mind, there will be no longer linesmen next year here anymore,” Massey told media at the post-tournament conference.

When pressed for his thoughts about the erroneous call in the semi-final, it appeared Massey’s personal preference would be for linesmen to remain.

“Well, it’s difficult, and this is why the ATP wants really to have the best system for line decisions, but I believe the linesmen that are here globally are of a very high quality.

“There is a tough selection for them, and they are coming from everywhere in the world.

“So of course when something happens on a key point like yesterday, it’s tough, but it’s also, according to me, part of the history of tennis, but anyway, next year it’s going to be electronic.”

Hardly a resounding endorsement for electronic line calling, and it seems Massey is somewhat reluctant to tow the ATP line. But the decision is out of his hands, and few would argue it is the best course of action for the integrity of the sport.

plans for retractable roof also in the pipeline

The other big development that Massey outlined was the plan for a retractable roof to mitigate against rain delays in future tournaments.

“We do have a project for a roof that would be resistant to wind, but it’s not quite ready yet. Anyway, we had good weather for the last four days, and we think we were lucky with that.

“It will take at least two years or maybe more. We know the roof will not be on the Rainier III court, because around the court, the stands are not permanent.

“So it will be on court No. 2, as there is already a roof now, but we want to have more stands and also a bigger roof than the one we have that would be able to resist to wind, because for the time, the existing one, if there is wind we can’t open it up.

“We will of course keep wanting to avoid playing matches over there under the roof because the Rainier III court is a lot bigger, and it’s difficult to change a match from there to a smaller court.

“So we only will use that court with the roof if we really desperately need to make progress in the matches. It will be as a reserve. But it will be good to have the option, and also to be able to provide a TV product if necessary.”

While the tournament dates for next year are already set, Massey did reveal that adding one or two days of competition could be also an option in the future, although he conceded it is difficult to schedule for in the currently cramped schedule.

Finally, he also announced plans for a more dedicated space for the players.

“We have a project for the space dedicated to the players. It’s too early to really talk about it right now, but we want to have more space for them. Whatever we do, it has to be done before July.

“We want to make conditions better for the spectators, of course, for the players, and for you.”

Massey can look back with pride at another highly successful tournament, set against the always jaw-dropping setting of the Monte-Carlo Country Club.

News that controversies around line calls will be a thing of the past by this time next year is greatly welcome, however. It is still hard to escape the fact that there very likely would have been a different champion we had electronic line calling this time around.

Plans for a roof will also please both spectators and players alike as tournaments across the tour continue to look for ways to optimise their offering.

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