Although the Hawk-Eye camera system introduced at the Kremlin Cup in Moscow in late 2012 has caught the biggest attention of tennis players and fans, there are many more innovations that are changing the game of tennis as we speak. Some have to do with enhancing the fans’ experience, while others are directly tied (no pun intended) to the surface of the tennis court.
Tennis court surfaces made from polyurethane
Polyurethane floors have been used in school gymnasiums for decades now. They are not a new concept; their popularity took off recently when they started to get installed at track and field and at basketball courts.
The biggest issue of making the surface of a tennis court from polyurethane was the installation method that involved spraying. Not only was this process expensive but it came with the issue of over-spraying which threatened to ruin the entire court.
Luckily, new polyurethane surfaces have overcome this problem, as the surface is smooth and even all over the court. A seamless court is not only possible indoors but outdoors as well. A surface made from polyurethane is structurally more elastic which allows then to resist crazing, they are more durable and most important for the crowds and the players, there are no strike marks from racquets.
No need to carry cash to the game
Cashless paying options are the new hype. Fans of tennis are both well-off people as well as blue-collar workers but both social categories enjoy paying using nothing but their credit cards. That is why numerous tennis venues across the globe are doing away with cash, as they are introducing cashless payment options, like using your phone to pay for the fizzy drinks you buy at the stadium. In China, the Alipay service even allows foreigners to pay in such a manner.
A replay for every fan
Although fans hold their breath as they watch on the big screen whether the ball was in or not, the future holds a personalized approach to replays. Even if a particular stadium has a large LCD screen, personalized screens are bound to appear sooner or later.
The concept that every seat in the stadium should have an LCD screen built inside its back has been around for a long time. However, the total cost of such a system has been preventing venue owners from implementing it thus far.
As the technology becomes cheaper to install, we could see such a screen appear by the end of the decade, as there is nothing more personal than watching a replay on the screen right in front of you. Unlike the large screen that you watch together with other fans, you would have the ability to pause or to watch the drop shot in slow-motion.
LED lights at tennis courts
Since a large number of games prolongs into the night, tennis stadiums need to be equipped with state of the art lighting. This is important both to the fans who don’t want to miss any major shots, as well as to the players who need excellent visibility if they are to hit the ball the way they wish to.
Ideally, the visibility conditions after dark should be the same as if the match was played on a sunny day. This is the segment of the game where LED tennis court lights prove to be essential. The system is a huge technological advancement from just a decade ago when incandescent floodlights were still used.
LED lights use up to 40% less power to operate and are fairly easy to maintain because you needn’t change individual lightbulbs like old floodlights. As far as the fans are concerned, they can expect LED lights to turn on instantly in case of power outages midgame.
Improved Wi-Fi access
Free public Wi-Fi networks are nothing new on sports venues, tennis stadiums included. However, when thousands of fans try to connect to the same network during halftime, the connection becomes poor, as the bandwidth is overloaded.
Tennis fans are in luck because Wi-Fi routers found at stadiums are constantly getting improved to the point that the will be able to facilitate an Internet connection for every single smartphone or tablet at the stadium. Improved bandwidth isn’t an innovation in itself but it sure matters to a fan who wishes to share the success of his or her favorite player on Instagram.
A self-service ticket office
Speaking of smart technologies, automation is one of innovation that promises to improve the fans’ experience the most. Before a semi-final’s match, no fan is going to risk losing his or her place in the stands because of the inability to purchase a ticket online or at the box office at the stadium.
However, purchasing a ticket at the stadium can often be stressful because of long lines, especially at Grand Slams. Furthermore, the present ticketing systems are largely inadequate because they are operated by the staff, i.e. people. In order to cut down on ticket printing costs, tennis venues are introducing self-service ticket offices that ease the process of buying a ticket for the big match.
Not only is the game of tennis changing but the whole experience for the average fans had dramatically changed over recent years. Better surfaces and automation are just some of the hypes that will make tennis matches more attractive in the future.
