University disputes Hawk Eye

Hawk Eye, and similar officiating tools which are used to supplement or replace decision-making by umpires and referees, are becoming an increasingly common part of televised sports coverage. But the new technology has also attracted its critics.

Wimbledon champion Roger Federer is one of them, who during his Final in 2007 against Nadal, claimed the technology was flawed. Nadal hit a ball which appeared to television viewers, to the umpire, and to Federer as impacting well behind the baseline, but Hawk Eye called it in. Federer appealed to the umpire but the umpire accepted Hawk Eye.

Cardiff School of Social Sciences draws on the claims made by Hawk Eye Innovations’ on its website about the disputed line call. The machine reported that the ball nicked the baseline by 1mm. However, Hawk Eye Innovations also report that the average error of the machine is 3.6mm. If the Cardiff analysis is correct, the errors can be even larger than 3.6mm on some occasions. The International Tennis Federation, which tests the machines for use, would accept that Hawk Eye had passed its test if it called the ball in by 1mm while the true position was out by 5mm.

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