Encouraging innovation while preserving tradition
It’s no secret that technological advances have changed the way that many sports are played, watched and coached, and the International Tennis Federation is working to ensure that tennis benefits from technology in a way that doesn’t threaten the nature of the game.
Players and coaches have access to more real-time information and data than ever before thanks to advances in the world of Player Analysis Technology. PAT, as it is known, refers to any equipment that “collects, stores, transmits, analyses or communicates information on player performance”.
The ITF Technical team tests and approves all PAT products to protect the integrity of the sport and to ensure that all PAT products are subject to the same regulations.
The introduction of Rule 31 to the Rules of Tennis in 2014 meant that PAT products can be used during competition, but there are two key stipulations:
- PAT devices will be permitted for use during competition played under the Rules of Tennis, subject to prior approval by the ITF.
- There shall be no access to the information that PAT devices generate during a match by a player, except when play is suspended and when coaching is permitted. The information generated by PAT (and access to that information) will be treated in the same way as any other coaching information, so that the prohibition of coaching during a match is protected.
What is Player Analysis Technology?
PAT includes items that the player wears (such as heart-rate monitors) or carries onto court (for example, a smart racket), as well as devices located remotely around the court (player tracking systems).
PAT is sub-divided into three groups:
- Integrated Equipment. Equipment which is carried or worn by players on court – commonly referred to as ‘wearables’ (items that would otherwise be classed as clothing; tennis-specific equipment (e.g. rackets); and non-tennis-specific equipment (e.g. heart rate monitors, activity monitors).
- Remote Equipment. Any device that is not carried or worn by the player (e.g. camera-based player tracking systems).
- Auxiliary Equipment. Equipment which does not record player performance information, but may perform any of the other functions of PAT, such as tablets and mobile telephones and software operating on those devices.
PAT products typically use sensors such as accelerometers, gyroscopes, cameras and electrodes, which measure force, movement and physiological information. These allow a broad range of information to be gathered relating to the player, the stroke and the ball.