Gold, silver or bronze: The instances that drive world tennis set a hierarchical classification among the various electronic arbitration systems, establishing categories according to their reliability, the ITF (International Tennis Federation) indicated on Wednesday (23).
In force for several years in the tournaments that have been thrown on a hard court, live electronic refereeing was extended in 2025 to most ATP (Association of Professional Tenns) in clay courts, raising criticism from players such as world number 3, Alexander Zverev, in the face of controversial decisions.
In the grass, the recently disputed 2025 Wimbledon edition was the first without line judges. They have been replaced by an electronic arbitration system whose announcements cannot theoretically be criticized by players or invalidated by the referee.
According to the hierarchical division announced on Wednesday, “the gold seal systems are intended to be used in Grand Slam, WTA and ATP circuits, Billie Jean King Cup and the Davis Cup,” ITF explained in a statement.
“Silver” level electronic arbitration would be used in the “second level” of world circuits, such as ITF tournaments, for example, while bronze systems will be for national level competitions.
At this time there are four systems (Hawk-Eye, Foxtenn, Imba Elc and Sentinel) that have “Gold” seal, two are “silver” (Playreplay, Zenniz Smart Court) and there are no for now as “bronze”.
