Tennis tech is becoming an industry of its own. Not just through the advancements of modern materials used in racquets and strings, but also through wearable such as Babolat Pop and other sensors such as Zepp, Babolat Play and Sony Smart Tennis Sensor. Now there is also something called Playsight – a “fully automated court monitoring system that tracks everything”. Everything being things such as serve speed, overall stats, analysis of strokes, instant video replay, video streaming and automated line calling.
I quote this from the Playsight website. How it works:
Each SmartCourt is permanently equipped with an interactive touch-screen kiosk, plus six fully automated HD cameras. The system uses advanced image processing and analytical algorithms to capture and log stroke type, ball trajectory, speed and spin, in-depth shot data, player movement and more.
PlaySight is actually approved by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and is approved for use in all ITF-sanctioned tournaments for player analysis.
For a tennis coach the Playsight system sounds like a dream come true. I have yet to test it, but video taping your sessions is something I strongly recommend. Today you don’t need a lot more than a decent smart phone and a tripod and there are various apps to help you get the most out of the footage such as Coach’s Eye. There are actually also an app called RacquetTune where you can measure the tension of your string bed and another app by the same guy, Sten Kaiser, that allows you to measure your racquet swing weight.
In short, tennis tech is happening and I’m sure we’ll see lots of new apps and technological advancements in the coming years. The game is sure becoming faster due to stiffer racquets and more spin-friendly strings and players need to keep up to date with the latest gear and tech to improve their games. Playsight and Coach’s Eye are sure great examples of additional useful tools for them and their coaches.
