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ith the 2021 Australian Open set to begin on February 8 at Melbourne Park, Tennis Australia has confirmed the event will become the first Grand Slam to replace all linespeople with Hawkeye technology.

This decision follows the 2020 US Open using Hawkeye technology in place of linespeople on all courts excluding the two main courts, and will see the elimination of player challenges with the remote tracking cameras around the court relaying automatised line calls in real time.

In a statement, Tennis Australia CEO and Australian Open tournament director, Craig Tiley, said the Hawkeye cameras will feature live electronic line calling voiced by community heroes, representing Australians “who save and protect lives”.

“The Australian Open will be the first Grand Slam tournament to introduce live electronic line calling on all courts, including the major stadiums,” Tiley said.

“I’m delighted this initiative will also help to shine a light on those who work tirelessly, and so often without recognition, to keep our community safe and healthy,” he said.

In the press release, Tennis Australia confirmed the pre-recorded voices of ‘community heroes’ will be used for the terms ‘Out’, ‘Fault’, and ‘Foot Fault’ during live play with the community heroes to include front-line workers in Australia’s pandemic response, firefighters, surf live savers, and other emergency personnel.

Every Australian state and territory will be represented in the pre-recorded voices, with the heroes of each match to be highlighted in a ‘behind the line’ tribute, introducing each calling voice.

The Hawkeye technology uses high-speed cameras to generate visual images enabling the tracking of the flight path of the tennis ball, in order to determine whether the ball landed in or out of bounds.