Umpire chairs get an upgrade at the Australian Open

By Niko Vercelletto Jan 11, 2018
Social

'If we're both fit enough, why not?' Carlos Alcaraz and Rafael Nadal reaffirm Paris Olympic doubles hopes in Madrid

By Baseline Staff Apr 26, 2024
Social

Mirra Andreeva did, in fact, put Andy Murray's famous complimentary tweet in a frame

By Baseline Staff Apr 26, 2024
Pop Culture

New movie Challengers asks: Where does tennis take us?

By Joel Drucker Apr 26, 2024
Social

Shelby Rogers dishes on the viral social media video that went all the way to Will Smith

By Baseline Staff Apr 26, 2024
Travel

Destination Tennis: Owl’s Nest Resort

By Megan Fernandez Apr 26, 2024
Pick of the Day

Jaume Munar vs. Jan-Lennard Struff, Mutua Madrid Open

By Zachary Cohen Apr 26, 2024
Style Points

Adrian Mannarino has a clothing sponsor! Lefty to debut with Celio at Mutua Madrid Open

By Baseline Staff Apr 25, 2024
Your Game

Geared Up: Rafael Nadal plays out his illustrious career with Babolat and Nike

By Baseline Staff Apr 25, 2024
Pop Culture

Review: Plenty to be excited about in TopSpin 2K25, which successfully recreates the joy (and frustration) of tennis

By Stephanie Livaudais and Spencer Thordarson Apr 24, 2024

Umpire chairs get an upgrade at the Australian Open

The officials for the first Grand Slam of the year will be delega

ByNiko Vercelletto

Published Jan 11, 2018

Welcome to the future.

The Australian Open has entered the high-tech world, upgrading their umpire chairs to lift automatically and swivel as the official turns while watching play.

The design is meant to represent the tournament's official "AO" logo, and the Aussie Open directors hope that the new design is a "revolution" in how officials watch the game.

Sam Groth took a spin on the model, going up very slowly, pretending to give pointers to his practice partner, Madison Keys.

Advertising

During Tie Break Tens on Wednesday, Novak Djokovic decided to play umpire, but somehow managed to get stuck in the chair.

Advertising

Technology does always come with a price, and there will always be a chance of glitches. Get ready to see the new chairs in action starting on Monday.

Umpire chairs get an upgrade at the Australian Open

Umpire chairs get an upgrade at the Australian Open

JANUARY: THIS MONTH ON TENNIS CHANNEL PLUS

NEW SEASON, MORE TENNIS! Get Tennis Channel Plus now at BuyTCPlus.com

A LOT of tennis action will be played on Tennis Channel Plus from January through June

Starting with January …  gear up for the Australian Open with LIVE tournaments in the lead up to AO, exclusively on Tennis Channel Plus

  1. Fast 4 Sydney

  2. World Tennis Channel – Adelaide

  3. Australian Open Qualifying

  4. Australian Open (Best 20 Matches of AO will be on-demand)