A New Approach: Overland Park Racquet Club has implemented a new Electronic Line Calling system on their courts

The Overland Park Racquet Club debuted their new AI-powered Electric Line Calling system for the first time in the Boys 18 National Tennis Tournament. The system was used in games from Nov. 28 to Dec. 1 after the club earned approval from the United States Tennis Association.

The system acts as a line judge, determining if a ball is hit in or out of bounds. Usually, line judges are simply an appointed umpire or the players themselves: humans, not machines.

If there is a disagreement between players about where a ball landed, they can challenge the call by checking the tablet on the side of the court that determines the exact spot the ball landed. 

Junior Brody Feldman participated in the tournament, using the system for the first time in-game after practicing with it for two months prior.

“Sometimes people make wrong decisions, and you usually just give them the benefit of the doubt,” Feldman said. “If you have some real technology that can help you out, then, you just move on and [don’t] have to think about it anymore.” 

Feldman has played tennis since he was 6, and began playing at OPRC at age 10. He says the addition of the line-calling system has vastly improved his experience and alleviated the pressure of making the correct call in the heat of a stressful tournament. 

The smart courts use scanners and cameras that survey the area of each court where it’s installed with AI processors. The system can calibrate the exact point the ball hits the ground, making a call with  99.9% accuracy and recalibrating 10,000 times a second, according to OPRC owner and SM East parent Elliot McDermed.

The company that creates the system, PlayReplay, has been partnered with the USTA since January 2024, but outreach and installation at OPRC began in October 2025. The USTA first proposed that the club install these smart courts to McDermed, where installation began thereafter. 

“It really diffused any drama that we usually get in tournaments about player-line calls and disputes; all of that went away,” McDermed said. “The matches actually went faster; they were more efficient. There was almost no controversy, so I think the umpires that we have at the tournament were very appreciative of that.” 

USTA Board member Bill McGugin is enthusiastic about the opportunities the system presents to its users, according to usta.com. 

“We believe that the PlayReplay system has the potential to significantly enhance the playing experience across the country, offering an affordable technology solution to tennis facilities where electronic line calling has previously not been feasible,” McGugin said. “This investment also represented an opportunity to invest in a company that has the potential to continue to grow and innovate at different levels of the sport.”

The system takes less than three minutes to learn to use, with a self-explanatory user interface that is easy to use, according to McDermed.

In addition to the line calling, players are also able to measure exactly how fast each ball they hit goes, as well as how high above the net a ball is as it crosses over. These measurements allow players to work on more specific skillsets with immediate feedback. 

If a player wanted to consistently put the ball at the very back corner of the court, or wanted to keep the ball as close to the net as possible, they could measure their progress with each attempt using the ELC system.

“[My] initial thought [when learning about the system] was ‘how fast can I hit my serve?’” Feldman said. “[That was] the first thing. We used to have this radar thing that would never work, so I was like ‘there’s no way I’m not testing how fast I’m hitting my serve.’”

With the positive reception from players like Feldman (who serves at 117 miles per hour), McDermed expects to see the system expand in the tennis world. 

“This is an inevitable advancement in tennis, at least in privately managed facilities or even a public tennis center like Plaza Tennis Center,” McDermed said. “It’s like you’ve opened this Pandora’s Box and you can’t close it now, and why would you want to?”