Umpires at Wimbledon, Roland Garros, and Arthur Ashe Stadium might deserve a break, according to a new linkurl:study;http://journals.royalsociety.org/content/1172753827346768 published online this week in Proceedings of the Royal Society B. The study found that disputes over close calls during professional tennis matches arise because of double faults in the way information is processed in the brains of players and umpires. Nonetheless, both perceptions are remarkably accurate, though umpires are in the right most of the time. At next month's French Open, tennis balls will fly across the court at linkurl:speeds;http://www.the-scientist.com/2007/11/1/82/1/ of up to 150 mph. In such a fast-moving sport, arguments often erupt between players and umpires as to whether a ball bounces inside or outside the boundary lines. So in 2006, major tennis tournaments introduced a high-tech, ball-tracking system called linkurl:Hawk-Eye;http://www.hawkeyeinnovations.co.uk/ that can pinpoint the ball's position to within a tenth of an inch. Line calls are still made by...
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