Knowing the score changes how you watch a match—it’s the difference between seeing great shots and following the story of a game. The APTA has been investing heavily in technology for a more user-friendly viewing experience. Meet Court Director, the system working behind the scenes of every live event.
The Genesis
Court Director was created in 2023 to answer a simple question: “What’s the score?” Knowing the score helps platform tennis fans understand the significance of every point. It is the difference between watching great shots and truly spectating a sporting event. From there, platform tennis fans and players also gained access to a few more stats—one of the favorites is service game wins percentage, especially compelling in a sport with only one serve.
The Overview
Court Director is a collection of web applications focused first on the umpires and scorekeepers of racquet sports matches. Spectators can track live match scores on-site or remotely, along with player profiles and stats during the matches. Court Director provides this data to live streaming companies via both APIs and a library of score and stats widgets, which they can use within their broadcasts. More recently, Court Director developed outdoor LED scoreboards that can be mounted to platform tennis courts to show live scores during events.
The Process
Mark Thomford, APTA’s IT Director and the creator of Court Director, said, “I was looking to get back into hands-on development after 20+ years in financial software. Demian Johnston (former President of the APTA Board and the PTI Guy) and I had worked together for many years. He introduced me to the game in the mid-2000s. He talked about the hostile environment for our umpires’ scorekeeping—they were sitting high above the court in rain, snow, and cold with gloves and clipboards covered in plastic bags to keep the paper scorecard dry. I saw a problem I wanted to solve.
“Our sideline scorekeepers used various apps to keep live streaming updated, but without any direct connection to the umpires this process often led to errors. And WiFi at clubs is rarely consistent. The process was ripe for improvement, but this required a focus on the umpire experience to be successful.
“Demian and I played regularly with Alain Villemure, an APTA umpire. Alain shared the umpiring process with me and tested initial versions of the app. Demian introduced me to Amin Khadduri (APTA CEO), Mike Yachimski (Umpire Chair) and others, who started trying it out at events. After more problem-solving, Mike Yachimski took it up into the chair for a match; by the next season, Court Director on tablets had become the primary method for umpiring APTA matches.”
The Stats – Fans Love Stats
The match results and stats come from the umpire who is keeping score on a tablet, along with details on serving, deuce and ad side players, and players’ attire. The tablets are typically connected via cellular service, updating Court Director’s backend services. Live streaming broadcasts, scoreboards, and spectators using the web app are then updated in real-time as the umpire scores the match. Thus, it is usable and visible during live events, similar to using the US Open app during the tourney.
The thing about stats is that the more you get, the more you want. Last season was the first year of sharing statistics with spectators and live streaming and there was a very positive response all around. This season, some experienced umpires will be trialing more advanced stats gathering and, potentially, so will pros and players.
The Scoreboards in the Stands
For Thomford, building scoreboards from scratch became a wonderful learning process and education in electronics and construction. He tested various materials for weight and their ability to handle the sun, heat, cold, and rain. He started with importing and programming a variety of LED panels, and realized the necessity of using power tool batteries instead of power cords at events (tripping hazard!) and creating remote access. Working with a plastics manufacturer, he tested different plastics and parts, so that the score could be seen in bright daylight and during night events. Finally, he experimented with about a dozen different mounting solutions but chose to make his own. “We can do much better — but it’s been a good start,” Thomford said.
The Future of Court Director
This season, there have been several improvements for the umpire experience to help keep the app as simple as possible and let them focus on the match itself. There are plans to make further progress on deeper stats gathering, as well as improving the scoreboard solution. Per the APTA’s agreement with Court Director, all member leagues are welcome to use Court Director as part of their tournaments. It currently supports tournaments hosted on the APTA’s tournament system and intends to support those hosted on Paddlescores in the near future. There are a few other ways Court Director is working to improve the spectator experience during the coming season, so keep an eye out for updates as the season progresses.
See it for yourself: Court Director will be live at the upcoming Montclair Open APTA Tour tournament.
