On Thursday, five minutes before USC women’s tennis player Lily Fairclough was set to play her third match in the UTR Pro Tennis Tour at Newport Beach, she was informed that the game was delayed because of a power issue. An hour later, the game was officially postponed to Friday.
It would make sense to delay the game if the issue pertained to the lights, the chair umpire’s equipment or the electronic line-calling technology. But, it wasn’t.
Tournament officials said the issue was related to the livestream camera equipment. Playing the matches without the livestream cameras wouldn’t affect the players as much as it would affect one of the tournament’s sponsors, Sportradar – a sports technology company “at the intersection of the sports, media and betting industries.” Their livestreaming cameras collect real-time analytics and stats to inform live sports betting odds.
Fairclough played well thus far, winning her first two matches in just two sets both times. Yet, for reasons unrelated to her, her opponent or the outdoor conditions, Fairclough mentally prepared for a game that didn’t happen. In fact, as a result of the livestream issue, she was forced to play two games Friday, while her second opponent that day only had to play one.
As much as tennis is a game of endurance, it is also a mental game. Athletes must prepare physically as well as ensure they are in the right mindset to win, and a delay like the one Fairclough faced had the potential to negatively affect her game.
Despite this fact, Fairclough won both her matches Friday in her typical two-set fashion, clinching her spot in the semifinal stage after going 4-0 in round-robin play.
The senior was joined by her teammates Simone Kay, who also went 4-0, and Lexi Wolf, who went 2-2, all making it to their respective semifinal matches on Saturday. Unfortunately, all three Trojans fell just short of the final round after battling out their individual matches.