The hidden role of gold in tennis tech

As the Australian Open gets underway this week, attention turns once again to the finest margins in elite sport.

Matches are decided by millimetres, challenges are resolved in seconds, and technology now plays a central role in determining the outcome of points, games and championships.

At the centre of that system is Hawk-Eye, the electronic line-calling technology that has become standard at the Australian Open and across the professional tennis circuit.

What is far less known is that behind the cameras, code and computer models, gold plays a quiet but important role in making that level of precision possible.

Hawk-Eye uses multiple high-speed cameras positioned around the court to track the ball from different angles. Advanced software then processes that visual data to reconstruct the ball’s full three-dimensional flight path, allowing officials to determine whether a shot landed in or out with extraordinary accuracy. The system tracks ball position, speed, trajectory and bounce location in real time, often when the ball is travelling at more than 200 kilometres per hour.

But this level of accuracy is only possible if the electronic systems behind it operate flawlessly.

While Hawk-Eye’s tracking relies on optics and software, the electronic infrastructure that supports it depends on gold-plated components at critical connection points. These include high-speed camera systems, data processing servers, and networking and timing hardware.

Gold is used in these systems around the world because of its unique physical properties. Unlike many other metals, gold does not corrode, meaning electrical connections remain stable even in hot, humid outdoor environments. Gold-plated contacts also provide extremely low electrical resistance, allowing high-speed data to move cleanly between components without interference. Just as importantly, gold maintains this performance over time, even across thousands of connection cycles.

The quantities involved are small, often microscopic, but the impact on reliability and accuracy is significant. In systems that process millions of data points per second, even minor degradation can affect performance.

The same materials science principles appear elsewhere in elite sport. High-performance wearables used by professional athletes to monitor heart rate, recovery and movement also rely on gold-plated electrical contacts to maintain accurate readings under sweat, motion and constant use.

For thousands of years, gold has been valued for its rarity and beauty. Today, its importance extends further. From medical equipment and communications technology to the systems that help decide points on a tennis court, gold’s unique physical properties continue to make it indispensable in the modern world.

As the Australian Open unfolds this week, it is worth remembering that when technology delivers a definitive call on centre court, a little bit of gold is helping make that certainty possible.