MPRM Match point replay marker
Inspiration
I'm Matthew Waterhouse and I've been playing tennis since the age of two. I've entered tournaments since the age of twelve, and started playing varsity high school tennis in the eighth grade. I've encountered nearly every scenario you could imagine while playing tennis, and there's one that I've consistently experienced and viewed, and that would be disputes about line calls. I've always been the type of person to get in my own head about errors and questionable line calls, which then affects my play negatively for a period of time. Having to be responsible for my own calls and being trusting of my opponent's calls is extremely stressful and can take me out of the zone, and this feeling is mutual for a large majority of tennis players. Finding a new and simple way to guarantee the validity of line calls at all levels of tennis, not just the pro level, would be revolutionary for the health of the sport.
The Problem
Dishonesty and inaccuracy, in regards to line calls, has terrorized all levels of tennis players for years and years. The only near 100% accurate way of tracking line calls is only used at the highest level of the sport, leaving the rest of the community to fend for themselves. Leaving the duty of making calls in the hands of the players creates a rift between them and their respect for the sport.
The Product
Thesis Statement
MPRM is a simple, revolutionary service that will change the way people play and officiate tennis forever
Research
Surveys were given to college tennis players around the Tri-State area in order to find out their confidence levels in regards to line calls in order to solidify the need for a product/service like MPRM. 4 being very confident and 1 being very unconfident.
Key Statistics
- Around 50% of survey takers have little confidence in their opponents honesty and accuracy
- Nearly 100% of survey takers have full confidence in their own honesty and accuracy when making calls
- Matches that the survey takers participate in almost never have any officials or volunteer line judges
- Most of the survey takers have heard of MPRM's competitors, but have never used them before
Analysis
Due to the overwhelming skew in survey and interview answers about their trust in player's own calls vs their trust in their opponent's calls, there is a lot of justification for the necessity for a product like MPRM. There are also less than 10 ITA tennis officials active on Long Island at the moment, there's a need for a more consistent and readily available line calling system.
Target Audience
- High School Tennis Programs
- College Tennis Programs
- Independant Tennis Clubs
Marketing Strategy
MPRM will market itself to different tennis programs as an added service to an already needed service for tennis courts. Tennis courts, in order to maintain standard quality should be resurfaced every 5-7 years. Marketing MPRM as an added benefit to court resurfacing services will persuade these programs to make the purchase. Representatives of MPRM will visit these schools and clubs and share information with the athletic administrations in regards to the benefits of the service for their programs.