Jamie Murray reveals how Wimbledon players really feel about 148-year change
There are no line judges at the All England Club for the first time in 148 years, with Wimbledon introducing new Hawk-Eye technology in SW19.
Up to 18 cameras have been placed around each court at Wimbledon to track the progress of the ball and determine whether it is in or out.
The big change means Wimbledon is now using the same line-calling system as other Grand Slam events and key tournaments on the ATP Tour.
The introduction of Hawk-Eye at the Championships has been a huge talking point, especially after British No.1s Jack Draper and Emma Raducanu both publicly complained about how reliable the system was.
There was also a dramatic moment in Sonay Kartal's defeat to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in which the technology was accidentally turned off, with the British star's opponent left furious that a game was 'stolen' from her.
Despite there being a few 'failures' at Wimbledon this year, Murray is adamant players would rather have electric line calling than line judges.
Murray highlighted how the system works at many other tournaments throughout the year – although he did stress that Wimbledon must have a plan in place for if and when the technology fails, like in Kartal's match.
'Players overall would rather have electric line calling than line judges,' Murray told Metro. 'It removes [more of the] human error and if the computer calls it in or out, they don't have anyone to complain or argue with. It's just like, 'Computer says no', and you have to move on.
'There's 18 courts going at all times through the day. The system might work for 10 million calls but then it fails on one or two – and if it happens on a show court or whatever – maybe it blows up more than it should.
'I saw the one with Kartal and the system failed. But to be honest, the umpire could've said the ball was out and called it himself. I don't know why he replayed the point in that situation.'
Wimbledon have taken action to remove the possibility of 'human error' after the electronic line calling system was accidentally deactivated on Centre Court in Kartal's loss to Pavlyuchenkova.
Click here for the full story.
Murray added: 'It's the same system we've been using for the whole year and at all the other major events. There's not been many issues as far as I've been aware so it's been working fine generally through the year.
'It seems for whatever reason, there's been a few failures or whatever but I guess that's the issue with technology. If it fails, what do you do? If it completely fails, have you got line umpires that can come out to Centre Court? Do the matches have to stop or what?
'We had it (ELC) at Queen's, we had it in Eastbourne, it was absolutely fine with no issues. So I don't know what's gone wrong at Wimbledon.
'I don't think it's been a failure. It's far from being a failure. Wimbledon has had some issues with the setup but we've been playing with it the whole year with no problems so it's not a thing that's happening week to week like football where it's always talked about.
'I don't think it's a major issue that we're facing.'
Alongside Laura Robson, Murray has just smashed the Guinness World Record for the longest tennis rally of 101 strokes between two moving cars and fastest tennis serve of 46.67 km/h on the roof of a moving car. More Trending
Quizzed about Robson's claim that he was 'bricking it' on the first run, Murray said: 'They put us in a harness on the car and wanted to do practice runs but it was on the field, so it was super bumpy.
'Yeah, I was not enjoying that! Once we got onto the airstrip, it was smooth so it was easier and you get your confidence up quick. It was cool. It was such a unique thing for us to do. It was fun.
'We had quite a few runs at it and were getting better and better each time. It's cool to get your name in that book!
Murray was speaking to Metro via Lexus as part of their record breaking Served at Speed campaign.
MORE: BBC commentator slammed by Trinity Rodman over Wimbledon coverage
MORE: Why England can win crunch Women's Euro 2025 match against the Netherlands
MORE: Novak Djokovic names the two 'favourites' to win Wimbledon
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
North Wales Chronicle
12 minutes ago
- North Wales Chronicle
Cameron Norrie backs ‘unreal' Carlos Alcaraz to win Wimbledon again
Norrie had hoped to become just the third home player in the open era to defeat a men's title holder in SW19 after Roger Taylor and Tim Henman but succumbed to a 6-2 6-3 6-3 quarter-final defeat in just an hour and 39 minutes. It was Alcaraz's 19th consecutive win at the All England Club and 23rd in a row overall, and Norrie said: 'It was a good experience to play probably the best player in the world at the moment, most confident player, on his best surface. The quest for a third consecutive #Wimbledon title continues — Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 8, 2025 'I think he is the favourite, for sure. His level was unreal. I felt like a lot of the time, if I didn't do enough with the ball, he was going to punish me with a lot of his different options, with power. He's got the drop (shot) as well available. 'So I think I was missing a little bit more because I was pressing a bit more than usual, but I think that's credit to him – his physicality, his movement and power.' It has nevertheless been an excellent fortnight for the 29-year-old, who almost dropped out of the top 100 earlier this season three years after reaching the semi-finals here and has shown he can be a factor again. Norrie will climb back to around 43 in the rankings following the tournament and, having been out for three months last summer with an arm injury, missing the US Open, he has a good opportunity to make further significant gains. 'I told you guys that I was hitting the ball well all year. I wanted it to happen. I think actually winning the matches and actually going through these experiences, you can take so much confidence from this. 'I want to just continue to play with confidence. I feel like I've been through a lot of tough moments in this week and a half and a lot of different kind of players and being the favourite, being the underdog in different scenarios. I think I've tested myself in all different aspects of the game, which is huge. 'I really feel like I'm enjoying my tennis a lot. I think that's most important.' Norrie's progress meant he finally had to move from his favoured Court One on to the main stage, where he had lost four of his five previous matches, including against Alexander Zverev last year and Novak Djokovic in the last four in 2022. Against Djokovic he had taken the first set to conjure dreams of a home finalist but here, with Lord of the Rings actor Sir Ian McKellen watching from the first row of the Royal Box, the wizardry came from Alcaraz. Once the Spaniard had saved four break points in the second game, he reeled off five in a row, and Norrie never got close to him again. Alcaraz served brilliantly whenever his opponent had the sniff of an opportunity and eased through to a semi-final clash with American fifth seed Taylor Fritz on Friday. Ready to leave it all on the course, fellas? @CarlosAlcaraz 🤝 @ — PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) July 8, 2025 The 22-year-old was delighted with his performance, saying: 'Today was a great, great match. I think the best match so far in the tournament. Just really happy to see myself keep going, keep improving after every match, each day.' Alcaraz now has two days to prepare for his clash with Fritz, but his first priority is to try to set up a round of golf with Spider-Man actor Tom Holland, who was at the All England Club on Tuesday. 'There are some videos of him playing golf,' said Alcaraz. 'I would say he could beat me. But I would love to play against him. For me it would be such an honour. Let's see if he will be available, and we'll tee it up.'
Daily Mail
32 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
WIMBLEDON COURT REPORT: American Amanda Anisimova melts hearts with Court 1 partner, while Alfie Hewett lifts British gloom and it's misery for 16-year-old Cruz
Action at the All England Club always seems to pass in a blur and this year has been no different. As Day 9 concludes, the end of the third Grand Slam is in sight, with half of the semi-final line-ups confirmed after some thrilling play at Wimbledon. In the singles, faint British hopes ended with Cameron Norrie 's straight-sets defeat by defending champion Carlos Alcaraz. But there remains real optimism in the men's and mixed doubles. Mail Sport's James Sharpe was on hand to recap some of the things you may have missed. KLAXON FOR YOUNG JAXON! Anastasiya Pavlyuchenkova, the Russian at the heart of the Sonay Kartal line-call failure who accused officials of pro-Brit bias crashed out of the quarter-finals in straight sets to Amanda Anisimova. A jubilant Anisimova then melted hearts as she brought her nephew Jaxon on court for her post-match interview. Jaxon, who turns four on Thursday, only flew into England yesterday morning. 'He's more tough than me,' said Anisimova, who faces Aryna Sabalenka in the semis. HEWETT LIFTS GLOOM At least it was not all doom and gloom for the Brits on Tuesday as Alfie Hewett got his wheelchair singles title defence under way in style as the 10-time Grand Slam singles and 22-time doubles champion dispatched Spain's Daniel Caverzaschi 6-1, 6-2 in 54 minutes. His long-term doubles partner Gordon Reid found it less easy-going, needing to come from a set down and win a final-set tie-break to reach the second round. They could face each other in the final. SALISBURY BREAKS LOOSE Joe Salisbury booked his place in the mixed doubles final for the first time since 2021 alongside Brazilian Luisa Stefani as they saw off second seeds Marcelo Arevalo and Zhang Shuai in straight sets. Salisbury, a six-time Grand Slam winner, had to come through two hotly-fought tie-breaks to triumph and will face Sem Verbeek and Katerina Siniakova in Thursday's final. 'I felt quite calm, we've played quite a few tie breaks this week,' said Salisbury. MISERY FOR CRUZ It was a day to make us all feel old as Australian Lleyton Hewitt, the 2002 Wimbledon champion, and his son Cruz were both in action. The 16-year-old Cruz went out in the second round of the boys singles in an hot-tempered affair on Court 5, as he vented his frustrations in the direction of his dad who sat court-side, before Lleyton took part in the invitational doubles alongside Mark Philipoussis in a far more light-hearted affair.
Daily Mail
32 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Box-office Ben Shelton has won the hearts of British tennis fans despite his taunts, writes DAVID COVERDALE... and he's now primed to derail world No 1 Jannik Sinner at Wimbledon
He has described a full English breakfast as 'garbage', complained that our roads are the worst in the world, and even poked fun at Annabel Croft. And yet brash Ben Shelton has won the hearts of British tennis fans on his way to the Wimbledon quarter-finals. When he steps on to No 1 Court to play top seed Jannik Sinner, there is no doubt the crowd will be chiming for Big Ben. In appearance, sleeveless Shelton has evoked memories of another left-hander, Rafa Nadal, the only man to win Wimbledon in a vest. In playing style, he has based his game on another big server, Andy Roddick, the last American man to reach the final here and also to win a Grand Slam. But in personality, box-office Shelton stands alone. You need only listen to his on-court interviews, which have become a must-watch throughout this tournament. Following his third-round win over Marton Fucsovics, the 22-year-old issued a public plea to get his sister Emma more time off work so she could stay at Wimbledon to support him. Her employers Morgan Stanley duly obliged. Then, after beating Lorenzo Sonego in the last 16, he teased interviewer Croft when she asked him about being a 'quarterbacker' as a child. As it goes, Shelton believes the bullet arm he honed throwing American footballs helped him develop his formidable serve, which was clocked at 150mph earlier this year, one of the fastest of all time. Adding to Shelton's story is the fact he is coached by his father Bryan, who reached the last 16 at Wimbledon in 1994. But another ever-present in his box here has been doting girlfriend Trinity Rodman. The 23-year-old is a USA footballer and the daughter of NBA legend Dennis Rodman. She is estranged from her dad and was furious when pundit Andrew Castle mentioned him on BBC commentary. 'My dad's not even in MY life,' Rodman — who Castle also mistakenly called Tiffany — wrote on Instagram. 'No need to bring him up during HIS matches when I don't want him talked about during mine.' Having a celebrity partner, of course, only adds to the stardust of Shelton, who has 1million followers on Instagram and 430,000 on TikTok and is already a hero to youngsters in the US. 'He is a guy kids can relate to,' James Blake, the American former world No 4, told Mail Sport. 'With the TikTok generation, they are all seeing him and looking up to him. Every young player wants to be like him. I was at a junior tournament recently and I saw a kid who had the same hair, the same sleeveless outfit and did everything mimicking Ben. 'He is a really good role model. He's still got a college attitude. He's engaging with the crowd. He's having fun.' Shelton will hope that fun continues today against Sinner. The 10th seed has lost his last five meetings against the Italian world No 1. But there will be no better time for Shelton to play Sinner. who is nursing an elbow injury he sustained in his lucky fourth-round escape against Grigor Dimitrov, who was forced to retire injured when holding a two-set advantage. Sinner had an MRI scan yesterday morning and later cancelled his afternoon practice session, but did hit some balls indoors for 30 minutes. His injury has US fans believing they could be about to see their first men's winner of Wimbledon since Pete Sampras beat Patrick Rafter to win the last of his seven titles 25 years ago, with Taylor Fritz already into the semi-finals. The fifth seed defeated Russian Karen Khachanov 6-3, 6-4, 1-6, 7-6 in yesterday's quarter-final to set up a last-four showdown with defending champion Carlos Alcaraz. In doing so, 27-year-old Fritz became the first American man to reach a Wimbledon semi since John Isner seven years ago. 'It's an amazing feeling,' said the US Open runner-up. 'I'm feeling great to get through it. The match was going so well for me for two sets. I felt I couldn't miss and then all of sudden I'm making a ton of mistakes. 'I've never had a match just flip so quickly, so I'm happy with how I came back in the fourth set and got it done. Having played the quarter-finals here twice, and lost in five sets twice, I don't think I could have taken another one. I'm happy I'm going to play the semis here.' Before that, though, it is Big Ben's time.
