Wimbledon hit by travel chaos with Tube line SUSPENDED as tennis fans scramble to reach SW19
SunSport was told by TfL staff on the ground that delays were caused by a signal issue, with engineers on the track attempting to fix the problem and trains stuck between Parsons Green and Wimbledon.
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South Wales Guardian
8 minutes ago
- South Wales Guardian
Wimbledon chiefs retain confidence in line-calling tech despite Sunday's blunder
Officials blamed human error for the incident at a crucial stage of the fourth-round match between Sonay Kartal and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, with the system inadvertently turned off and not flagging that a shot from the British player was out. Pavlyuchenkova, who would have moved 5-4 ahead had the call been made, was furious with umpire Nico Helwerth for ordering the point to be replayed, accusing him of stealing the game and the tournament of home bias. Organisers apologised to both players, and chief executive Sally Bolton said: 'It was important for us to to explain as much as we could at that point in time what we believed had happened, and to apologise to the players for it happening in the first place. 'We're deeply disappointed that this has happened in the Championships. It was a human error. The ball-tracking technology is working effectively.' The system has replaced line judges for the first time this year and such a high-profile malfunction is hugely embarrassing for the All England Club. Bolton refused to go into the details of how the error had happened, or to explain what safeguards had been put in place during a briefing with reporters on Monday morning. 'I wasn't sat there, so I don't know what happened,' she said. 'It was clearly deactivated in error, because you wouldn't ordinarily deactivate a set of cameras mid-match intentionally. 'Once this happened, we did a full review of all of our systems and processes to check all of those kinds of things and to make sure that, both historically and moving forward, we have made the appropriate changes that we needed to make. So we're absolutely confident in the system.' There was also criticism of Helwerth for not calling the ball out once it became clear the system had failed and instead ordering the point to be replayed, with Kartal going on to win the game, leaving her serving for the first set. The German umpire, one of the sport's leading officials, was notably absent from the schedule on Monday, although Wimbledon organisers insisted it was simply his day off. Pavlyuchenkova said in her post-match press conference: 'I just thought also the chair umpire could take initiative. That's why he's there sitting on the chair. He also saw it out, he told me after the match. He probably was scared to take such a big decision.' Bolton cited a breakdown in communication between the review official and the umpire, with Helwerth unaware that the system had not been working previously during the game. It is also a big week in a different type of court for the All England Club, with a judicial review into the decision to grant planning permission for its expansion into neighbouring Wimbledon Park taking place at the High Court on Tuesday and Wednesday. There has been vehement local opposition to the scheme, which will see 39 new courts, including an 8,000-seat show court, built on the site of a former golf club. Wimbledon chair Debbie Jevans will be at the High Court on Tuesday, and Bolton said: 'We remain really confident that we'll make the progress we need to make.'
Glasgow Times
8 minutes ago
- Glasgow Times
Wimbledon chiefs retain confidence in line-calling tech despite Sunday's blunder
Officials blamed human error for the incident at a crucial stage of the fourth-round match between Sonay Kartal and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, with the system inadvertently turned off and not flagging that a shot from the British player was out. Pavlyuchenkova, who would have moved 5-4 ahead had the call been made, was furious with umpire Nico Helwerth for ordering the point to be replayed, accusing him of stealing the game and the tournament of home bias. Chief executive Sally Bolton defended the line calling system (Adam Davy/PA) Organisers apologised to both players, and chief executive Sally Bolton said: 'It was important for us to to explain as much as we could at that point in time what we believed had happened, and to apologise to the players for it happening in the first place. 'We're deeply disappointed that this has happened in the Championships. It was a human error. The ball-tracking technology is working effectively.' The system has replaced line judges for the first time this year and such a high-profile malfunction is hugely embarrassing for the All England Club. Bolton refused to go into the details of how the error had happened, or to explain what safeguards had been put in place during a briefing with reporters on Monday morning. 'I wasn't sat there, so I don't know what happened,' she said. 'It was clearly deactivated in error, because you wouldn't ordinarily deactivate a set of cameras mid-match intentionally. 'Once this happened, we did a full review of all of our systems and processes to check all of those kinds of things and to make sure that, both historically and moving forward, we have made the appropriate changes that we needed to make. So we're absolutely confident in the system.' There was also criticism of Helwerth for not calling the ball out once it became clear the system had failed and instead ordering the point to be replayed, with Kartal going on to win the game, leaving her serving for the first set. The German umpire, one of the sport's leading officials, was notably absent from the schedule on Monday, although Wimbledon organisers insisted it was simply his day off. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova was unhappy with the incident (Mike Egerton/PA) Pavlyuchenkova said in her post-match press conference: 'I just thought also the chair umpire could take initiative. That's why he's there sitting on the chair. He also saw it out, he told me after the match. He probably was scared to take such a big decision.' Bolton cited a breakdown in communication between the review official and the umpire, with Helwerth unaware that the system had not been working previously during the game. It is also a big week in a different type of court for the All England Club, with a judicial review into the decision to grant planning permission for its expansion into neighbouring Wimbledon Park taking place at the High Court on Tuesday and Wednesday. There has been vehement local opposition to the scheme, which will see 39 new courts, including an 8,000-seat show court, built on the site of a former golf club. Wimbledon chair Debbie Jevans will be at the High Court on Tuesday, and Bolton said: 'We remain really confident that we'll make the progress we need to make.'
Glasgow Times
10 minutes ago
- Glasgow Times
Wimbledon grounds hit by lightning amid ‘challenging' weather
Blustery conditions and rain overnight failed to dampen spirits in the queue for on-the-day tickets, with fans lining up in ponchos and under umbrellas. Those travelling to Wimbledon also faced transport issues with 'severe delays' on the District Line on Monday morning from Edgware Road to Wimbledon because of a signal failure at Putney Bridge. Transport for London (TfL) said tickets were 'being accepted on London buses and South Western Railway' instead. All England Club chief executive Sally Bolton said the tournament would have a 'catch-up' with TfL after the championships to look ahead 'in terms of investment into the District Line'. TfL said on Monday that it apologised to 'customers affected by the disruption on the District line today'. A spokesperson added: 'We acknowledge that today's disruption comes on the back of a challenging week for District line services last week. 'We are continuing to work closely with organisers of the Wimbledon Championships and Network Rail to ensure that we deliver a reliable service and share up-to-date travel information with customers.' People in the queue remained jovial as they lugged sodden tents and camping chairs before the gates opened at 10am. Spectators queue in rain ponchos under umbrellas on Monday morning (Mike Egerton/PA) Ms Bolton said no one was injured after lightning hit a car park at the Championships on Sunday. Speaking to the media on Monday, Ms Bolton said: 'I have to say the weather yesterday was really quite challenging. 'We did have a lightning strike in car park six. 'No one was injured, nothing got damaged, but it was just a reminder of the nature of adverse weather and always being prepared for that.' Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz walks off the practice courts on Sunday during a rain spell (John Walton/PA) Asked whether TfL was providing adequate service to those attending Wimbledon, Ms Bolton said: 'We have an excellent relationship with TfL, we're working with them all year. 'You won't be surprised to hear that we have been speaking to them during the championships. 'We have been and remain clear with them that delivering an event of this scale in this part of London requires the infrastructure in this part of London to support us in doing that. 'They're very aware of that view, and we have arranged to catch-up with them after the championships, to look at not just what happened this year but also to look ahead in terms of investment into the District Line.' The All England Club's plan to expand into a neighbouring golf course, adding 39 new courts, will be subject to a judicial review hearing this week at the High Court following a challenge by the Save Wimbledon Park group. Ms Bolton said the All England Club 'remain really confident that we'll make the progress we need to make'. Ground staff sweep water from the rain covers on an outside court on Sunday (Jordan Pettitt/PA) The All England Club chief executive added: 'The scheme we are seeking to deliver is all about safeguarding and enhancing the future of the championships, but also delivering fantastic benefits for the local community, including a new 27-acre public park. 'So we remain very committed and determined to deliver it, and excited about the opportunity of what it can do for both the Championships and the local residents.' There were covers over many of the outer courts on Monday morning including No2 court after wet conditions overnight. Conditions are expected to improve through Monday with rain changing to sunny intervals by late morning, with a maximum temperature of 22C, according to the Met Office. The conditions followed a mixed bag of weather during the previous week – from blue skies and temperatures as high as 34C to overcast and rainy spells. Warm and sunny weather is forecast in SW19 for much of the rest of the week with temperatures predicted to hit 30C on Friday. British singles hopes at Wimbledon rest on Cameron Norrie after his gruelling five-set win followed Sonay Kartal's defeat on Sunday. He next faces defending champion Carlos Alcaraz on Tuesday. Cameron Norrie celebrates victory following his singles win against Nicolas Jarry on Sunday (Ben Whitley/PA) Norrie, a semi-finalist in 2022, is only the third British man to reach the last eight more than once in the last 50 years, after Tim Henman and Sir Andy Murray. Kartal's loss to Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova included an embarrassing malfunction of Wimbledon's new electronic line-calling system on Centre Court. Organisers admitted the technology was turned off in error on a section of the court for a game, with the mistake only becoming apparent when a shot from Kartal that clearly missed the baseline was not called out. A Wimbledon spokesperson later said the technology was 'deactivated in error on part of the server's side of the court', the 'chair umpire followed the established process' and both players had received an apology. A minute's silence was observed at Wimbledon at 10.30am on Monday to honour the victims of the July 7 London terror attacks 20 years ago.
