Emma Raducanu joins Jack Draper in questioning automated Wimbledon line calling
A fully automated system has replaced human line judges – whose calls could be challenged using electronic reviews – for the first time at the Championships this year.
The two most vocal critics so far have been Britain's leading players, with Raducanu going even further than Jack Draper after feeling one call in particular, when a Sabalenka shot was ruled to have clipped the line, was wrong.
'That call was for sure out,' said Raducanu after her intense 7-6 (6) 6-4 defeat by the world number one.
'It's kind of disappointing, the tournament here, that the calls can be so wrong, but for the most part they've been OK. I've had a few in my other matches, too, that have been very wrong. Hopefully they can fix that.'
The technology has become standard across the tour, with all ATP Tour events and a lot of WTA ones no longer using line judges.
The same system operates at the Australian Open and the US Open but the French Open remains an outlier, so far eschewing any form of electronic system.
Draper queried one serve from Marin Cilic during his second-round loss on Thursday, and he said: 'I don't think it's 100 per cent accurate, in all honesty. A couple of the ones today it showed a mark on the court. There's no way the chalk would have showed.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
11 minutes ago
- BBC News
Norris takes first Silverstone win in dramatic race
McLaren's Lando Norris took his first home victory in a chaotic, dramatic, rain-affected British Grand benefited from a 10-second penalty handed to team-mate Oscar Piastri, who was found to have driven erratically during a restart after one of two safety-car periods at had led the race calmly through a heavy shower of rain and a series of incidents but was passed by Norris when he served his penalty at his final pit stop in the closing win reduces his deficit to Piastri in the championship to eight German Nico Hulkenberg took his first podium finish at the 239th attempt - setting a new record for the longest time before finishing in the top three - after a strong race for managed to keep Lewis Hamilton's Ferrari at bay in the closing laps as Red Bull's Max Verstappen came home to follow
North Wales Chronicle
11 minutes ago
- North Wales Chronicle
Wimbledon line-calling technology fails on crucial point in Sonay Kartal match
At a crucial moment in the first set, with Russian Pavlyuchenkova serving at 4-4 and advantage, she was convinced a Kartal backhand had landed long. Umpire Nico Helwerth stopped the point to check whether the technology, which has controversially replaced line judges this year, had worked, informing the crowd after a delay that it had not. With no evidence of whether the ball was in or out, Helwerth ordered the point to be replayed, and Pavlyuchenkova, who would have won the game had the shot been called out, went on to drop serve. Intriguing scenes! Pavlyuchenkova thinks Kartal has put her forehand long and stops before the Brit slams back a winner. The umpire checks and confirms the electronic line calling system was unable to track the point, which leads to the point being replayed.#Wimbledon — BBC Sport (@BBCSport) July 6, 2025 The 34-year-old reacted furiously at the change of ends, saying to Helwerth: 'Because she is local, they can say whatever. You took the game away from me.' A Wimbledon spokesman said: 'Due to operator error the system was deactivated on the point in question. The chair umpire followed the established process.' Britain's leading duo Jack Draper and Emma Raducanu have both complained about the accuracy of the system this week. After her defeat by Aryna Sabalenka on Friday, Raducanu said: 'It's kind of disappointing, the tournament here, that the calls can be so wrong.' Wimbledon organisers have defended the technology, which is widely used on the tour.
Daily Mail
13 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
After wrong-footing her doubters with a £2.7bn swoop on rival TSB, meet the most powerful woman in British banking
The most powerful woman in British banking is now Ana Botin, a glamorous and hugely clever Spanish mother-of-three, and a skilled golfer. As executive chairman of Banco Santander, Spain 's number one bank, Botin is known as a winner in the poker game of finance. Last week, she entered British banking's big league after orchestrating a £2.7billion deal to buy high street bank TSB from fellow Spanish group Sabadell.
