Wimbledon blames 'human error' for embarrassing line-calling glitch
After an investigation, 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 Britain's Kartal that clearly missed the baseline was not called out.
Had the call been correct, it would have given Russia's Pavlyuchenkova a 5-4 lead in the first set, but instead umpire Nico Helwerth ruled the point should be replayed, with Kartal going on to win the game.
The Russian accused the official of home bias, saying: "Because she is local, they can say whatever. You took the game away from me."
Wimbledon issued a statement on Sunday saying the system had been "deactivated in error" for one game by those operating the system.
"In that time, there were three calls not picked up by live ELC on the affected part of the court. Two of these were called by the chair umpire, who was not made aware that the system had been deactivated," it said.
"Following the third, the chair umpire stopped the match and consulted with the review official. It was determined that the point should be replayed.
"The chair umpire followed the established process. We have apologised to the players involved."
Sally Bolton, chief executive of the All England Club, told reporters on Monday that the system was "working optimally."
"The issue we had was human error in terms of the tracking system having been inadvertently deactivated, and then the chair (umpire) not being made aware of the fact that it had been deactivated," she said.
She added: "We've spoken to the players, we've apologised to them, we've very quickly moved into reviewing everything that had happened yesterday afternoon and putting in place the appropriate changes to the processes."
A fully automated system has replaced human line judges at Wimbledon in 2025, in line with the Australian Open and the US Open.
But the glitch in Sunday's fourth-round match follows concerns raised by other players about the technology, including British stars Emma Raducanu and Jack Draper.
Around 80 former line judges are employed as match assistants, with two on each court offering support to the umpire.
But Bolton said there was no need to put them back on the courts.
"The system was functional," she said. "It had been deactivated. We didn't need to put line judges back on the court again, we needed the system to be active."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
France 24
4 hours ago
- France 24
Alcaraz, Sabalenka headline action in Wimbledon quarter-finals
AFP Sport looks at the match-ups ahead of the last-eight ties. Carlos Alcaraz v Cameron Norrie Carlos Alcaraz has not had it all his own way at Wimbledon but he has stepped up a gear when it matters most. The two-time defending champion has dropped four sets during his run to the last eight, giving his fans palpitations before raising his level each time. The Spaniard produced his best tennis of the tournament so far against Russian 14th seed Andrey Rublev in the last 16, rallying from a set down to set up a quarter-final against Britain's Cameron Norrie. Alcaraz is aiming to join an elite group of men who have won the tournament in three straight years in the Open era -- Bjorn Borg, Pete Sampras, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic. The charismatic Spaniard has taken on Federer's mantle as the darling of Centre Court. But he will have competition on Tuesday, when large sections of the crowd will be behind Britain's Norrie, who reached the Wimbledon semi-finals in 2022. "He's going to use the crowd to his side," said Alcaraz, who has beaten Norrie four times in six meetings. "I have to be really strong mentally and focused to play good tennis if I want to beat him." Aryna Sabalenka v Laura Siegemund Aryna Sabalenka looks unstoppable as she chases a fourth Grand Slam title but a first Wimbledon crown. The Belarusian top seed, who has never been past the semi-finals at the tournament, has yet to drop a set as she prepares to take on Germany's Laura Siegemund, ranked a lowly 104th in the world. Sabalenka, who lost in the finals of the Australian Open and French Open, is the only remaining woman left out of the top six seeds. She said she relished the support of the crowd during her last-16 win against Belgium's Elise Mertens, during which she won her 14th consecutive tie-break. "We all dream the same, holding the trophy, that winning moment," said Sabalenka. "It's always been my dream. I mean, I haven't achieved it yet. I had a lot of disappointments here." Siegemund, 37, who has lost both of her previous matches against her opponent, is under no illusions about the task facing her in her second Grand Slam quarter-final. "She's one of the greatest players that we have and one of the most aggressive also. The only good thing about that match is that I have absolutely nothing to lose," she said. Taylor Fritz v Karen Khachanov Taylor Fritz came to Wimbledon with form on grass after winning titles in Stuttgart and Eastbourne but he had a gruelling start to his campaign at the All England Club. The US fifth seed was taken to five sets in his opening two matches but he barely worked up a sweat in his last-16 match against Jordan Thompson, with the Australian forced to retire halfway through the second set. His quarter-final opponent Karen Khachanov, ranked 20th, has won both of their previous two meetings, though they have not met since 2020. "We practise all the time, so we're pretty familiar with each other's games," said Fritz. "But I think I have improved a ton and have become a much, much better player since the last time we played." Amanda Anisimova v Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova had to overcome the distraction of a potentially costly glitch in the electronic line-calling system in her fourth-round match against Sonay Kartal, which became a major talking point at the championships. The Russian, 34, is playing in her 65th Grand Slam -- only Victoria Azarenka, in this year's women's draw, has more appearances (68). She has a tough task against 13th seed and Queen's finalist Amanda Anisimova, with the American beating her on all three occasions they have met.
France 24
8 hours ago
- France 24
Sinner into Wimbledon quarters after injured Dimitrov retires
Sinner had been battling an injury to his right elbow and was trailing 3-6, 5-7, 2-2 on Centre Court when Dimitrov injured himself serving an ace. The Bulgarian collapsed onto the court holding his pectoral muscle and shouted out in pain as Sinner rushed to his aid. Dimitrov received medical treatment and walked off court before returning to tell Sinner he was pulling out, with the Italian wrapping him in a hug as the Bulgarian wiped away tears. Dimitrov, 34, has been hampered by injuries for much of the latter stages of his career, also retiring from Wimbledon in the fourth round against Daniil Medvedev last year. "Honestly, I don't know what to say, because he is an incredible player," said Sinner. "I think we all saw this today. He's been so unlucky in the past couple of years. An incredible player, a good friend of mine also, and we understand each other very well off the court too. "Seeing him in this position, honestly, if there would be a chance that he could play the next round, he would deserve it. But now, mostly, I hope he has a speedy recovery." From the brink of a potential shock exit, Sinner will now face American 10th seed Ben Shelton in the last eight, assuming the three-time Grand Slam champion can recover from his own fitness issue. Sinner has never reached the Wimbledon final, going as far as the semi-finals in 2023. He has played in the last three Grand Slam finals, taking the title at the US and Australian Opens and losing the French Open showpiece in a five-set epic against Carlos Alcaraz in June.
France 24
9 hours ago
- France 24
Swiatek into Wimbledon quarter-finals
Swiatek, a five-time Grand Slam winner, has never made the Wimbledon final. But the 24-year-old is in a strong position in the second week of the tournament after the exit of so many of the top seeds. In the last eight, Swiatek will face Russian 19th seed Liudmila Samsonova, who beat Spain's Jessica Bouzas Maneiro 7-5, 7-5 to reach her first Grand Slam quarter-final. "Honestly it's pretty amazing. It's the first time I really enjoyed London. Sorry guys!" Swiatek said of her previous Wimbledon woes. "We are tennis players, so we feel well off the court when we feel well on the court." Swiatek has lost in the semi-finals of both the Australian and French Opens this year. But world number one Aryna Sabalenka is the only one of the top six women's seeds still standing. Although Swiatek has reached only one All England Club quarter-final, she made the Bad Homburg final on grass recently and also won the Wimbledon junior title. Following her run at Bad Homburg, Swiatek admitted playing on grass had never been easy for her as she said "maybe there is hope for me" on the surface. Despite her grass-court fears, the former world number one is three wins away from adding the Wimbledon trophy to her four French Open crowns and one US Open title. Swiatek's cause was helped by Tauson's struggles on Court One as the Dane complained about the slippier court and called for a medical time-out between sets. "Clara said at the net she wasn't feeling well. I hope she is going to be fine," Swiatek said.
