Fault! Reform UK unleashes a volley of criticism at Wimbledon for scrapping line judges in favour of electronic calls as party suggests it's 'un-British'
Reform UK has delivered a volley of criticism at Wimbledon for scrapping line judges at this year's tennis championships.
The party's deputy leader, Richard Tice, suggested the decision by tournament bosses to instead use an electronic system was 'un-British'.
This is the first year in Wimbledon's 148-year history that there will be no line judges.
It meant, as the two-week competition began this morning, the venue's iconic grass courts were much emptier than usual without the traditional team of officials.
It follows a wider move within tennis towards electronic line calling, with many other tournaments around the world having also scrapped human officials.
However, the French Open - one of the four 'Grand Slam' tournaments alongside Wimbledon, the US Open and Australian Open - has so far resisted the change.
Wimbledon's removal of Ralph Lauren-clad line judges in favour of video technology to call shots in or out has been met with dismay by some.
Posting on X/Twitter on Monday morning, Mr Tice wrote: 'We want our country back. We want Wimbledon line judges back. Enough is enough.'
Yet others have welcomed the development as representing progress and bringing Wimbledon into line with most other tournaments.
It should also mean no more rows between players and officials over line calls, which have provided some of the most famous moments in Wimbledon history.
The All England Club has said around 80 former officials will be employed this year as match assistants.
Two will be on each court to offer support to the umpire, while they will also provide back-up, should the electronic system fail.
Another big change at this year's championships is the singles finals moving from 2pm to 4pm starts on the final weekend.
Earlier this month it was announced how the prize money on offer at Wimbledon will increase by seven per cent to a total pot of £53.5million.
The winners of the men's and women's singles titles will each receive £3million, an increase of more than 11 per cent on 2024.
A main draw spot is worth a minimum of £66,000, up 10 per cent year on year.
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The Guardian
30 minutes ago
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Daily Mail
33 minutes ago
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The Guardian
an hour ago
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Katie Boulter fights back from the brink to topple ninth seed Paula Badosa
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