Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova accuses officials of home bias after technology failure

Yahoo

a day ago

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova accused Wimbledon of home bias after an embarrassing malfunction of its new electronic line-calling system on Centre Court.
At 4-4 in the first set of Pavlyuchenkova's fourth-round match against Britain's Sonay Kartal and with the Russian serving at game point, she was convinced a backhand from her opponent had landed long.
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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 official 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.
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.'
TV replays showed the ball was considerably long, and Wimbledon revealed the problem had been caused by human error.
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A spokesman said: 'Due to operator error, the system was deactivated on the point in question. The chair umpire followed the established process.'
Pavlyuchenkova discussed the matter with Helwerth after the match, and she said: 'It was very confusing in the beginning because the ball looked very long to me.
'It was a very crucial moment in the match. I expected a different decision. I just thought also the chair umpire could take the initiative. That's why he's there sitting on the chair. He also saw it out, he told me after the match. I don't know if it's something to do because she's local.
'I think we are losing a little bit of the charm of actually having human beings. Like during Covid, we didn't have ball boys. It just becomes a little bit weird and robot sort of orientated.
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'They're very good at giving fines, though, and code violations. This they don't miss because every time any little thing, they are just right there on it. I would prefer they looked at the lines and call the errors better.'
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova regrouped well after the incident (Adam Davy/PA)
Kartal, who insisted she did not know if the ball was in or out, defended Helwerth's handling of the situation.
'That situation is a rarity,' she said. 'I don't think it's really ever happened. It's tough luck. What can you do? The umpire is trying his best in that situation. I think he handled it fine. I think the fairest way was what he did, to replay the point.'
Pavlyuchenkova regrouped well after the incident, saving a Kartal set point and going on to claim a 7-6 (3) 6-4 victory and a place in the quarter-finals.
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Asked how she would have felt had she lost, the 34-year-old joked: 'I would just say that I hate Wimbledon and never come back here.'
Umpire Nico Helwerth explains the situation to the crowd (Adam Davy/PA)
The incident is hugely embarrassing for Wimbledon, with organisers having staunchly defended the innovation amid controversy over the removal of line judges.
Britain's leading duo Jack Draper and Emma Raducanu have both complained about the accuracy of the system, which is now widely used on the tour, 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.'
Pavlyuchenkova also has her doubts, saying: 'Sometimes when we play, I'm thinking, 'Am I crazy, or I just feel like the ball is long?' Then nothing is happening. There is no automatic line calling.
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'The chair umpire was so confused. I think the chair umpire needs to maybe have a clear plan if that happens. We probably should have this system like in football to review.'