Wimbledon's electronic line calling failure is a victory for humanity
With that painfully tenuous intro out of the way: the implementation of electronic line calling (ELC) at this year's Wimbledon, a technology already used elsewhere on the tour, was always going to be controversial. The Championships at the All England Club are a tournament steeped in tradition, positively drenched in it – from the customary white attire adorned by players, to the men's and women's title winners dancing at the Champions' Ball, to revellers relaxing on Henman Hill and enjoying Pimm's, strawberries and cream.
Advertisement
Similarly, there was always a charm in seeing a legion of line judges, dressed smartly in colours of cream and blue, march onto court before a match. Of course, there was the possibility of margin for error, yet you'd like to think there was always an understanding among fans when a line judge got a call wrong; even players, caught up in the emotions of trying to win tennis's most prestigious tournament, were largely forgiving.
And the introduction of Hawk-Eye in 2007, giving players the ability to challenge calls, marked a sensible step into the present while retaining the tradition of employing real people on court to make the big calls.
For 147 years, human line judges were used, until it was announced that 2025 would represent a leap into a bold new era (which basically no one wanted to enter), with ELC replacing actual line judges.
One could argue, of course, that the stakes are so high at Wimbledon, both historically and monetarily, that relying on an electronic system might be the right call – no pun intended. However, that is based on the premise that the electronic system is more accurate than the human eye, a premise that has been challenged (again, no pun intended, honestly) this week.
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova challenged the umpire after an error in the line call system (REUTERS)
British hopefuls Jack Draper and Emma Raducanu, now both eliminated in SW19, questioned the accuracy of ELC. Raducanu, after her loss to world No 1 Aryna Sabalenka on Friday, even said: 'It's kind of disappointing, the tournament here, that the calls can be so wrong.'
Advertisement
Yet the boiling point came on Sunday afternoon, when another Briton struck a shot well beyond the baseline, only for ELC to fail to call Sonay Kartal's error. Her opponent, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, would have won the game if she had correctly been awarded the point, and she would have led 5-4 in the opening set.
What ensued was a bizarre scene. Umpire Nico Helwerth (from Germany, like Kraftwerk, ah?) was admittedly unable to use the video replay that fans at home could see, meaning he pulled out a corded telephone to discuss the matter with fellow officials, before informing the Centre Court crowd that the point had to be replayed. Pavlyuchenkova remained remarkably calm initially, even after losing the replayed point. But when she lost the game itself, she used the change of ends to vent.
'Because she is local, they can say whatever,' the Russian told Helworth, referring to Kartal. 'You took the game away from me.' When Helworth seemed to lay blame at the feet of the system, Pavlyuchenkova retorted: 'They stole the game from me, they stole it.'
Pavlyuchenkova shows her frustration (Getty Images)
Ultimately, Pavlyuchenkova broke Kartal's serve as the latter failed to close out the set, and the Russian went on to earn a straight-sets win. Yet imagine she had lost the first set, especially in the game after ELC's error. Imagine she had lost the match.
Advertisement
Again, some observers might claim this could have occurred in years gone by, with a human line judge making the mistake. Yet at least players had the chance to challenge these calls, and not lose one of their allotted challenges if they were successful in appealing the call.
Perhaps we are all sceptical right now, in a world in which new technology is seemingly causing as many problems as solutions. Perhaps there's something a bit too Terminator about the rise of these machines. Indeed, having to specify 'human' line judges multiple times is a jarring move for a Monday morning.
Ironically, Wimbledon's apology included a mention of 'human error'. 'The live ELC system relies on the Hawk-Eye operators, the review official and the technology to work in harmony. 'This did not happen,' said a spokesperson. 'In this instance, there was a human error and, as a consequence, we have fully reviewed our processes and made the appropriate changes. We continue to have full confidence in the accuracy of the ball-tracking technology.'
Umpire Nico Helworth figuring out how to tackle the issue on court (AP)
So, a human is still to blame for a mistake that could have been oh so costly? Or would the removal of a seemingly convoluted electronic system have at least cut out the electronic middleman, simplifying the whole process?
You could argue all day, fizzing a fuzzy, verbal tennis ball over the net back and forth. Or you could admit that there was never really anything wrong with how things used to be.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
10 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Emma Raducanu proves too strong for Naomi Osaka in Washington
Emma Raducanu will reclaim the British number one ranking after winning her first meeting with four-time grand slam champion Naomi Osaka in confident fashion. The clash was hotly anticipated but proved to be not that much of a contest, with Raducanu comfortably clinching a 6-4 6-2 victory to reach the quarter-finals of the Citi Open in Washington. Speaking on Sky Sports, Raducanu said: 'I thought it was going to be a really difficult match. Naomi's won four slams, she's been world number one, won Masters. 'She's so dangerous and on the hard courts I think she's particularly comfortable. I knew I was going to have to play really well and manage my own service games, which I'm really proud of how I did. 'I was making some inroads in her service games after I got used to it a little bit. I'm really pleased with how I handled the ball speed and the conditions here in DC.' The result means the 22-year-old will once again overtake Katie Boulter to become the top-ranked British player as she looks to secure a seeding for next month's US Open. Raducanu ended Boulter's two-year run at the top of the domestic standings in June but then slipped back to 46 in the world after losing a close tussle with Aryna Sabalenka in the third round of Wimbledon. Her two victories here, though, could mean Raducanu returns to the top 40, and she will definitely pass Boulter following her opening round defeat to Maria Sakkari. It will be the Greek that Raducanu plays next, and she has not dropped a set in three previous meetings. Raducanu was sharp from the start against Osaka, who continues to search for a way back to the top of the game after giving birth to daughter Shai two years ago. A double fault from the Japanese star gave Raducanu the first break in the fifth game and the British player was rock solid on serve as she wrapped up the opening set. Raducanu is without a coach in Washington amid uncertainty over the future of her partnership with Mark Petchey and has only hitting partner Alexis Canter in her corner, but there was no lack of direction in this performance. She was helped to another break at the start of the second set by more errors from Osaka, who created a first chance on the Raducanu serve at 1-2 but could not take it. Raducanu's serve has improved markedly under Petchey and was her key weapon here as she moved through to a third quarter-final in Washington with strong hopes of going further. Cameron Norrie could not match Raducanu, though, the British number two beaten 7-6 (3) 6-3 by American 14th seed Brandon Nakashima. Dan Evans' hopes of another deep run in Washington two years after he won the title are also over after he lost 6-2 7-6 (4) to France's Corentin Moutet.


Axios
an hour ago
- Axios
Citi Open stars compete for D.C. finale, plus more weekend events
Tennis is heating up at the Mubadala Citi DC Open through its finale on Sunday. Why it matters: Live out local Wimbledon vibes at the District's premium professional tennis tournament. Catch up quick: The tournament started last weekend at the Rock Creek Park Tennis Center, featuring stars like Naomi Osaka and Taylor Fritz and pop-up food stalls from Taco Bamba and more. Venus Williams takes on Magdalena Fręch Thursday night, while DMV star Frances Tiafoe, ranked #11 in the world, plays Flavio Cobolli for the chance to make the semifinals. Tickets are available online through Sunday, running from the low to high hundreds. More things to do this weekend: 🧒 Kids World is back at Franklin Park on Saturday and Sunday, and D.C. says it's bigger than ever. Family-friendly activities for toddlers and tweens include a kid concert, a superhero workout, storytime, a make-your-own-bear workshop, and more. Free admission 🎤 The DMV Made Festival celebrates local performers on the National Mall on Saturday, including hip-hop, go-go, soul and rock concerts and a family game zone. Free admission 🪕 Armenian folk band Armadi Tsayn is bringing a performance to Shanklin Hall on Saturday evening. Tickets $35 in advance or $40 at the door. 🎡 For suburban fun, the Loudoun County Fair's got country music, a demolition derby, and wine and beer tasting. Check the schedule; adult tickets are $16.50.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Australian pitches will challenge England
Australian pitches will provide a different challenge for England's batters in this winter's Ashes, says Steve Smith. The first Ashes Test begins in Perth on 21 November, a highly-anticipated series after the thrilling draw in 2023, with England looking to regain the urn for the first time since 2015. Former captain Smith, who is representing Welsh Fire in this year's Hundred, averages 56.01 in Tests against England but is expecting a tougher challenge for batters this time around. "Their batters are going to be challenged a little bit differently to the wickets they have had over in England for a while, which have looked pretty flat and good for batting," Smith told BBC Sport. "The wickets in Australia in the last three or four years have been very tricky for top order batters. It is going to be a good challenge for them. "But it's going to be a wonderful series. I have been watching the India and England series and there has been some great cricket played there, so I think the Ashes this year is going to be an absolute belter." Smith, 36, also said the respective pace attacks were the strength for both teams. Australia's top order struggled in the recent series against West Indies on bowler-friendly surfaces where the highest team total was 286 across three Tests. And despite plenty of recent chat around Mitchell Starc, 35, Josh Hazlewood, 34, and Scott Boland, 36, coming to the end of their Test careers, the three combined to skittle West Indies for just 27 earlier this month - a performance so dominant that their skipper and fellow quick Pat Cummins did not bowl an over in the innings. However, Smith has also noted a change of approach from England in comparison to the 2023 series which was only a year into Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum's time in charge. "They have started to play a little bit differently in the last couple of weeks in terms of playing the situation, as opposed to going out and trying to be the entertainers that they said they wanted to be," Smith added. "They are actually trying to win the games now which is perhaps different to what was said in their comments previously." The Hundred to help Olympic ambitions Smith was originally signed by Welsh Fire for the first edition of The Hundred in 2020, but the tournament was postponed because of the Covid-19 pandemic. But he says playing in the competition is on his "bucket list" as he focuses on playing more franchise cricket around the world in order to regain his place in Australia's T20 side and to play in the Olympics. The Los Angeles Games in 2028 will see cricket featured for the first time since 1900. "I decided to stop playing one-day cricket so I can play more franchises, with the aim to make the Olympic team," Smith said. "So to play more shorter-form tournaments around the world is only going to be beneficial. "It has been a long run for me and I have been doing this a long time. I am still enjoying it and particularly the shorter formats, and want to keep putting my name out there." The Hundred starts on 5 August with a double header between London Spirit and Oval Invincibles, while Welsh Fire take on Northern Superchargers in their first game two days later. Get cricket news sent straight to your phone