Computer says... FAULT! Wimbledon scraps line judges for first time in 148-year history as it replaces iconic umpires for AI-powered machines

Daily Mail​

3 days ago

Wimbledon gets under way today with line judges scrapped for the first time in the tournament's 148-year history - replaced by AI-powered technology.
Some of the sport's biggest stars have descended on south-west London for the showpiece two-week event at the All England Club - including defending singles champions Carlos Alcaraz and Barbora Krejčíková.
Britain's hopes rest on Jack Draper, Katie Boulter, Cameron Norrie and Emma Raducanu, who will battle through back injury in an attempt to win her second career Grand Slam.
And all eyes are on how this year's occasion copes with a shift in the way the game is umpired, as human line judges are replaced by artificial intelligence systems instead.
The controversial decision has left fans torn, with some praising the forward-thinking idea while others disliking the idea of technology taking the place of a person.
But this is not the only form of data-dependent technology that will underpin the player and fan experience at SW19 this year.
Wimbledon's chief executive Sally Bolton has now said: 'The time is right to take this important step in seeking maximum accuracy in our officiating.
'For the players, it will offer them the same conditions they have played under at a number of other events on tour.'
From Hawk-Eye to AI-powered predictions on winners, MailOnline reveals the futuristic technologies powering Wimbledon 2025.
A line judge watches as the Czech Republic's Lucie Safarova plays against France's Oceane Dodin during their women's singles first round match on the second day at Wimbledon in 2017
AI LINE JUDGES
Controversially, Wimbledon is getting rid of human line judges for the first time, to be replaced with AI – despite officials previously denying they would do so.
Known for their calls of 'out' and 'fault', these immaculately dressed officials were tasked to keep a close eye on the white lines to see where a ball landed.
But from 2025, they're being fully replaced with electronic line calling (ELC), an automated system also known as Hawk-Eye after the firm that invented it.
During tight calls, the AI will know instantly whether the ball touched the line, meaning players can quickly move onto the next point.
It also means the challenging system, which gave the players the right to challenge the call of a human line judge, will be scrapped.
For now, human umpires will be kept at Wimbledon, but it may be a matter of time before they're replaced too.
When the move was announced last autumn, chair umpire Richard Ings said line judges have had their 'love and passion ripped away'.
Now a stalwart of Wimbledon is the Hawk-Eye electronic system, which uses multiple cameras positioned around the court to track the precise movement of the ball during play. A 3D image is then processed frame-by-frame to show the ball's trajectory and determine whether it was in or out when it touched the turf
What is Hawk-Eye?
Since 2021, the Hawk-Eye electronic system has been used on all courts at Wimbledon to allow line calls to be challenged by the players.
The clever system uses multiple cameras positioned around the court to track the ball.
A 3D image is then processed frame-by-frame to show the ball's trajectory and determine if it was in our out.
According to Hawk-Eye, the result is accurate to within 0.2 inches (5mm), and can also track foot faults.
Hawk-Eye is also used in football, where it has eliminated the problem of inaccurate human calls denying teams a perfectly valid goal.
And the move came even though Wimbledon fairly recently denied plans to do so.
In 2021, Wimbledon had said in a statement: 'Line umpires remain an important element of our officiating set-up at the Championships, and there are no plans to switch to electronic line-calling.'
Hawk-Eye has been a feature of Wimbledon since 2007 to keep track on whether a ball was in or out – but it was used in the background and only really referred to during play when a player made a challenge.
The clever system uses multiple cameras positioned around the court to track the precise movement of the ball during play.
A 3D image is then processed frame-by-frame to show the ball's trajectory and determine whether it was in or out when it touched the turf.
MATCH CHAT
Even Wimbledon is not immune to the chatbot revolution that has been transforming people's daily lives over the past few years.
For this year's tournament, it has released Match Chat, an interactive AI assistant that can answer fans' questions during live singles.
Available on the official Wimbledon app and website, Match Chat can answer questions like 'who is performing better in the match?' and 'who has converted more break points in the match?'.
The chatbot, developed by Wimbledon's technology partner IBM, is constantly guzzling match data that it can reel off when prompted.
It has been 'trained on the Wimbledon editorial style and the language of tennis', so it will feel like interacting like a human expert.
LIKELIHOOD TO WIN
The Wimbledon app also offers another tool that gives AI-powered predictions on who will ultimately leave SW19 victorious.
'Likelihood to Win' gives users a live, constantly-updating verdict on who will win a match, given as a percentage.
For example, in the men's final, the tool might say Carlos Alcaraz has a 62 per cent chance of winning over Novak Djokovic, with 38 per cent.
Each calculation will be based on a comprehensive AI-powered analysis of player statistics and live match data.
First introduced in 2021, the 'Likelihood to Win tool previously offered pre-match predictions, but in 2025 the percentages are being updated throughout each match.
NET SENSORS
Getting the ball into your opponent's service area without hitting anything is an essential part of the sport.
But it's the hidden sensors in the top of the net that make sure the ball takes a clean trajectory from racket to turf.
These little 'piezoelectric' devices instantly emit a beep if it detects the slightest of contact with the net, forcing the player onto second serve.
BINNED TECHNOLOGIES
Wimbledon has confirmed, however, that some technology won't be returning this year.
In 2023, it introduced AI audio and text commentary for highlights shows on its app and website, created solely from computers.
But the robotic audio available as both male and female was described as 'stiff and emotionless' and was scrapped last year.
It came under fire from a number of stars including former player and commentator Annabel Croft, who claimed it was an 'insult' to her profession and claimed such technology will 'kill humanity'.
Wimbledon's AI-generated 'Catch Me Up' feature on the app was also criticized for getting facts about players wrong.
A spokesperson also confirmed Catch Me Up won't be returning in 2025.
Wimbledon and IBM said in a statement: 'Our approach to innovation is to find new use cases we think will enhance the digital experience, see how it's received by fans, and continue to iterate and refocus that innovation as the technology evolves.'
How does the tennis scoring system work?
In tennis, players must win enough games to win a set, and then a certain amount of sets to win the match.
This unique layout means that in many games, the eventual victor of a game actually wins less points.
The key to a victory in tennis is to 'break' the other person's serve - winning a game when the opposing player serves the ball into play.
This can be done by winning just four consecutive points, and provides a huge advantage.
Winning one point takes the score to 15-0. This is read as 'fifteen love', with love meaning zero. Another point will take the score to 30-0. The next point would take the score to 40-0.
The next point, should it be won by the person who is 40-0 up, would win the game.
If the game becomes tied at 40-40, this is then called deuce. When the game is on deuce, the next point does not win the game.
In this instance, the winner of the next point gets 'advantage'.