Latest news with #LouiseAzemarEngzell
Independent Singapore
7 days ago
- Sport
- Independent Singapore
'That's questionable why this is happening'—More line-call controversies at Wimbledon spark debate over accuracy of AI systems
Wimbledon's electronic line-calling system malfunctioned and caused a point to be replayed during the quarter-final match between Taylor Fritz and Karen Khachanov. This season, the new AI technology was considered reliable enough to replace traditional line judges. However, due to errors that were occurring at a few matches, some athletes have raised doubts about the system's accuracy. During the match between Fritz and Khachanov, a 'fault' arose in the middle of a rally during the fourth set. Umpire Louise Azemar-Engzell halted the play and it surprised the crowd. The umpire then made a phone call to fix the issue and then told everyone on Court One that the point would be replayed. The umpire stated: ' Ladies and gentlemen, we will replay the point due to a malfunction… The system is now working.' Since the incident happened in the middle of a rally and no player was holding on to any advantage, Fritz nor Khachanov did not raise any complaints. Athlete's opinions on the line-calling system Khachanov, who lost the match in four sets, admitted that he had to accept the fault. However, he also said that he does not support the new system. The athlete stated: 'I'm more for line umpires, to be honest. I don't know. You feel a little bit [like the] court is too big, too alone without line umpires… At the same time it looks like AI and electronic line calls has to be very precise and no mistakes, but we've seen a couple. That's questionable why this is happening. Is it just like error of the machine or what's the reason?' He added: 'Like today I think there were a few calls. I don't know, very questionable if it's really touching the line or not. At the same time during one point, the machine called it just out during the rally. Sometimes it's scary to let machines do what they want, you know.' On the other hand, Fritz agrees that the electronic line calling system is an improved method compared to relying on line judges. He said: 'There's going to be some issues here and there… To be honest, I still think it's much better to just have the electronic line calling calling the lines as opposed to the umpires because I do like not having to think about challenging calls in the middle of points.' 'I do like that we don't have to argue about calls and all this stuff. The ball gets called, and we know, and that's it. I think it's a better system,' the athlete added. The biggest mistake happened when the AI was accidentally turned off for one game during Sonay Kartal's match against Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. During this match, the Hawk-Eye system failed to track the ball, and the point needed to be replayed despite the TV footage clearly showing the ball was far out. Former British No. 1 Tim Henman, a member of the AELTC committee, said the technology performs well when it is functioning properly. He also said that the mistake in the Kartal vs. Pavlyuchenkova's match was completely unrelated to players raising concerns about the accuracy of the calls. Henman stated: 'This is technology that's been around for a long, long time… It's a Hawk Eye version when we had line judges. So this is an enhanced version. So is the technology accurate? Absolutely, 100%… So then when you move to the Sonay Kartal element, and there's been a statement from the club, that's human error, that is someone that has un-clicked a box, and so therefore, the system is deactivated.' 'So if it's not activated, it's not going to work, and it didn't work. So they're two totally separate situations,' he said.
Daily Mail
7 days ago
- Sport
- Daily Mail
Why this moment BROKE Wimbledon's AI line judge as SW19 bosses face new controversy over ball boy blame game amid star's call to stop the 'machines'
Red-faced bosses at Wimbledon have only just issued an apology after its faltering electronic line-calling system was accidentally turned off during a high stakes Centre Court match. Now the All England Club is facing even more controversy after seeming to blame a ball boy on Tuesday when the state-of-the-art tech appeared to malfunction again, this time during a men's quarter-finals clash between Taylor Fritz and Karen Khachanov. Play during the Court One showdown had to be halted after a phantom 'fault' was called out by the system – which has replaced traditional line judges at Wimbledon for the first time. Swedish umpire Louise Azemar-Engzell shouted 'stop' in the opening game of the fourth set when a fault was called incorrectly despite Fritz's forehand landing well inside the baseline. The crowd responded with jeers as she said: 'Ladies and gentleman we will replay the last point because of a malfunction. The system is now working.' The call, rather than a shot being judged as 'out', and the positioning of the ball suggested the system was still tracking the American's serve as opposed to a rally. And the club last night blamed a ball boy's position for the error after he collected a ball from the middle of the court after Fritz's first serve and returned to his position. 'The player's service motion began while the BBG (Ball Boys and Girl) was still crossing the net and therefore the system didn't recognise the start of the point,' a spokesman said. 🗣️ "What was that?!" An electronic line-call system "malfunction" resulted in an incorrect fault call in the Taylor Fritz and Karen Khachanov quarter-final. #Wimbledon — BBC Sport (@BBCSport) July 8, 2025 Wimbledon blamed a ball boy's position for the error in their AI line judge system Russia's Karen Khachanov said he preferred the traditional line judges at Wimbledon 'As such the chair umpire instructed the point be replayed.' Russia's Khachanov, who went on to lose the match by three sets to one, said he preferred the traditional line judges and that it was 'scary' to leave the calls to 'machines'. He added: 'That's questionable why this is happening. Is just like error of the machine or what's the reason?' It is the second time the club has blamed issues with the system on 'human error' after it missed three calls when it was accidentally turned off in a fourth-round match on Sunday. The technology was deactivated for more than six minutes during British star Sonay Kartal's match against Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova resulting in the pair having to replay the point. Bosses, who said they had 'full confidence' in the system, launched a review and upgraded the system overnight to prevent it from being turned off again. Leading Britons Jack Draper and Emma Raducanu have also complained about the accuracy of the system, which is widely used in other tournaments. Tuesday's malfunction came as the UK's Cameron Norrie crashed out to defending champion Carlos Alcaraz. The 29-year-old, who was the last British player left in the tournament, lost to the Spaniard, 22, in straight sets after just one hour and 39 minutes. Sienna Miller led a star-studded royal box watching the quarter-final match-up on Centre Court, with US actress Jodie Foster, 62, also in attendance. Ms Miller, 43, wore a floral mini-dress as she took in the action on day nine of the championships. Classical singer Katherine Jenkins, 45, also took in the action from the royal box in an embroidered pink gown. Tom Holland, who watched from the stands, was seen wishing Alcaraz good luck ahead of the match. And actor Sir Mark Rylance also appeared animated as he watched world No1 Aryna Sabalenka triumph over Laura Siegemund earlier in the day.
Daily Mail
08-07-2025
- Sport
- Daily Mail
Wimbledon's line-calling technology fails AGAIN just days after All England Club were forced to apologise over embarrassing Hawk-Eye blunder
Wimbledon suffered another embarrassing episode when the electronic line calling system malfunctioned in Taylor Fritz's quarter-final win over Karen Khachanov. Tournament organisers were forced to apologise on Sunday when the Hawk-Eye technology was accidentally switched off for one game in the fourth-round tie between Britain's Sonay Kartal and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. And All England Club chiefs were left red-faced again on Tuesday as 'fault' was erroneously called midway through a Fritz and Khachanov rally in the first game of the fourth set. Swedish umpire Louise Azemar-Engzell shouted 'stop' and halted the play, before making a phone call to colleagues from her chair. She then told the audience: 'Ladies and gentlemen, we will replay the last point due to a malfunction. The system is now working.' That prompted boos from the No 1 Court crowd, although neither player held the upper hand in the point and they replayed without protest. Swedish umpire Louise Azemar-Engzell shouted 'stop' and halted the play after a 'fault' was erroneously called midway through a rally in the first game of the fourth set Fritz lost the point and went on to have his serve broken, but he recovered in the set to win the tie-break and seal a 6-3, 6-4, 1-6, 7-6 win. While it is not known what caused the malfunction on No 1 Court, it was another uncomfortable episode for the All England Club, who gave their full backing to the electronic line calling system on Monday. A 'thorough review' of the Kartal incident identified that a Hawk-Eye operator had accidentally switched off the ball-tracking technology by unticking a box. An All England Club spokesperson said on Monday: 'Our live ELC system relies on the cameras and technology working in harmony with the operators and review officials. 'We have conducted a thorough review of our systems and processes. What is clear is that the ball-tracking technology has been working optimally during The Championships. 'In this instance, there was a human error which deactivated the ball tracking cameras on part of the server's side of the court. 'Following our review, we have removed the ability for Hawk-Eye operators to manually deactivate the ball tracking. 'While the source of the issue was human error, this error cannot now be repeated due to the system changes we have made.' Wimbledon claimed the error occurred because a ballboy was still running across the court when Fritz went to serve. The electronic line calling system does not work when more than two people are on the court for a singles match. A spokesperson said: 'The player's service motion began while the BBG was still crossing the net and therefore the system didn't recognise the start of the point. As such the Chair Umpire instructed the point be replayed.' Khachanov said: 'I'm more for line umpires, to be honest. The electronic line calls have to be very precise and no mistakes, but we've seen a couple. 'That's questionable why this is happening. Is it just like the error of the machine or what's the reason? 'Today there were a few calls that were very questionable if it's really touching the line or not. At the same time during one point, the machine called it just out during the rally. Sometimes it's scary to let machine do what they want. 'What can I do? I can argue, or I can be angry on it or just continue playing. It's not in my power. It's already happened. 'I need to kind of accept it, and that's it. It was not kind of super important point. 'If it would happen on a break point or deuce or maybe tiebreaker, you can get more mad.'
The Independent
08-07-2025
- Sport
- The Independent
Wimbledon suffers another tech malfunction as ‘fault' is called mid rally
Wimbledon's latest electronic line call blunder was due to the movement of a ball boy. The faltering system was thrust back into the spotlight on Tuesday afternoon following an embarrassing malfunction during Taylor Fritz's four-set quarter-final victory over Karen Khachanov. Swedish umpire Louise Azemar-Engzell called 'stop' in the opening game of the fourth set on Court One when 'fault' was incorrectly announced after a Fritz forehand landed well inside the baseline. The cry of 'fault', rather than 'out', and positioning of the ball suggested the technology was still tracking Fritz's serve as opposed to a rally. Tournament organisers verified that theory, explaining the system had failed to reset because the ball from Fritz's first serve was still being retrieved when he started lining up his second. Neither player showed much reaction as match official Azemar-Engzell ordered the point be replayed. Fritz led 2-1 on sets at that stage before completing a 6-3 6-4 1-6 7-6 (4) victory in two hours and 36 minutes. 'The player's service motion began while the BBG (ball boy or girl) was still crossing the net and therefore the system didn't recognise the start of the point,' read a statement from the All England Club. 'As such the chair umpire instructed the point be replayed.' Tournament organisers said on Sunday they were confident of avoiding further issues with the technology after a major error in Sonay Kartal's fourth-round defeat to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the women's draw. On that occasion, the new system failed to call 'out' when a shot by Kartal bounced well behind the baseline. Had the call been correct, Pavlyuchenkova would have taken a 5-4 lead in the first set. Umpire Nico Helwerth instead ruled the point should be replayed, with Kartal going on to win the game. However, a major scandal was avoided as the Russian, who accused the official of home bias, battled back to progress. After an investigation, organisers admitted the technology was turned off in error on a section of the court. Britain's leading duo Jack Draper and Emma Raducanu have each complained about the accuracy of the system, which is widely used on the tour but has only just been introduced in SW19. The latest incident is another embarrassment for the Championships amid controversy over the removal of line judges.
France 24
08-07-2025
- Sport
- France 24
Wimbledon line technology fails again as Fritz reaches semis
Swedish umpire Louise Azemar Engzell had to stop a point in the opening game of the fourth set on Court One when "fault" was incorrectly called after a Fritz forehand landed well inside the baseline. The call of "fault", rather than "out", and positioning of the ball suggested the system was still tracking Fritz's serve as opposed to a rally and the point had to be replayed. Tournament organisers said on Sunday they were confident of avoiding further issues with the technology after a major error in Sonay Kartal's fourth-round defeat to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the women's draw. On that occasion, the new system failed to call out when a shot by Kartal landed well behind the baseline. A fully automated system has replaced human line judges at Wimbledon for the first time this year, in line with the Australian Open and the US Open. But there have been a number of glitches and concerns raised by other players about the technology, including British stars Emma Raducanu and Jack Draper. The controversy did not stop Fritz reaching his first Wimbledon semi-final after another hard-fought encounter as the American won 6-3, 6-4, 1-6, 7-6 (7/4). The fifth seed was on the brink of a first round exit when he fell two sets down to Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard and was also forced to five sets against Gabriel Diallo in round two. But Fritz was handed a break by Jordan Thompson's early retirement in his fourth round match and summoned his energy to see off a fightback from Khachanov. One break of serve was enough for the American to take the first two sets. Khachanov, who had won the two previous meetings between the players, hit back at the start of the third with a double break of Fritz's booming serve. The Russian looked set to force Fritz all the way again when he broke early in the fourth. However, the world number five hit back to break in the fourth game and wrapped up victory in just over two-and-a-half hours on a tie break.
