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The Guardian
3 days ago
- Sport
- The Guardian
‘It'll always need humans': former Wimbledon line judge laments the Hawk-Eye era
The cloth cap and blazer-wearing line judges of Wimbledon are as much an icon of this famous old sporting event as the manicured lawn courts. But this, the 138th tournament in its storied history, was the year SW19 took a leap into the 21st century – replacing some of their judges with an electronic line-calling system that was supposed to put an end to human error. Now, as the sun sets on this new era at Wimbledon, many of the headlines have been about just that. Mistakes have been blamed on the people operating it, much to the ire of players forced to replay points that were sabotaged by the faltering Hawk-Eye. The irony has not been lost on one former line judge. Pauline Eyre's beady eye was once trained on swerving kick serves from the likes of Jimmy Connors; this year she watched from afar, and in exasperation. 'You cannot just keep taking away anything that makes it human in order to create some kind of perfection for players who are also flawed, that's what they have to deal with, that's what sport is,' said Eyre, who worked as a line judge for 20 years, spanning 16 Wimbledon championships and 12 finals. 'Sport is about people,' she said. 'The principle is more important than the very occasional difference to one call.' In many ways, Wimbledon is falling in line with other professional tennis tournaments, including the Australian Open and US Open, which also use automated ball-tracking technology known as electronic line-calling or ELC. The French Open remains the only grand slam that still employs human line judges. Wimbledon uses the ELC provider Hawk-Eye, which has 10 cameras around the court and tracks the bound of a ball to a margin of error of 2.2mm. Previously, ELC was used as a safety backup when players had challenged calls by line judges. But at this year's debut, players were forced to replay points at crucial stages after an operator unintentionally switched off a set of cameras with one computer click. The technology has since been overhauled so that cameras cannot be turned off when the system is operational. For Eyre, it's not just the sometimes theatrical tradition of players challenging calls that is lost, or the distinctive uniform seen across the grounds, but the personnel as well. Some of the line judges, formerly numbering 300, who became court assistants are no longer putting their specialised expertise to use, she said, and for the players, there are no visual cues confirming each call on court. Sign up to The Recap The best of our sports journalism from the past seven days and a heads-up on the weekend's action after newsletter promotion 'It'll always need humans,' Eyre said. 'And what you've got then is humans in an underground bunker pressing buttons instead of humans standing on a court in the fresh air, visible.' During this year's tournament, Emma Raducanu expressed her disappointment that 'the calls can be so wrong' after her loss to top seed Aryna Sabalenka. Jack Draper said it was a 'shame' that the tradition of umpires was lost and said it's easier for players not having to worry about line calls. A spokesperson for the All England Club said the decision to introduce live electronic line calling was made after a significant period of consideration and consultation, and acknowledged the 'vital' role line officials played at the tournament for decades. 'For the players, it offers them the same conditions they play with on tour and, crucially, this is what the players want and expect,' the spokesperson said. 'Ultimately, live electronic line-calling is by far the most accurate way to call the lines on a tennis court, and that's why tennis has, and is, adopting this system.' What is next, wondered Eyre, whose career is now in comedy: 'Should we replace the royal box with AI? Should we replace the ball kids with a machine that will throw the ball at you?' Attending the championship for the third time, travelling from Scotland, tennis fan David Cullen said he agrees with the technology in principle, for its efficiency and reliability. Aesthetically, it was good to see the line judges on court and the interactions with players on court, contended Jane Carter, 58, outside No 1 Court. 'I would think that it would improve with use over time,' replied Cullen, 62. 'AI, unfortunately, is the way it's going to go for all sporting events,' he added, lamenting the use of VAR in football, which he said slows down the game. Standing beneath the shade of No 1 Court, Tom Mansell said the technology takes the 'fun out of it' and said the more jobs for people, the better. 'If there's going to be errors either way, then why can't it be a human making the decision?' said Mansell. 'It's a skill as well, actually, being a judge,' he added. 'We'd much rather keep that alive than lose it.'
The Guardian
4 days ago
- Sport
- The Guardian
‘It'll always need humans': former Wimbledon line judge laments the Hawk-Eye era
The cloth cap and blazer-wearing line judges of Wimbledon are as much an icon of this famous old sporting event as the manicured lawn courts. But this, the 138th tournament in its storied history, was the year SW19 took a leap into the 21st century – replacing some of their judges with an electronic line-calling system that was supposed to put an end to human error. Now, as the sun sets on this new era at Wimbledon, many of the headlines have been about just that. Mistakes have been blamed on the people operating it, much to the ire of players forced to replay points that were sabotaged by the faltering Hawk-Eye. The irony has not been lost on one former line judge. Pauline Eyre's beady eye was once trained on swerving kick serves from the likes of Jimmy Connors; this year she watched from afar, and in exasperation. 'You cannot just keep taking away anything that makes it human in order to create some kind of perfection for players who are also flawed, that's what they have to deal with, that's what sport is,' said Eyre, who worked as a line judge for 20 years, spanning 16 Wimbledon championships and 12 finals. 'Sport is about people,' she said. 'The principle is more important than the very occasional difference to one call.' In many ways, Wimbledon is falling in line with other professional tennis tournaments, including the Australian Open and US Open, which also use automated ball-tracking technology known as electronic line-calling or ELC. The French Open remains the only grand slam that still employs human line judges. Wimbledon uses the ELC provider Hawk-Eye, which has 10 cameras around the court and tracks the bound of a ball to a margin of error of 2.2mm. Previously, ELC was used as a safety backup when players had challenged calls by line judges. But at this year's debut, players were forced to replay points at crucial stages after an operator unintentionally switched off a set of cameras with one computer click. The technology has since been overhauled so that cameras cannot be turned off when the system is operational. For Eyre, it's not just the sometimes theatrical tradition of players challenging calls that is lost, or the distinctive uniform seen across the grounds, but the personnel as well. Some of the line judges, formerly numbering 300, who became court assistants are no longer putting their specialised expertise to use, she said, and for the players, there are no visual cues confirming each call on court. Sign up to The Recap The best of our sports journalism from the past seven days and a heads-up on the weekend's action after newsletter promotion 'It'll always need humans,' Eyre said. 'And what you've got then is humans in an underground bunker pressing buttons instead of humans standing on a court in the fresh air, visible.' During this year's tournament, Emma Raducanu expressed her disappointment that 'the calls can be so wrong' after her loss to top seed Aryna Sabalenka. Jack Draper said it was a 'shame' that the tradition of umpires was lost and said it's easier for players not having to worry about line calls. A spokesperson for the All England Club said the decision to introduce live electronic line calling was made after a significant period of consideration and consultation, and acknowledged the 'vital' role line officials played at the tournament for decades. 'For the players, it offers them the same conditions they play with on tour and, crucially, this is what the players want and expect,' the spokesperson said. 'Ultimately, live electronic line-calling is by far the most accurate way to call the lines on a tennis court, and that's why tennis has, and is, adopting this system.' What is next, wondered Eyre, whose career is now in comedy: 'Should we replace the royal box with AI? Should we replace the ball kids with a machine that will throw the ball at you?' Attending the championship for the third time, travelling from Scotland, tennis fan David Cullen said he agrees with the technology in principle, for its efficiency and reliability. Aesthetically, it was good to see the line judges on court and the interactions with players on court, contended Jane Carter, 58, outside No 1 Court. 'I would think that it would improve with use over time,' replied Cullen, 62. 'AI, unfortunately, is the way it's going to go for all sporting events,' he added, lamenting the use of VAR in football, which he said slows down the game. Standing beneath the shade of No 1 Court, Tom Mansell said the technology takes the 'fun out of it' and said the more jobs for people, the better. 'If there's going to be errors either way, then why can't it be a human making the decision?' said Mansell. 'It's a skill as well, actually, being a judge,' he added. 'We'd much rather keep that alive than lose it.'
The Guardian
07-07-2025
- Sport
- The Guardian
Player faith in technology shaken by storm around AI line-calling at Wimbledon
When the Wimbledon organisers announced last year that electronic line-calling would replace line judges for the first time at the Championships this year, plenty of criticism could have been anticipated. Some people would take issue with the more sterile landscape on court and the lack of human touch, while the cull of around 300 linesmen and women would also surely be a sore point. It is difficult, however, to imagine they were prepared for the firestorm that has followed its long-awaited implementation at this tournament. Electronic line-calling, or ELC, which uses automated ball-tracking technology has, after all, long been used in professional tennis tournaments, starting with the Next Gen ATP Finals in 2018. It has been four years since the Australian Open became the first grand slam to utilise the technology and this year, for the first time, the men's tour, the ATP, is using ELC at all of its events. Although all other men's clay-court events use ELC, the French Open is now the only grand slam that still employs human line judges. Instead of this year offering Wimbledon to step into the future, however, the All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) has spent the first eight days of the tournament defending its implementation of the technology. For the first five days of the tournament the most significant blows were the parting shots from Jack Draper and Emma Raducanu, the men's and women's British No 1 players, who each criticised the ELC system following their defeats. Both players believed they had been subjected to incorrect calls. 'It's kind of disappointing, the tournament here, that the calls can be so wrong, but for the most part they've been OK. It's just, like, I've had a few in my other matches, too, that have been very wrong,' Raducanu said. The AELTC maintained that the system was working optimally and that ELC remains considerably more accurate than the line judges it replaced. Wimbledon employs Hawk-Eye, one of numerous ELC providerswhich uses a system that incorporates 10 cameras placed around the court, and which track the bounce of the ball. Hawk-Eye states that its margin of error is 2.2mm. Wimbledon had previously used ELC only as a safety net, allowing players to challenge calls conducted by line judges. 'It's funny, because when we did have linesmen, we were constantly asked why we didn't have electronic line-calling because it's more accurate,' Debbie Jevans, the chair of the AELTC, told the BBC. Then came a disastrous series of events on Centre Court. As Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova held game point on her serve at 4-4 in the first set against Sonay Kartal on Sunday, a backhand from Kartal clearly flew long but it was not called out. After a lengthy delay, it emerged that some of the ELC cameras had not been functional on Pavlyuchenkova's side of the court for some time during the game. The umpire Nico Helwerth opted to replay the point. Around 10 minutes later, after losing that service game, Pavyluchenkova faced a set point on Kartal's serve. In the end, the AELTC was fortunate with the outcome. Pavlyuchenkova, who told Helwerth the tournament had 'stolen' the game from her, recovered to win both the set and the match, limiting the significance of the error. The AELTC announced in a statement on Sunday night that the ELC had been accidentally deactivated on Pavlyuchenkova's side of the court by one of the operators running the system. Sign up to The Recap The best of our sports journalism from the past seven days and a heads-up on the weekend's action after newsletter promotion Bright on Monday morning, the Wimbledon chief executive, Sally Bolton, fielded a contentious scheduled meeting with the media, which was almost entirely centred around ELC. Bolton asserted repeatedly that the mistake was purely down to human error, that the protocols had been changed to prevent a similar issue and that ELC has otherwise been working accurately during the tournament. At the very least, the situation with Pavlyuchenkova also underlined the importance of having contingency plans for when technology fails, including the possibility of umpires using video replay. Since the implementation of ELC, player reaction has largely been positive as it was rolled out on hard courts, with players recognising the greater accuracy provided by the system compared to human errors. However, after numerous dramatic moments during the clay-court season, as some players were frustrated with the differences between the ball marks and the ELC's judgments, the first week of ELC at Wimbledon has been a difficult one. It is clear that faith in its implementation on the surface has diminished and both privately and publicly, players and coaches have expressed scepticism about its accuracy. As the tournament moves into the latter stages, it remains to be seen if that faith will be restored.
New York Times
06-07-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Wimbledon electronic line calling failure: Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova loses game after non-call
The simmering tensions around Wimbledon's use of electronic line calling (ELC) instead of line judges boiled over Sunday, when the technology malfunctioned at a crucial point on Centre Court. Russia's Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova was serving at 4-4, Ad-40 in the first set of her fourth-round match against Britain's Sonay Kartal, when Kartal hit a backhand that clearly bounced out. There was no call from the ELC, which replaced line judges for the first time in Wimbledon's 148-year history. Pavlyuchenkova was waiting for the call, and umpire Nico Helwerth stopped the point before an automated sound saying 'stop, stop' could be heard. Advertisement After a lengthy break while he spoke to tournament officials, Helwerth explained to the players and the Centre Court crowd that the technology had not been working during the point, which meant it would be replayed. This was despite television footage confirming that Kartal's shot had been well long, and that the point and the game should have been Pavlyuchenkova's. A spokesperson for the All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) said in an email sent to The Athletic that: 'Due to operator error the system was deactivated on the point in question. The chair umpire followed the established process.' There is no mention of ELC in the 2025 Grand Slam rulebook. The ATP handbook says: 'If the live ELC system fails to make a call, the call shall be made by the chair umpire. If the chair umpire is unable to determine if the ball was in or out, then the point shall be replayed. This protocol applies only to point-ending shots or in the case when a player stops play.' After the interruption, Kartal won the replayed point and the game to take a 5-4 lead. A furious Pavlyuchenkova told the umpire at the change of ends, 'Because she's local, they can say whatever. You took the game away from me.' Even before the tournament started, there had been plenty of resistance from Wimbledon traditionalists at the decision to dispense with line judges. All ATP Tour-level events use ELC, as do the Australian Open and the U.S. Open, leaving Roland Garros — where clay helps with the identification of marks — as the only Grand Slam now to rely on the human eye. Ahead of the tournament, All England Club chief executive Sally Bolton said that replacing line judges with ELC was 'inevitable'. Players are generally in favor of the technology, believing it to be more reliable and removing any need on their part to self-officiate. But there have been complaints in the first week of Wimbledon from some high-profile players — including both British No.1s. First Jack Draper said Thursday: 'I don't think it's 100 percent accurate, in all honesty,' as he reflected on a wide serve from his opponent that he was sure was out. 'A couple of the ones today, it showed a mark on the court. There's no way the chalk would have showed.' Draper did acknowledge that he may well have been wrong. A day later, Raducanu questioned a call during her defeat to Aryna Sabalenka. Afterwards she said that the call in question was 'for sure out.' 'It's kind of disappointing, the tournament here, that the calls can be so wrong, but for the most part they've been okay. It's just, like, I've had a few in my other matches, too, that have been very wrong.' Advertisement Replays of the call, a Sabalenka serve, were inconclusive. Other players have complained about not being able to hear the out calls in amongst the crowd noise, and during the clay swing, players complained about ELC calls not matching up with what the marks on the court were saying. Players have been educated about marks sometimes being deceptive, but Alexander Zverev and others took photos of the clay after what they believed were inaccurate calls. Whether or not they had the correct marks is unknown. On Saturday, All England Club chair Debbie Jevans hit back at the player criticism, telling the BBC that: 'It's funny, because when we did have linesmen, we were constantly asked why we didn't have electronic line calling because it's more accurate than the rest of the tour.' There have been other high-profile malfunctions. In a very similar incident to Sunday's, Taylor Fritz was on the wrong end against Brandon Nakashima in a match at the Cincinnati Open, a Masters 1,000 event. On that occasion, Nakashima hit a shot that was clearly out and would have seen Fritz up break point. No call was forthcoming however and like on Centre Court the automated 'stop, stop' call was heard. Fritz thought the point should have been his once the ball was confirmed as being out, but per the rules it had to be replayed because Fritz had not stopped play. On this occasion, Pavlyuchenkova responded extremely well to break Kartal straight back and win the set on a tiebreak. 'It feels like justice,' said British coach and former player Anne Keothavong in commentary for the BBC. Pavlyuchenkova kept her focus to end up winning the match 7-6(3), 6-4. She'll play Linda Nosková or Amanda Anisimova next.
Yahoo
05-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Wimbledon defends electronic line-calling after Raducanu criticism
Wimbledon chiefs have defended electronic line-calling after Emma Raducanu and Jack Draper questioned the technology during the first week of the tournament. A fully automated system has replaced human line judges at the All England Club this year, ending player challenges of contentious calls. Advertisement But Raducanu, Britain's leading women's player, was unhappy after her 7-6 (8/6), 6-4 third-round defeat against top seed Aryna Sabalenka on Friday. The world number 40 said one call in particular, when a shot from Sabalenka was ruled to have clipped the line, was wrong. "That call was for sure out," said the former US Open champion after the intense battle on Centre Court. "It's kind of disappointing, the tournament here, that the calls can be so wrong, but for the most part they've been OK. "I've had a few in my other matches, too, that have been very wrong. Hopefully they can fix that." Advertisement The automated technology has become standard across tennis, with all events on the men's ATP Tour and many WTA tournaments using it. The Australian Open and the US Open are fully automated but the French Open remains an outlier, sticking to human line judges. Britain's Draper, the men's fourth seed, queried one serve from Marin Cilic during his second-round loss on Thursday. "I don't think it's 100 percent accurate, in all honesty," he said. "A couple of the ones today it showed a mark on the court. There's no way the chalk would have showed." But Wimbledon chiefs said Saturday they were confident in the technology. Advertisement "Live electronic line-calling technology is now widely used week in and week out on tour," said a spokesman for the tournament. "The technology goes through a rigorous certification process and meets the (agreed) standards... so we can provide maximum accuracy in our officiating." jw/smg
