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2mo ago

Wimbledon Removes Manual Controls After Second Line-Calling Glitch

Procedural reforms eliminate manual overrides after two high-profile glitches, with officials ruling out the return of human line judges.

Russia's Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova talks to the umpire during her round of 16 match against Britain's Sonay Kartal
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Russia's Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova waits for a line call to be resolved as he plays Sonay Kartal of Britain during a fourth round women's singles match at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships | Image: AP
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Overview

  • The fully automated Hawk-Eye system was inadvertently deactivated by operators during the Pavlyuchenkova–Kartal match, missing three out calls and forcing a replayed point.
  • A second malfunction in Fritz vs. Khachanov occurred when a ball boy’s movement prevented the system from resetting, triggering an incorrect “fault” call and another replayed point.
  • The All England Club has disabled operators’ ability to manually deactivate the electronic line-calling system and overhauled protocols to block similar errors.
  • CEO Sally Bolton and other senior officials have reaffirmed full confidence in the automated technology and confirmed there will be no reinstatement of human line judges.
  • Ongoing criticism from players including Emma Raducanu and Jack Draper highlights the broader debate over replacing traditional officials with automated systems.