Wimbledon Line-Calling System Under Scrutiny After Costly Glitch

TDT | Manama

Email : hussainm@newsofbahrain.com

Wimbledon’s new fully automated line-calling system came under intense scrutiny on Sunday after a high-profile error disrupted a round-of-16 clash on Centre Court, sparking fresh criticism over the tournament’s decision to eliminate human line judges.

The controversy unfolded during Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova’s match against Britain’s Sonay Kartal, when a clear out ball from Kartal at 4–4 in the first set was missed by the Electronic Line Calling (ELC) system. The absence of a call led to confusion and a bizarre delay, eventually resulting in the point being replayed—a decision that left Pavlyuchenkova visibly frustrated.

“I expected the umpire to step in. He told me after the match that he saw it was out, but he didn’t act,” Pavlyuchenkova said. “I just thought also the chair umpire could take the initiative. That’s why he’s there.”

Tournament officials later attributed the issue to operator error, explaining that the Hawk-Eye-based system had been inadvertently deactivated for one game, failing to track three shots—two of which were called manually by the umpire. A third, the one in question, was missed entirely.

Pavlyuchenkova, 34, was vocal about the impact of the glitch, saying, “They stole the game from me.” She ultimately regained her composure to win the match 7–6(3), 6–4, but the incident became the day’s biggest talking point.

Kartal, for her part, said she was unsighted during the rally and couldn’t tell whether the ball was out. “The umpire tried his best. I think he handled it fine,” she said.