Wimbledon’s line-calling tech malfunctions | The Straits Times
LONDON – Wimbledon’s electronic line-calling system failed at a key moment on July 6, prompting an outburst from Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, who told the umpire “you took the game away from me”.
The Russian put the controversy behind her to beat Britain’s Sonay Kartal 7-6 (7-3), 6-4 in just over two hours on Centre Court.
But the glitch in the fourth-round match follows concerns raised by players earlier in the tournament.
A fully-automated system has replaced human line judges at Wimbledon in 2025, ending nearly 150 years of history.
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.
On July 6, a tight first set between Pavlyuchenkova and Kartal was marred by a computer failure that could have proved pivotal.
At 4-4, Pavlyuchenkova, who had saved two break points in the game, held game point when a Kartal backhand landed clearly over the baseline.
But no call came and instead of the point being awarded to the Russian, it was replayed and Kartal went on to break.
Pavlyuchenkova was clearly fuming at the changeover, telling the umpire: “Because she is local, they can say whatever.
“You took the game away from me. They stole the game from me. You stole the game from me.”
Kartal held set point serving for the opener but Pavlyuchenkova saved it, breaking back and dominating the tie-break.
A fully-automated system has replaced human line judges at Wimbledon in 2025, ending nearly 150 years of history.
PHOTO: AFP
The world No. 50 maintained her momentum in the second set, breaking immediately and although she was broken back, the Russian broke again in the fifth game and went on to win the match.
The All England Club released a short statement.
“Due to operator error the system was deactivated on the point in question,” said a spokesperson.
“The chair umpire followed the established process.”
Britain’s Emma Raducanu said she was unhappy about one call in particular during her defeat by Aryna Sabalenka on July 4.
Jack Draper, the men’s fourth seed, queried the accuracy of the system after his second-round defeat by Marin Cilic.
Britain’s Jack Draper queried the accuracy of the system during his match against Croatia’s Marin Cilic.
PHOTO: REUTERS
On her win, the 34-year-old Pavlyuchenkova, appearing at her 16th Wimbledon said: “I always thought I was not good enough on grass, so this is incredible for me. Especially with me getting older, I am so impressed and proud for competing with the younger girls.
“My mental toughness is getting better. I used to be a little bit crazy in my head! But now I am learning to fight point by point.”
She will next face either Amanda Anisimova of the US or Czech Linda Noskova.
Also through to the quarter-finals was Germany’s Laura Siegemund, who beat Solana Sierra 6-3, 6-2. She will next face top seed Sabalenka of Belarus.
The world No. 1 booked her spot in the final eight when she delivered a fine showing to defeat former doubles partner Elise Mertens of Belgium 6-4, 7-6 (7-4).
In the men’s draw, Taylor Fritz booked a place in the quarter-finals in double-quick time after Australia’s Jordan Thompson retired injured at 6-1, 3-0.
The American fifth seed faced gruelling five-set battles in his opening two matches, but it was a different story in his fourth-round encounter on Court One.
The Eastbourne champion broke Thompson twice to seal the first set in just 21 minutes and led 3-0 in the second set.
The Australian then had a medical timeout to deal with an apparent thigh problem.
He returned to the court and slipped 40-0 down in the fourth game before deciding he was unable to continue, with the match lasting just 41 minutes.
“He’s been playing five-setters,” said Fritz, 27. “He was out playing a long doubles match yesterday, you know, so he’s been battling out here and I respected him for coming out.
“Obviously, his body’s not right. So, you know, I feel bad for him.”
He will next face Russia’s Karen Khachanov, who brushed aside Polish player Kamil Majchrzak 6-4, 6-2, 6-3 on Court Two earlier.
AFP, REUTERS
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