Wimbledon replaces line judges with electronic system
Line-Judges stare the court during the men's singles quarter final tennis match between Australia's Nick Kyrgios and Chile's Cristian Garin on the tenth day of the 2022 Wimbledon Championships at The All England Tennis Club in Wimbledon, southwest London, on July 6, 2022. Wimbledon announced on October 9, 2024, that it is scrapping its iconic line judges in favour of electronic line-calling, changing the face of the grass-court tournament. Smartly dressed umpires and line judges are as much part of the Grand Slam as strawberries and cream and the all-white kit that players must wear. But Wimbledon has now fallen into line with other tournaments around the world, saying the move was to "balance tradition and innovation". (Photo by Glyn KIRK / AFP)
Audio By Vocalize
Wimbledon announced Wednesday that it is scrapping its
iconic line judges in favour of electronic line-calling, changing the face of
the grass-court tournament.
Smartly dressed umpires and line judges are as much part of
the Grand Slam as strawberries and cream and the all-white kit that players
must wear.
But Wimbledon has now fallen into line with other
tournaments around the world, saying the move was to "balance tradition
and innovation".
The men's ATP Tour in 2023 announced tour-wide adoption of
electronic line calling (ELC) from 2025 in a move to "optimise accuracy
and consistency across tournaments".
The All England Club announced it would make the switch to
live ELC from 2025.
"The officiating technology will be in place for all
Championships and qualifying match courts and cover the 'out' and 'fault' calls
that have previously been made by line umpires," it said in a statement on
Wednesday.
Tournament chiefs said the decision to use ELC, which builds
on existing ball-tracking and line-calling technology, was made following
extensive testing during this year's Championships.
"The decision to introduce live electronic line calling
at the Championships was made following a significant period of consideration
and consultation," said All England Club chief executive Sally Bolton.
"Having reviewed the results of the testing undertaken
at the Championships this year, we consider the technology to be sufficiently
robust and the time is right to take this important step in seeking maximum
accuracy in our officiating.
"For the players, it will offer them the same
conditions they have played under at a number of other events on tour.
"We take our responsibility to balance tradition and
innovation at Wimbledon very seriously. Line umpires have played a central role
in our officiating set-up at the Championships for many decades and we
recognise their valuable contribution and thank them for their commitment and
service."
The All England club also announced that the men's and
women's singles finals would start at the later time of 4:00 pm local time
(1500 GMT) on the final weekend of the tournament.
Next year's Wimbledon takes place from June 30 until July
13.
Leave a Comment