Wimbledon make key change after line call controversy
Electronic line calling went down during a match on Centre Court (Picture: Getty)
Wimbledon have taken action to remove the possibility of ‘human error’ after the electronic line calling system was accidentally deactivated on Centre Court.
ELC, brought in at this year’s Championships to replace traditional line judges, was turned off for one game in the fourth-round match between Great Britain’s Sonay Kartal and Russia’s Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.
The All England Club blamed the glitch on an ‘operator error’ and defended umpire Nico Helwerth’s decision to replay a point despite Kartal hitting a ball long.
Pavlyuchenkova was fuming with the decision to play a let and her mood only worsened after it led to her being broken at a crucial moment in the first set.
‘You took the game away from me,’ she told the umpire at the next changeover. ‘They stole the game from me. They stole it.’
The former world number 11 admirably broke straight back and then won a tie break on her way to knocking out Britain’s Kartal.
The incident not only frustrated Pavlyuchenkova but led to further questions over the accuracy of ELC following complaints from several players during the tournament.
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova was aggrieved by the call (Picture: Getty)
The All England Club defended the system but have made a change to ELC to remove the possibility of ‘human error’ during the rest of the tournament.
‘Following our review, we have now removed the ability for Hawk-Eye operators to manually deactivate the ball tracking,’ Wimbledon organisers aid in a statement to BBC Sport.
‘While the source of the issue was human error, this error cannot now be repeated due to the system changes we have made.
Pavlyuchenkova speaks out on line call drama
‘I think the chair umpire should be able to take the initiative, that’s what he’s there for.
‘That’s why he’s sitting on that chair. Otherwise, I think we could have also had a match without the umpires.
‘They have no problem giving us fines and code violations for any reason so I would like them to be a bit more attentive to this sort of situation when the ball is very close to him.’
‘We continue to have full confidence in the accuracy of the ball-tracking technology.
‘The live ELC system relies on the Hawk-Eye operators, the review official and the technology to work in harmony. This did not happen.
‘In this instance there was a human error and as a consequence we have fully reviewed our processes and made the appropriate changes.’
Line judges no longer make the calls at SW19 (Picture: Getty)
Former Wimbledon champion Pat Cash described the malfunction – and the umpire’s reluctance to give Pavlyuchenkova the point – as ‘absolutely ridiculous’ and ‘mind-boggling’.
The Australian tennis icon even joked Wimbledon should ‘get rid’ of Helwerth, who was not selected to chair any matches on Monday.
All England Club chief executive Sally Bolton played down Helwerth’s absence, insisting he was ‘having a rest day’, and said he had ‘followed the established process’.
‘We have rotation of our umpires regularly,’ she said. ‘A little bit like the players, the umpires also need rest days throughout the tournament.
‘He’s having a rest day today. He’s fine. It’s really important to say that the umpire followed the protocols in place. He did what he needed to do on court and acted entirely correctly.’
Wimbledon became the third Grand Slam to use the electronic system at this year’s Championships. The French Open is now the only major to still use traditional line judges.
Following her victory over Britain’s last remaining female player at Wimbledon, Pavlyuchenkova will face American Amanda Anisimova for a place in the semi-finals.
