Calls for Wimbledon to backflip on change after ball bay accidentally causes fresh drama

Wimbledon is facing fresh calls to revert back to human line judges after another embarrassing error with the electronic system on Tuesday. The All England Club has done away with human line judges for the 2025 tournament, replacing them with an AI system that used advanced technology to call balls in or out.

It's the same system used at the Australian Open, but it's proven to have some flaws at Wimbledon this week. Russian player Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova was left fuming on Sunday when the system failed and cost her a game in her fourth-round clash with Sonay Kartal.

The system didn't register that one of Karta's shots was clearly out, and the chair umpire called for the point to be replayed rather than awarding it to Pavlyuchenkova. Wimbledon officials later blamed 'human error' after an operator accidentally turned the electronic system off.

Taylor Fritz hit his second serve before the ball boy had made his way off court. Image: Getty/BBC

And another malfunction occurred on Tuesday during the men's quarter-final match between Taylor Fritz and Karen Kachanov. The electronic system called 'fault' in the middle of a rally, after one of Kachanov's shots that was clearly in.

The chair umpire had to replay the point after phoning for help from officials. Fritz threw his arms up in exasperation that the point had been disrupted - but it turned out it was partly his fault.

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Wimbledon officials later revealed that Fritz had hit his second serve before a ball boy had made his way off the court after collecting his first serve from the net. Because the ball boy was still on court when Fritz hit his second serve, the system didn't start until later in the rally and thought Kachanov's ball was the serve.

"The player's service motion began while the [ball boy] was still crossing the net and therefore the system didn't recognise the start of the point," a statement from the All England Club said. "As such the chair umpire instructed the point be replayed."

Taylor Fritz threw his arms up in exasperation after the electronic system called 'fault' in the middle of the rally. Image: BBC/Wimbledon

A number of players have previously raised concerns about the technology and its accuracy, including British stars Emma Raducanu and Jack Draper. Kachanov was also critical when discussing the new system after his loss on Tuesday.

"To be honest, I'm more for line umpires," the Russian said. "Electronic line calls have to be very precise and no mistakes, but we've seen a couple. That's questionable why this is happening.

"Today I think there were a few calls. I don't know, very questionable if it's really touching the line or not. At the same time during one point, the machine call it just out during the rally. Sometimes it's scary to let machine do what they want, you know.

"What can I do? I can argue, and be angry on it or just continue playing. It's not in my power. It's already happened. I need to kind of accept it, and that's it."

Taylor Fritz looks on during his clash with Karen Kachanov at Wimbledon. (Photo by Peter van den Berg/ISI Photos/ISI Photos via Getty Images)

However Fritz defended the system and argued it's better for the sport. "It happens sometimes. In that situation I think I lost the point anyway, but it helped me because I got a first serve out of it," he said.

"There's going to be some issues here and there. To be honest, I still think it's much better to just have the electronic line calling calling the lines as opposed to the umpires.

"I said it earlier in the week, I do like not having to think about challenging calls in the middle of points. I do like that we don't have to argue about calls and all this stuff. The ball gets called, and we know, and that's it. I think it's a better system."

On social media, frustrated fans called on Wimbledon to revert back to the traditional way. One person wrote: "Get rid of this electric line calling technology. You’re eroding Wimbledon of its soul year by year. Incredibly sad to see all these wonderful traditions go."

Fritz won 6-3 6-4 1-6 7-6 (7-4) to reach his first Wimbledon semi-final. He'll face World No.2 Carlos Alcaraz in the final four, after the Spaniard beat Cameron Norrie 6-2 6-3 6-3.

In the women's quarters, World No.1 Aryna Sabalenka got past Laura Siegemund 4-6 6-2 6-4. And Amanda Anisimova continued her fairytale run by beating Pavlyuchenkova 6-1 7-6 (11-9).

with agencies

This article originally appeared on Yahoo Sport Australia at https://au.news.yahoo.com/calls-for-wimbledon-to-backflip-on-change-after-ball-bay-accidentally-causes-fresh-drama-225106572.html

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