Wimbledon's former line judges have become 'glorified butlers'

Grim new reality

Grim new reality, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, "You took the game away from me", "Full confidence in the accuracy of the ball-tracking technology", Pavlyuchenkova won in the end, Fritz quarterfinal, End of an era, Now a match assistant, "Glorified butlers", Tradition falls to progress, Brought in at "players' request", Trialled in the background, No issue for the players, Two-fold incentive, 300 jobs on the line, Money saved, A better judge?, Andy Murray loves it, Fed not so much, Used in the US Open and Australian Open, A vibe change?, The human element of the game, Part of the narrative, At what cost?

A former Wimbledon line judge has labelled her ex-colleagues as "butlers" following the grim new reality of AI technology at the Wimbledon Championships for the first time in 148 years.

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova

Grim new reality, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, "You took the game away from me", "Full confidence in the accuracy of the ball-tracking technology", Pavlyuchenkova won in the end, Fritz quarterfinal, End of an era, Now a match assistant, "Glorified butlers", Tradition falls to progress, Brought in at "players' request", Trialled in the background, No issue for the players, Two-fold incentive, 300 jobs on the line, Money saved, A better judge?, Andy Murray loves it, Fed not so much, Used in the US Open and Australian Open, A vibe change?, The human element of the game, Part of the narrative, At what cost?

Wimbledon organisers have apologized after a "technical error" deactivated the electronic line-calling system on one side of Centre Court during Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova's quarter-final match against Sonay Kartal.

"You took the game away from me"

Grim new reality, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, "You took the game away from me", "Full confidence in the accuracy of the ball-tracking technology", Pavlyuchenkova won in the end, Fritz quarterfinal, End of an era, Now a match assistant, "Glorified butlers", Tradition falls to progress, Brought in at "players' request", Trialled in the background, No issue for the players, Two-fold incentive, 300 jobs on the line, Money saved, A better judge?, Andy Murray loves it, Fed not so much, Used in the US Open and Australian Open, A vibe change?, The human element of the game, Part of the narrative, At what cost?

Instead, chair umpire Nico Helwerth ordered a replay, unaware the system was down. Kartal won the point and broke serve, prompting Pavlyuchenkova to tell Helwerth: "You took the game away from me... they stole the game from me. They stole it."

"Full confidence in the accuracy of the ball-tracking technology"

Grim new reality, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, "You took the game away from me", "Full confidence in the accuracy of the ball-tracking technology", Pavlyuchenkova won in the end, Fritz quarterfinal, End of an era, Now a match assistant, "Glorified butlers", Tradition falls to progress, Brought in at "players' request", Trialled in the background, No issue for the players, Two-fold incentive, 300 jobs on the line, Money saved, A better judge?, Andy Murray loves it, Fed not so much, Used in the US Open and Australian Open, A vibe change?, The human element of the game, Part of the narrative, At what cost?

The All England Club has since admitted fault, apologised, and reviewed its processes. "We continue to have full confidence in the accuracy of the ball-tracking technology. In this instance, there was a human error, and as a consequence, we have fully reviewed our processes and made the appropriate changes," a spokesperson said.

Pavlyuchenkova won in the end

Grim new reality, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, "You took the game away from me", "Full confidence in the accuracy of the ball-tracking technology", Pavlyuchenkova won in the end, Fritz quarterfinal, End of an era, Now a match assistant, "Glorified butlers", Tradition falls to progress, Brought in at "players' request", Trialled in the background, No issue for the players, Two-fold incentive, 300 jobs on the line, Money saved, A better judge?, Andy Murray loves it, Fed not so much, Used in the US Open and Australian Open, A vibe change?, The human element of the game, Part of the narrative, At what cost?

Despite her frustrations, Pavlyuchenkova would win the match 7-6 (7-3) 6-4.

Fritz quarterfinal

Grim new reality, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, "You took the game away from me", "Full confidence in the accuracy of the ball-tracking technology", Pavlyuchenkova won in the end, Fritz quarterfinal, End of an era, Now a match assistant, "Glorified butlers", Tradition falls to progress, Brought in at "players' request", Trialled in the background, No issue for the players, Two-fold incentive, 300 jobs on the line, Money saved, A better judge?, Andy Murray loves it, Fed not so much, Used in the US Open and Australian Open, A vibe change?, The human element of the game, Part of the narrative, At what cost?

In another high-profile case, the automated AI judges called 'fault' twice in the quarter-final matchup between Taylor Fritz and Karen Khachanov after mistaking an in-play from the American for his service motion.

End of an era

Grim new reality, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, "You took the game away from me", "Full confidence in the accuracy of the ball-tracking technology", Pavlyuchenkova won in the end, Fritz quarterfinal, End of an era, Now a match assistant, "Glorified butlers", Tradition falls to progress, Brought in at "players' request", Trialled in the background, No issue for the players, Two-fold incentive, 300 jobs on the line, Money saved, A better judge?, Andy Murray loves it, Fed not so much, Used in the US Open and Australian Open, A vibe change?, The human element of the game, Part of the narrative, At what cost?

After 147 years of human line judging, the All England Club decided to fully transition to electronic line calling technology in 2025, marking a new era for the sport. This move positions Wimbledon alongside other major tennis tournaments like the US Open and Australian Open, which have already embraced technology in the name of accuracy and fairness in officiating.

Now a match assistant

Grim new reality, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, "You took the game away from me", "Full confidence in the accuracy of the ball-tracking technology", Pavlyuchenkova won in the end, Fritz quarterfinal, End of an era, Now a match assistant, "Glorified butlers", Tradition falls to progress, Brought in at "players' request", Trialled in the background, No issue for the players, Two-fold incentive, 300 jobs on the line, Money saved, A better judge?, Andy Murray loves it, Fed not so much, Used in the US Open and Australian Open, A vibe change?, The human element of the game, Part of the narrative, At what cost?

A line judge is now a match assistant and is responsible for accompanying players to the toilet and opening fresh tubes of balls.

"Glorified butlers"

Grim new reality, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, "You took the game away from me", "Full confidence in the accuracy of the ball-tracking technology", Pavlyuchenkova won in the end, Fritz quarterfinal, End of an era, Now a match assistant, "Glorified butlers", Tradition falls to progress, Brought in at "players' request", Trialled in the background, No issue for the players, Two-fold incentive, 300 jobs on the line, Money saved, A better judge?, Andy Murray loves it, Fed not so much, Used in the US Open and Australian Open, A vibe change?, The human element of the game, Part of the narrative, At what cost?

According to Mail Sport, Pauline Eyre, a former line judge at Wimbledon, said: "(It was an) extremely skilled role. Now it's very nice, because they still get to be involved, but they're no longer using their extraordinary skills. They're little more than 'glorified butlers.'"

Tradition falls to progress

Grim new reality, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, "You took the game away from me", "Full confidence in the accuracy of the ball-tracking technology", Pavlyuchenkova won in the end, Fritz quarterfinal, End of an era, Now a match assistant, "Glorified butlers", Tradition falls to progress, Brought in at "players' request", Trialled in the background, No issue for the players, Two-fold incentive, 300 jobs on the line, Money saved, A better judge?, Andy Murray loves it, Fed not so much, Used in the US Open and Australian Open, A vibe change?, The human element of the game, Part of the narrative, At what cost?

Since its inception in 1877, Wimbledon has prided itself on tradition, often resisting technological changes in favour of preserving the sport's heritage. However, the growing reliance on electronic line calling in modern tennis has finally pushed the prestigious tournament to reconsider its stance.

Brought in at "players' request"

Grim new reality, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, "You took the game away from me", "Full confidence in the accuracy of the ball-tracking technology", Pavlyuchenkova won in the end, Fritz quarterfinal, End of an era, Now a match assistant, "Glorified butlers", Tradition falls to progress, Brought in at "players' request", Trialled in the background, No issue for the players, Two-fold incentive, 300 jobs on the line, Money saved, A better judge?, Andy Murray loves it, Fed not so much, Used in the US Open and Australian Open, A vibe change?, The human element of the game, Part of the narrative, At what cost?

Debbie Jevans, chair of the All England Club, said the line-calling technology was introduced at players' request. Some have supported the system — including former world No. 1 Iga Swiatek, who admitted to having doubts but said she "has to trust" the calls, as reported by the Guardian.

Trialled in the background

Grim new reality, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, "You took the game away from me", "Full confidence in the accuracy of the ball-tracking technology", Pavlyuchenkova won in the end, Fritz quarterfinal, End of an era, Now a match assistant, "Glorified butlers", Tradition falls to progress, Brought in at "players' request", Trialled in the background, No issue for the players, Two-fold incentive, 300 jobs on the line, Money saved, A better judge?, Andy Murray loves it, Fed not so much, Used in the US Open and Australian Open, A vibe change?, The human element of the game, Part of the narrative, At what cost?

As reported by the Guardian, 2025 Wimbledon isn't the debut year for this technology. It was actually trialled in the background of last year's tournament.

No issue for the players

Grim new reality, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, "You took the game away from me", "Full confidence in the accuracy of the ball-tracking technology", Pavlyuchenkova won in the end, Fritz quarterfinal, End of an era, Now a match assistant, "Glorified butlers", Tradition falls to progress, Brought in at "players' request", Trialled in the background, No issue for the players, Two-fold incentive, 300 jobs on the line, Money saved, A better judge?, Andy Murray loves it, Fed not so much, Used in the US Open and Australian Open, A vibe change?, The human element of the game, Part of the narrative, At what cost?

"For the players, it will offer them the same conditions they have played under at a number of other events on tour."

Two-fold incentive

Grim new reality, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, "You took the game away from me", "Full confidence in the accuracy of the ball-tracking technology", Pavlyuchenkova won in the end, Fritz quarterfinal, End of an era, Now a match assistant, "Glorified butlers", Tradition falls to progress, Brought in at "players' request", Trialled in the background, No issue for the players, Two-fold incentive, 300 jobs on the line, Money saved, A better judge?, Andy Murray loves it, Fed not so much, Used in the US Open and Australian Open, A vibe change?, The human element of the game, Part of the narrative, At what cost?

While the official line may be that the move is about improving the accuracy of the results, the organisation is also set to benefit from having to spend less money on officiating.

300 jobs on the line

Grim new reality, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, "You took the game away from me", "Full confidence in the accuracy of the ball-tracking technology", Pavlyuchenkova won in the end, Fritz quarterfinal, End of an era, Now a match assistant, "Glorified butlers", Tradition falls to progress, Brought in at "players' request", Trialled in the background, No issue for the players, Two-fold incentive, 300 jobs on the line, Money saved, A better judge?, Andy Murray loves it, Fed not so much, Used in the US Open and Australian Open, A vibe change?, The human element of the game, Part of the narrative, At what cost?

As GB News reports, the tournament could potentially shed up to 300 jobs now, as it takes hundreds of officials to help cover the approximate 650 matches throughout the two-week tournament.

Money saved

Grim new reality, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, "You took the game away from me", "Full confidence in the accuracy of the ball-tracking technology", Pavlyuchenkova won in the end, Fritz quarterfinal, End of an era, Now a match assistant, "Glorified butlers", Tradition falls to progress, Brought in at "players' request", Trialled in the background, No issue for the players, Two-fold incentive, 300 jobs on the line, Money saved, A better judge?, Andy Murray loves it, Fed not so much, Used in the US Open and Australian Open, A vibe change?, The human element of the game, Part of the narrative, At what cost?

Line judges reportedly earn around £180 ($220/€210) a day at Wimbledon, depending on their experience, as GB News reported, so it could save the tournament more than £50,000 ($61,000/€58,000) in wages. While that might not seem like much for a tournament of this nature, that figure will obviously add up over the years.

A better judge?

Grim new reality, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, "You took the game away from me", "Full confidence in the accuracy of the ball-tracking technology", Pavlyuchenkova won in the end, Fritz quarterfinal, End of an era, Now a match assistant, "Glorified butlers", Tradition falls to progress, Brought in at "players' request", Trialled in the background, No issue for the players, Two-fold incentive, 300 jobs on the line, Money saved, A better judge?, Andy Murray loves it, Fed not so much, Used in the US Open and Australian Open, A vibe change?, The human element of the game, Part of the narrative, At what cost?

While some may lament the disappearance of human line judges, the rise of electronic line-calling technology has been steadily gaining momentum across the tennis world. First introduced as a challenge system in the early 2000s, Hawk-Eye technology allowed players to dispute line calls made by human judges.

Andy Murray loves it

Grim new reality, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, "You took the game away from me", "Full confidence in the accuracy of the ball-tracking technology", Pavlyuchenkova won in the end, Fritz quarterfinal, End of an era, Now a match assistant, "Glorified butlers", Tradition falls to progress, Brought in at "players' request", Trialled in the background, No issue for the players, Two-fold incentive, 300 jobs on the line, Money saved, A better judge?, Andy Murray loves it, Fed not so much, Used in the US Open and Australian Open, A vibe change?, The human element of the game, Part of the narrative, At what cost?

While some players, such as former tennis star Andy Murray, prefer Hawk-Eye for its straight down-the-line (pun not intended) judgment, as he told The Independent in 2014, others have been less quick to embrace it.

Fed not so much

Grim new reality, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, "You took the game away from me", "Full confidence in the accuracy of the ball-tracking technology", Pavlyuchenkova won in the end, Fritz quarterfinal, End of an era, Now a match assistant, "Glorified butlers", Tradition falls to progress, Brought in at "players' request", Trialled in the background, No issue for the players, Two-fold incentive, 300 jobs on the line, Money saved, A better judge?, Andy Murray loves it, Fed not so much, Used in the US Open and Australian Open, A vibe change?, The human element of the game, Part of the narrative, At what cost?

Roger Federer famously declared his issues with Electronic Line Calling in 2007, saying: "If I'm going to go against it, people will always say he doesn't agree whatsoever. I don't know how they developed this machine, if they took all possibilities into account: the way the ball travels, the way it bounces, 3D, the whole thing," he said as reported by Eurosport.

Used in the US Open and Australian Open

Grim new reality, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, "You took the game away from me", "Full confidence in the accuracy of the ball-tracking technology", Pavlyuchenkova won in the end, Fritz quarterfinal, End of an era, Now a match assistant, "Glorified butlers", Tradition falls to progress, Brought in at "players' request", Trialled in the background, No issue for the players, Two-fold incentive, 300 jobs on the line, Money saved, A better judge?, Andy Murray loves it, Fed not so much, Used in the US Open and Australian Open, A vibe change?, The human element of the game, Part of the narrative, At what cost?

The US Open became the first Grand Slam tournament to adopt electronic line-calling on the majority of its courts during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. The Australian Open soon followed suit, with similar systems in place across all its courts by 2021.

A vibe change?

Grim new reality, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, "You took the game away from me", "Full confidence in the accuracy of the ball-tracking technology", Pavlyuchenkova won in the end, Fritz quarterfinal, End of an era, Now a match assistant, "Glorified butlers", Tradition falls to progress, Brought in at "players' request", Trialled in the background, No issue for the players, Two-fold incentive, 300 jobs on the line, Money saved, A better judge?, Andy Murray loves it, Fed not so much, Used in the US Open and Australian Open, A vibe change?, The human element of the game, Part of the narrative, At what cost?

While this technological shift could be seen as a positive step forward in the pursuit of accuracy, it undeniably marks the end of an era. Line judges have long been an integral part of Wimbledon's charm, standing stoically on the pristine grass courts in their traditional uniforms. Little things like this have helped create the aura around Wimbledon.

The human element of the game

Grim new reality, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, "You took the game away from me", "Full confidence in the accuracy of the ball-tracking technology", Pavlyuchenkova won in the end, Fritz quarterfinal, End of an era, Now a match assistant, "Glorified butlers", Tradition falls to progress, Brought in at "players' request", Trialled in the background, No issue for the players, Two-fold incentive, 300 jobs on the line, Money saved, A better judge?, Andy Murray loves it, Fed not so much, Used in the US Open and Australian Open, A vibe change?, The human element of the game, Part of the narrative, At what cost?

Of course, the human element in officiating has been a double-edged sword throughout tennis history. On one hand, mistakes made by line judges have led to some of the sport's most controversial and dramatic moments.

Part of the narrative

Grim new reality, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, "You took the game away from me", "Full confidence in the accuracy of the ball-tracking technology", Pavlyuchenkova won in the end, Fritz quarterfinal, End of an era, Now a match assistant, "Glorified butlers", Tradition falls to progress, Brought in at "players' request", Trialled in the background, No issue for the players, Two-fold incentive, 300 jobs on the line, Money saved, A better judge?, Andy Murray loves it, Fed not so much, Used in the US Open and Australian Open, A vibe change?, The human element of the game, Part of the narrative, At what cost?

On the other, these mistakes added a human element to the game, creating memorable talking points for fans and players alike.

At what cost?

Grim new reality, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, "You took the game away from me", "Full confidence in the accuracy of the ball-tracking technology", Pavlyuchenkova won in the end, Fritz quarterfinal, End of an era, Now a match assistant, "Glorified butlers", Tradition falls to progress, Brought in at "players' request", Trialled in the background, No issue for the players, Two-fold incentive, 300 jobs on the line, Money saved, A better judge?, Andy Murray loves it, Fed not so much, Used in the US Open and Australian Open, A vibe change?, The human element of the game, Part of the narrative, At what cost?

In any case, by replacing line judges with electronic systems, Wimbledon is ensuring that such moments of error and drama are less frequent, but it may also eliminate some of the unpredictability that fans have grown accustomed to over the years.

Post Related