This year, Wimbledon has been in the news for another, even bigger change. For the first time ever, the tournament has supplanted human line judges with an electronic line calling system (ELC). This innovation has been met with backlash from players who have questioned the technology’s capabilities to function properly throughout the tournament.
The ELC technology was subjected to a particularly high level of scrutiny after an accident where it was temporarily disabled mid-match. Officials subsequently deemed the incident a “human error” accident. In reaction to this outcry, the All England Club (that hosts Wimbledon) soon apologized for the signaling failure. Debbie Jevans, chair of the All England Club, addressed the players’ criticisms, emphasizing past calls for more accurate electronic systems.
“When we did have linesmen, we were constantly asked why we didn’t have electronic line calling because it’s more accurate than the rest of the tour.” – Debbie Jevans
Even with these comments, many riders have expressed their displeasure with the ELC technology. During the ATP Finals in April, Alexander Zverev used Instagram to speak out. That misjudged call by the system became his opportunity to shine a spotlight on its glaring weaknesses, becoming one of the first to do so. Emma Raducanu criticized the ELC for failing to detect a ball that her opponent had hit out during a match.
The British No. 1 Jack Draper is the latest to express his displeasure with the technology. He even bragged that he knew the line calls were wrong and criticized the AI system for being “not 100 percent accurate.” As it turns out, many of his fellow competitors agreed with his concerns. Specifically, they experienced problems with the automated speaker system that was run in conjunction with the ELC. Many players struggled to hear the announcements, which created a lot of unnecessary confusion on the court.
In a different, but equally unconventional situation, American Ben Shelton dealt with a bizarre occurrence. He soon understood that the ELC would cease to function due to the increasingly lack of sunlight. This surprise restriction dramatically limited his movement and required him to speed up the tempo of his bout. During the fourth round match between Sonay Kartal and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, the ELC dropped the ball on a critical larger moment. On the television replay a little later it was established that the ball had, indeed, gone out.
Incredibly, the dispute over Wimbledons ELC technology has even spilled over to include athletes with disabilities. For example, one deaf player described how she couldn’t know when she had won points because she was used to the human hand signals of traditional line judges. This points to a huge failure in the deployment of this technology.
Electronic line calling is currently employed at hundreds of tournaments globally, including the US Open. Wimbledon’s recent experience with this technology illustrates that there are still numerous hurdles and player discontent with this technology. The tournament continues. Our original post: Will the All England Club listen or will it stick to its guns with its unpopular new system.
