Emma Raducanu was unhappy with a few line calls in her defeat by Aryna Sabalenka(Image: Marleen Fouchier/Getty Images)
British No.1s Emma Raducanu and Jack Draper both publicly questioned the accuracy of HawkEye’s line calling system after Wimbledon opted to ditch human line judges
Wimbledon chiefs have been left red-faced after their controversial decision to axe human line judges in favour of an AI-assisted version was questioned by Britain’s two top players.
The All England Club decided back in October to scrap line judges, with 300 losing their jobs for the 2025 edition of the Grand Slam. Instead, line calls at Wimbledon this year have been made by Live Electronic Line Calling from HawkEye, with players now unable to challenge decisions.
While the Australian Open and US Open already use the technology and the ATP Tour has also embraced it, Wimbledon’s call to do away with 147 years of tradition has caused much debate. Many view the move as a shame because it erodes what is special about the tournament, but there have also been a growing number of players questioning the accuracy of the technology.
British No.1 Emma Raducanu was knocked out of the competition in the third round by Aryna Sabalenka after an enthralling match on Centre Court on Friday night. And her comments about the line calling won’t have been welcomed by Wimbledon chiefs.
“Yeah, I mean, that call was, like, for sure out,” she said in her press conference. “It’s kind of disappointing, the tournament here, that the calls can be so wrong, but for the most part they’ve been okay.
“It’s just, like, I’ve had a few in my other matches, too, that have been very wrong. So yeah, I don’t know. Hopefully they can kind of fix that.”
