Wimbledon ditches line judges after 147 years

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Wimbledon has ditched line judges in favour of technology which calls whether a ball has landed out within a tenth of a second.

Line judges have been part of the furniture at the All England Club throughout the tournament’s 147-year history, sitting or crouching around the edge of the court wearing smart attire, and using loud shouts combined with economic gestures to signal faulty serves and misplaced shots.

But the venue has taken the decision to install automated electronic line calling (ELC), made by Hawk-Eye, on all 18 match courts, including Centre Court and Court One. The technology will take over at the 2025 Championships.

Electronic line calling was first used as an experiment at the ATP Next Gen Finals in Milan in 2017, and was adopted more widely during the Covid-19 pandemic. It will be used on all courts across ATP Tour events from 2025.

open image in gallery A line judge watches on as German tennis player Helga Schultze plays a shot at the 1963 Championships ( Getty Images )

The Australian and US Opens have already replaced line judges with electronic calling, although the French Open still relies on the human eye.

Players have widely supported the roll out, and Wimbledon organisers felt the tournament could become antiquated if it failed to keep up with technological advances in the game.

“The decision to introduce Live Electronic Line Calling at The Championships was made following a significant period of consideration and consultation,” said Sally Bolton, the chief executive of the All England Club.

open image in gallery Steffi Graf stops for a chat with a line judge on Centre Court in 2009 ( Getty Images )

“Having reviewed the results of the testing undertaken at The Championships this year, we consider the technology to be sufficiently robust and the time is right to take this important step in seeking maximum accuracy in our officiating. For the players, it will offer them the same conditions they have played under at a number of other events on tour.

“We take our responsibility to balance tradition and innovation at Wimbledon very seriously. Line umpires have played a central role in our officiating set-up at The Championships for many decades and we recognise their valuable contribution and thank them for their commitment and service.”

The ELC technology works by tracking balls using multiple cameras set up around the court. An automated voice mimics that of a line judge, with a loud call of “out!” or “fault!” emitted within a tenth of second.

open image in gallery A line judge pictured at Wimbledon in 1954 ( Getty Images )

A video operator will oversee the technology from an external room. Chair umpires will continue to take their seat overlooking the court to enforce the rules of the game.

This year Wimbledon employed around 300 line judges for the two-week tournament. They typically work part-time, and many will now be forced to give up the role as both Wimbledon and ATP events such as Queen’s Club move to innovate.

Some line judges may need to be kept on standby, however, at least while the technology is implemented. Play at the US Open was suspended last month when a fire alarm went off in the office of the tech’s video operators, causing an evacuation.

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