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Wimbledon, the world’s oldest tennis tournament, is doing away with line judges in favour of automated technology at next year’s championships in a momentous break from tradition.
Live electronic line-calling technology will replace humans for the first time since 1877, underlining the advance of technology in sport.
The change would be made across all of the courts used during qualifying matches and at Wimbledon itself, the All England Club said on Wednesday.
Dressed in distinctive uniforms, which since 2006 have been designed by Polo Ralph Lauren, roughly 300 line judges have played a critical role every year in watching for faults and outs. But their departure marks another win for technology in making the high-stakes calls that determine winners and losers.
Although chair umpires will remain in post, the All England Club’s decision ends another tradition that has a major place in Wimbledon history.
In 1929, linesmen started to raise an arm when making a call. Twenty years later, lineswomen joined them on Centre Court for the first time. In 1981, John McEnroe, who won the men’s singles title three times, infamously yelled, “You cannot be serious!” as he argued over a line call.
Technology had already started to make inroads at Wimbledon, including the introduction of the first electronic service line monitor in 1980. From 2007, the Hawk-Eye electronic line-calling system was in full operation on the top two courts and continued to roll out in the following years.
The coronavirus pandemic accelerated the adoption of technology in the sport, as championship organisers sought to minimise human interaction.
All England Club chief executive Sally Bolton said on Wednesday that the decision to dispense with line judges followed a series of tests at this year’s championships.
“[W]e consider the technology to be sufficiently robust and the time is right to take this important step in seeking maximum accuracy in our officiating,” she said. “For the players, it will offer them the same conditions they have played under at a number of other events on tour.”
The Australian Open became the first grand slam to ditch line judges altogether in favour of electronic systems in 2021. The US Open followed suit the next year. The ATP Tour, the men’s governing body, plans to move to an electronic system from 2025.
“We take our responsibility to balance tradition and innovation at Wimbledon very seriously,” Bolton added.
“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.”
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