‘Wimbledon should never change any rule’ – New AI line calling met with mixed reaction as players give verdicts

The move sees Wimbledon fall in line with most other major tournaments, including the US Open and Australian Open, in using the technology.

But although it is now normal most weeks on the ATP and WTA tours to not see line judges, it was still an unusual sight to see none on the opening day of Wimbledon, where they have been in place for all of its 148-year history.

The move was also met with a mixed reaction from players.

One of the complaints about the new line-calling system was that it was not loud enough to be heard.

The voices used to make the calls, which are announced on the court, are from staff and tour guides at the All England Club.

“I asked the referee, ‘can you (turn) it up a little bit?’ He said he cannot. He said he will try to let us know (the call) because he has a machine that can look it up.

“I don’t really mind, I just want to hear it clearly. (The umpire’s) voice is a lot more loud than the automatic one so we can hear that clearly.”

Jelena Ostapenko, who was beaten on No. 3 Court by Britain’s Sonay Kartal, said: “I hit a few shots that were at a pretty big moment and the crowd kind of went nuts, so maybe I lost it a bit in that.”

British No. 3 Cam Norrie said the volume of the electronic line calls was not an issue on Court 18, which is separated from other outside courts.

“At the beginning I thought it could be a bit quiet, but then it never made any difference, and I was able to hear what was being called and what was not,” he said.

Aside from gripes over the volume level, the new technology leaves no room for debated calls or complaints from players. There is also not an option for players to challenge calls.

However, although the result should be line calls that are correct 100% of the time, the move away from human line judges is a significant end to tradition at Wimbledon.

“It should be the only tournament that holds every tradition that ever started in tennis. I think every other week can have electronic line calling, but I wish Wimbledon kept it the same.

“It’s been 148 years with human line calls. I think they could have got to 150 and done a big anniversary challenge.

“Personally, I think it would have been cool to have traditions of tennis never change at Wimbledon. But the tennis world’s not going to listen to me.”

Norrie said the move to AI makes line calling “pretty black and white”, but added: “I think it looks cool with the people there.

“It looks traditional with that. Obviously, there’s a lot of jobs and people that love tennis, which will definitely be missed from them.

“But as a player, like I said, it’s pretty black or white with the calls. In, out, and you hear it. There’s no mistake, nothing happening.

“Definitely, you’ve got to feel for those linesmen and those people that are traveling, and they love their tennis just as much as I love tennis. That’s a bit tough for them”.

Frances Tiafoe said he would have been in favour of keeping line judges – but for a different reason.

“I actually like it with them on the court, because I think for fanfare it’s better.

“If I were to hit a serve on a big point, you go up with the challenge, is it in, is it out? The crowd is, like, ‘Oh’. There’s none of that.

“If I hit a good serve now and they call it out, you may still think it’s in, but it doesn’t matter. I think that kind of kills it.”

World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka said she was 50-50 on the move but is “probably leaning towards the electronic system more”.

She said: “(Players) don’t think of challenging, like don’t doubt anything. So I think it’s easier. Whatever the system is saying, it is what it is.

“If you have line umpires, you are always thinking, ‘Should I challenge or shouldn’t I?’ It’s a lot of doubt in your head, like an extra doubt. Why would you have it?

“I think I’m leaning more towards Hawk-Eye system than line umpires. Even though historically here it’s only line umpires.”