Why replacing Wimbledon line judges with AI is a fault that leaves SW19 out of bounds - The Mirror

Even if they get it wrong now and again, they are as much a tradition as strawberries and cream .. but technology is taking over at SW19, and it isn't for the better

It is a rite of passage if you are lucky enough to get a ticket to go to Wimbledon. Let out a pantomime laugh when someone in a dark Ralph Lauren blazer and crisp white slacks, standing or crouching at the back of the court, almost gets wiped out by a 100mph serve.

But even as they duck, they still manage to throw a stiff arm and yell ‘OUT’. The immaculately-attired line judges are as familiar a Wimbledon sight as strawberries and cream and Sue Barker are (yep, Sue still rocks up).

And now, they are no more. What are they all going to do? How will they cope? You can imagine one or two sat in their back gardens next summer, in full regalia in 90 degree heat, still barking calls while the tennis is on the telly.

From 2025, the line judges who have been part of Wimbledon’s green and white fabric for ONE HUNDRED AND FORTY SEVEN years will be replaced by a system known as Live Electronic Line Calling. There will be no guffawing at someone’s eccentric pronunciation of ‘out’ or ‘fault’ - a beep is a beep, the world over.

In all seriousness, the introduction of automated officiating is inevitable. Contrary to the blazer-and-slacks image, Wimbledon is one of the most important events in world sport. Prize money at Wimbledon in 2024 was FIFTY MILLION POUNDS.

If you can eradicate human error when it comes to officiating, then it is a no-brainer. The sooner football’s Premier League introduces semi-automated offside technology, for example, the better.

At the moment, players can question a line call but only have three challenges per set, losing one every time they are unsuccessful. Electronic line calling is in place at the Australian Open and the US Open as well as all the major ATP Tour events.

So, it was always going to happen at SW19. But that does not mean the demise of the Wimbledon line judge should not be lamented.

And what next? Players in multi-coloured vests? No barley water? No royalty? The line judges have been part of Wimbledon’s unique colour for a century and a half and Centre Court will look that little bit barren without the nine men and women staring along the whitewash after they have marched out in splendid formation.

And it is part of the routine when the squad is rotated mid-match. And while we might scold players who have a pop at line judges - players such as Nick Kyrgios - it is still part of the feel of the magnificent event.

It gets the crowd involved. Maybe the line judges - and those Ralph Lauren blazers - had to go. Maybe the march of technology cannot be resisted. But you still can’t help feeling this is a fault.

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