- Wimbledon’s AI-Pedded Line Calls have replaced human judges
- Players like Jack Draper and Emma Raducanu have expressed frustration over questionable calls
- Despite its precision, Wimbledon’s AI System has experienced malfunctions that also raised setbacks among fans
Wimbledon came headlines this year by eliminating the human line judges completely and replacing them with an AI-driven system designed to make automated calls with pinpoint accuracy. But while technology may get most of the calls to the right, it also creates frustration among both players and fans. Complaints are poured around unanswered or delayed calls, inaudible messages and a lack of transparency when things go wrong.
Hawk-Eye Live, a system consisting of a nest of high-speed cameras and AI treatment, now officers are officers all Wimbledon’s line calls and is supposed to be incredibly accurate, more than having people to line the court.
But the calls were not always as accurate or even as audible as they should be. You may not notice it on TV where commentators fill the silence, but apparently played players to hear the actual calls. Yue Yuan literally asked the referee during her fight if anyone could turn up ai’s volume.
Just ask Jack Draper who, after a severe loss to Marin Cilic, said he mistreated the accuracy of AI in several cases. Emma Raducanu brought up a similar topic after losing a close match like Aryna Sabalenka. She made it clear that she thought one of the line colds was directly wrong and went out when AI said it wasn’t
Not to mention when Sonay Kartal was on the verge of victory against Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, the AI system just shut down. All England Club later apologized and said, “It is now clear that the Live ELC system that worked optimally was disabled in errors on part of the server side of the court for a game of those driving the system.”
Ai Volley
Not every tournament uses AI. The French Open still retains human judges. It is a matter of power as well as accuracy. If a judge makes a bad call, a player can challenge it. But Wimbledon’s new system is the judge. You can’t argue with a robotic voice or claim it looked away at the wrong moment. All England Club sets the system as more fair than human line judges. Whether true or not, the displaced line judges are understandably upset. Over 300 of them were cut this year and some appeared outside the grounds of protest signs.
The AI line judges did not get out of nowhere. Wimbledon has been working on the AI judgment for years, and other tournaments have already ditched the line judges. But maybe it’s not just about the machines. Wimbledon is a weird tournament, full of ritual. When you remove the line judges and their practiced arm movements, it removes an important element of the tournament. And without the human bloom that makes the tournament fun, Wimbledon is just thoughtless swimming of a ball between two rackets.
