Wimbledon will replace line judges with artificial intelligence and an electronic system from next year, removing human officials for the first time in the championship’s 147-year history, Afrosport reports.
The All England Club has confirmed all 18 match courts will be installed with automated Electronic Line Calling (ELC).
The technology will be in place for all qualifying and main draw matches and take the place of the judges who were responsible for calling shots ‘out’ and ‘fault’ on a serve.
Sally Bolton, the Chief Executive Officer of the All England Club said: “The decision to introduce Live Electronic Line Calling at The Championships was made following a significant period of consideration and consultation.
“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 decision means the clay-court French Open is the only major event yet to ditch line judges, after the Australian Open and US Open adopted Electronic Line Calling in 2021 and 2022 respectively.
