Wimbledon’s AI Line Judge Controversy: Tennis Player Says ‘They Stole the Game’

Wimbledon’s line calling system for the Grand Slam tennis tournament in London was deactivated for approximately seven minutes during Sunday’s match between Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Sonay Kartal, sparking confusion among players and fueling a wider debate over the reliability of AI technology.  

This year marks Wimbledon’s first full implementation of AI-powered Electronic Line Calling (ELC) systems, replacing human line judges. However, recurring malfunctions during several matches have prompted doubts over whether the technology is prepared to serve as a complete substitute for human officials.  

The All England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club (AELTC) has apologized, attributing the mistake to “human error” and announced that measures have been implemented to prevent similar issues in the future.

AI line-calling chaos on Centre Court

The match between Russia’s Pavlyuchenkova and Britain’s Kartal saw significant ELC errors after the system was deactivated for six minutes and 49 seconds, causing three points to be judged incorrectly.

At 4-4 in the first set, with Pavlyuchenkova holding game point, the ELC missed an out call on Kartal’s backhand. Chair umpire Nico Helwerth paused the match to investigate, explained the system failure to players, and ordered the point to be replayed. Kartal seized the moment to break Pavlyuchenkova’s serve and take a 5-4 lead.  

During the change of ends, Pavlyuchenkova could be heard accusing the officials of stealing the game from her, saying to Helwerth, “You took the game away from me. … They stole the game from me. They stole it.”

Wimbledon’s ELC also failed to detect two more shots landing out, requiring Helwerth to make manual calls. Although Pavlyuchenkova recovered, winning 7-6, 6-4 and advancing to the quarterfinals, the incident highlighted persistent doubts over the dependability of fully automated officiating.  

More concerns about AI line judges

Wimbledon’s transition to AI line call technology has been a big talking point in the tennis world, with many players criticizing ELCs.

The men’s British No. 1 player Jack Draper voiced concerns about inaccurate line calls, stating that he did not think the AI technology was “100 percent accurate.”

Even when functioning correctly, ELCs can still impact players’ performance. Player Ben Shelton had to accelerate his match after being warned that the ELC might stop operating as daylight faded.

Other players have complained about the system’s quiet automated announcements and that the lack of visual signals can cause confusion, especially for hard-of-hearing players.

Wimbledon defends ball-tracking tech

An AELTC spokesperson provided a statement to CNN maintaining that the ELC system is accurate. “We continue to have full confidence in the accuracy of the ball tracking technology.”AI tech is showing up in other sports, such as the fully AI-generated ad that aired during the NBA Finals.
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