Wimbledon abandonments traditional line judges after over a century, implements electronic system instead.
The All England Club declared on a Wednesday that starting from the 2025 tournaments, Electronic Line Calling (ELC) will be implemented, following its successful trial in 2024.
ELC will supplant the human line judges who shout "out" or "fault" during a game and will also be utilized in Wimbledon's qualifiers prior to the main event.
Sally Bolton, the All England Club's CEO, stated that the decision was made after a prolonged period of thought and discussions.
In a statement, she explained, "After assessing the outcomes of the trials conducted at this year's Championships, we believe the technology to be reliable enough and believe the moment is right to implement this significant change in pursuit of utmost precision in our officiating."
She added, "This will provide the players with the same conditions they've experienced at various other tournaments. We prioritize preserving tradition while embracing innovation at Wimbledon. Line judges have been integral to our officiating framework at The Championships for many years and we appreciate their invaluable contributions and thank them for their dedication and service."
The Australian Open became the first Grand Slam to abolish line judges and use ELC on all courts in 2021, with the US Open, which previously used it on certain courts, following suit in 2022.
ELC is now prevalent at tournaments worldwide, and the Men's Tennis Council (ATP), the governing body of men's tennis, declared last year that it would implement ELC across all tournaments starting from 2025.
Wimbledon's adoption of the technology makes the French Open, which remains the only Grand Slam without ELC, the sole exception.
However, Coco Gauff has already advocated for video technology in Paris after she was affected by two contentious decisions this summer, first at the French Open and then during the Olympics.
The implementation of Electronic Line Calling (ELC) in Wimbledon's main tournaments starting from 2025 means that top tennis players, such as Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal, will soon be competing under the same technology that has been a staple in other major sports events, including tennis tournaments governed by the Men's Tennis Council (ATP). Moreover, following in the footsteps of other Grand Slams, Wimbledon's decision to incorporate ELC into its sport of tennis could potentially spark renewed discussions about the integration of advanced technology, like video replay, in the French Open, as suggested by tennis star Coco Gauff.
