Wimbledon Embraces AI: Line Judges Replaced by Technology in Historic Shift

'Today our love and passion was ripped away': Wimbledon umpires lament being replaced by AI

A chair umpire who officiated in Wimbledon finals says he is mourning "a sad day" after the All England Club dispensed with line judges in favour of artificial intelligence. Responding to the announcement, Richard Ings told Telegraph Sport that "more than 300 good people and excellent officials - the best of the best working at the pinnacle of the sport - today had their love and passion ripped away". A former head of officiating at the ATP Tour, Ings had already seen his native Australia go down this road in 2021, swiftly followed by the US Open the following season. Wimbledon's decision now leaves the French Open - whose umpires maintain the gloriously anachronistic habit of pointing at marks in the clay - as the final hold-out among the four majors. "It's sad but inevitable," Ings added. "Nothing will hold back the tide of AI. And these technologies create gains for sure, but we also lose something on the human side. Will your job be safe from AI? "Also, it's important to remember that the players will still swear and break rackets and question calls. Meanwhile, not-ups and double-hits and touches and crowd noises et cetera will still require humans in a match to make judgment calls that may be right or may be wrong. "It's just a sad day where the question is 'Are we gaining more than we are losing?'" From a purely practical perspective, lesser tennis tournaments are likely to face a major recruitment issue, now that would-be officials cannot dream of their big day on Centre Court. In a statement, the Lawn Tennis Association insisted that they were working with the Association of British Tennis Officials to "develop a new joint strategy that will ensure officials can be retained within the sport." But the challenges around this issue were neatly encapsulated on Wednesday by Andrew Jarrett, the long-serving referee who oversaw Wimbledon's whole officiating apparatus between 2006 and 2019. "I saw the announcement and it's inevitable, I think," Jarrett told Telegraph Sport. "It's progress, like it or not. But there's potentially more of a problem further down the food chain. Small pro events that can't afford ELC (electronic line-calling) may struggle to source officials who no longer have the incentive of being able to prove their worth for selection to Wimbledon." If there was a last straw for line judges at Wimbledon, it probably came two years ago, during what proved to be Andy Murray's final singles appearance at the Championships. Deep in the deciding set of an epic second-round match against Stefanos Tsitsipas, Murray found a sliver of the line with a backhand return on break point. The ball was called out, however, and Murray declined to use one of his Hawk-Eye challenges because it had landed so close to the umpire's chair. The fact that he had been robbed was not relayed to Murray until the post-match press conference, where he visibly slumped in despair at the news. Eventually managing to find some words, he said: "It's a hard one because I probably prefer having the line-judges on the court. It feels nicer to me. The challenges - I think the crowd, the TV, they probably quite like it. But when mistakes are getting made in important moments, you don't want that."

Wimbledon Tennis Replaces Line Judges With AI Technology

LONDON -- That long-held Wimbledon tradition of line judges dressed in elegant uniforms is no more. The All England Club announced Wednesday that artificial intelligence will be used to make the 'out' and 'fault' calls at the championships from 2025. Wimbledon organizers said the decision to adopt live electronic line calling was made following extensive testing at the 2024 tournament and "builds on the existing ball-tracking and line-calling technology that has been in place for many years." "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," said Sally Bolton, chief executive of the All England Club. "For the players, it will offer them the same conditions they have played under at a number of other events on tour." Bolton said Wimbledon had a responsibility to "balance tradition and innovation." "Line umpires have played a central role in our officiating set-up at the championships for many decades," she said, "and we recognize their valuable contribution and thank them for their commitment and service." Line-calling technology has long been used at Wimbledon and other tennis tournaments to call whether serves are in or out. The All England Club also said Wednesday that the ladies' and gentlemen's singles finals will be scheduled to take place at the later time of 4 p.m. local time on the second Saturday and Sunday, respectively -- and after doubles finals on those days. Bolton said the moves have been made to ensure the day of the finals "builds towards the crescendo of the ladies' and gentlemen's singles finals, with our champions being crowned in front of the largest possible worldwide audience."

Wimbledon tennis tournament replaces line judges with AI in break with tradition

That long-held Wimbledon tradition of line judges dressed in elegant uniforms is no more. The All England Club announced Wednesday that artificial intelligence will be used to make the "out" and "fault" calls at the championships from 2025. Wimbledon organizers said the decision to adopt live electronic line calling was made following extensive testing at the 2024 tournament and "builds on the existing ball-tracking and line-calling technology that has been in place for many years." "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," said Sally Bolton, chief executive of the All England Club. "For the players, it will offer them the same conditions they have played under at a number of other events on tour." Bolton said Wimbledon had a responsibility to "balance tradition and innovation." "Line umpires have played a central role in our officiating setup at the championships for many decades," she said, "and we recognize their valuable contribution and thank them for their commitment and service." Line-calling technology has long been used at Wimbledon and other tennis tournaments to call whether serves are in or out. The All England Club also said Wednesday that the ladies' and gentlemen's singles finals will be scheduled to take place at the later time of 4 p.m. local time on the second Saturday and Sunday, respectively -- and after doubles finals on those days. Bolton said the moves have been made to ensure the day of the finals "builds towards the crescendo of the ladies' and gentlemen's singles finals, with our champions being crowned in front of the largest possible worldwide audience."

Wimbledon tennis tournament replaces line judges with AI technology in break with tradition

That long-held Wimbledon tradition of line judges dressed in elegant uniforms is no more. The All England Club announced Wednesday that artificial intelligence will be used to make the 'out' and 'fault' calls at the championships from 2025. Wimbledon organizers said the decision to adopt live electronic line calling was made following extensive testing at the 2024 tournament and "builds on the existing ball-tracking and line-calling technology that has been in place for many years." "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," said Sally Bolton, chief executive of the All England Club. "For the players, it will offer them the same conditions they have played under at a number of other events on tour." Bolton said Wimbledon had a responsibility to "balance tradition and innovation." "Line umpires have played a central role in our officiating set-up at the championships for many decades," she said, "and we recognize their valuable contribution and thank them for their commitment and service." Line-calling technology has long been used at Wimbledon and other tennis tournaments to call whether serves are in or out. The All England Club also said Wednesday that the ladies' and gentlemen's singles finals will be scheduled to take place at the later time of 4 p.m. local time on the second Saturday and Sunday, respectively -- and after doubles finals on those days. Bolton said the moves have been made to ensure the day of the finals "builds towards the crescendo of the ladies' and gentlemen's singles finals, with our champions being crowned in front of the largest possible worldwide audience." © 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

Wimbledon tennis tournament to use AI to make line calls in break with tradition

LONDON -- That long-held Wimbledon tradition of line judges dressed in elegant uniforms is no more. The All England Club announced Wednesday that artificial intelligence will be used to make the 'out' and 'fault' calls at the championships from 2025. Wimbledon organizers said the decision to adopt live electronic line calling was made following extensive testing at the 2024 tournament and "builds on the existing ball-tracking and line-calling technology that has been in place for many years." "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," said Sally Bolton, chief executive of the All England Club. "For the players, it will offer them the same conditions they have played under at a number of other events on tour." Bolton said Wimbledon had a responsibility to "balance tradition and innovation." "Line umpires have played a central role in our officiating set-up at the championships for many decades," she said, "and we recognize their valuable contribution and thank them for their commitment and service." Line-calling technology has long been used at Wimbledon and other tennis tournaments to call whether serves are in or out. The All England Club also said Wednesday that the ladies' and gentlemen's singles finals will be scheduled to take place at the later time of 4 p.m. local time on the second Saturday and Sunday, respectively -- and after doubles finals on those days. Bolton said the moves have been made to ensure the day of the finals "builds towards the crescendo of the ladies' and gentlemen's singles finals, with our champions being crowned in front of the largest possible worldwide audience."

After 147 years, Wimbledon is getting rid of line judges in favor of AI - and adding VAR, which always goes well

Wimbledon, the oldest tennis tournament in the world, is replacing around 300 line judges with artificial intelligence at next year's tournament - saying goodbye to a 147-year tradition. The line judges at Wimbledon have for years stood around the court watching the lines with laser focus to determine whether a tennis ball is in or out. But at Wimbledon in 2025, you'll not spot the cream berets and navy blazers. The system the All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) has opted for instead is an evolution of the Hawk-Eye technology that has been used for tight calls since 2007. The technology is called electronic line calling (ELC) and will be used on all of Wimbledon's 18 courts throughout the 2025 competition. The AELTC confirmed in a statement on Wednesday, 'officiating technology will be in place for all Championships and qualifying match courts and cover the 'out' and 'fault' calls that have previously been made by line umpires.' This artificial intelligence technology is nothing new to tennis, having been implemented following the COVID pandemic at other major tournaments like the US Open. The Australian Open was the first grand slam to ever remove line judges on all courts back in 2021 and the ATP Tour will bring in the technology in 2025. Wimbledon is founded on tradition, so today's announcement, while not surprising, is indicative of the new AI-driven world we now live in. Back in 2014, IBM, one of Wimbledon's major sponsors, didn't think we'd be replacing humans at Wimbledon anytime soon. But a lot can change in 10 years, and now we'll have an AI on Centre Court. The system that is set to be implemented at Wimbledon for the 2025 tournament works by tracking the ball's movement through 12 cameras strategically placed on every court. There are also microphones on the court to listen for the sound of the ball as well as a computer to interpret the ball's location in real time. A video operator, similar to the Video Assistant Referee in soccer will oversee the technology from an external room, communicating with the Chair umpire on the court. This isn't the first AI technology introduced at Wimbledon, earlier this year the AELTC unveiled a new Catch Me Up tool, powered by IBM's Watson generative AI platform. Catch Me Up allows fans to watch highlights from games on a second screen, ideal for the perfect couch tennis companion.

Wimbledon tennis tournament to use AI to make line calls in break with tradition

LONDON (AP) -- That long-held Wimbledon tradition of line judges dressed in elegant uniforms is no more. The All England Club announced Wednesday that artificial intelligence will be used to make the 'out' and 'fault' calls at the championships from 2025. Wimbledon organizers said the decision to adopt live electronic line calling was made following extensive testing at the 2024 tournament and "builds on the existing ball-tracking and line-calling technology that has been in place for many years." "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," said Sally Bolton, chief executive of the All England Club. "For the players, it will offer them the same conditions they have played under at a number of other events on tour." Bolton said Wimbledon had a responsibility to "balance tradition and innovation." "Line umpires have played a central role in our officiating set-up at the championships for many decades," she said, "and we recognize their valuable contribution and thank them for their commitment and service." Line-calling technology has long been used at Wimbledon and other tennis tournaments to call whether serves are in or out. The All England Club also said Wednesday that the ladies' and gentlemen's singles finals will be scheduled to take place at the later time of 4 p.m. local time on the second Saturday and Sunday, respectively -- and after doubles finals on those days. Bolton said the moves have been made to ensure the day of the finals "builds towards the crescendo of the ladies' and gentlemen's singles finals, with our champions being crowned in front of the largest possible worldwide audience."

Wimbledon Tennis Tournament to Use AI to Make Line Calls in Break With Tradition

LONDON (AP) -- That long-held Wimbledon tradition of line judges dressed in elegant uniforms is no more. The All England Club announced Wednesday that artificial intelligence will be used to make the 'out' and 'fault' calls at the championships from 2025. Wimbledon organizers said the decision to adopt live electronic line calling was made following extensive testing at the 2024 tournament and "builds on the existing ball-tracking and line-calling technology that has been in place for many years." "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," said Sally Bolton, chief executive of the All England Club. "For the players, it will offer them the same conditions they have played under at a number of other events on tour." Bolton said Wimbledon had a responsibility to "balance tradition and innovation." "Line umpires have played a central role in our officiating set-up at the championships for many decades," she said, "and we recognize their valuable contribution and thank them for their commitment and service." Line-calling technology has long been used at Wimbledon and other tennis tournaments to call whether serves are in or out. The All England Club also said Wednesday that the ladies' and gentlemen's singles finals will be scheduled to take place at the later time of 4 p.m. local time on the second Saturday and Sunday, respectively -- and after doubles finals on those days. Bolton said the moves have been made to ensure the day of the finals "builds towards the crescendo of the ladies' and gentlemen's singles finals, with our champions being crowned in front of the largest possible worldwide audience." Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Wimbledon tennis tournament to use AI to make line calls in break with tradition

LONDON (AP) -- That long-held Wimbledon tradition of line judges dressed in elegant uniforms is no more. The All England Club announced Wednesday that artificial intelligence will be used to make the 'out' and 'fault' calls at the championships from 2025. Wimbledon organizers said the decision to adopt live electronic line calling was made following extensive testing at the 2024 tournament and "builds on the existing ball-tracking and line-calling technology that has been in place for many years." "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," said Sally Bolton, chief executive of the All England Club. "For the players, it will offer them the same conditions they have played under at a number of other events on tour." Bolton said Wimbledon had a responsibility to "balance tradition and innovation." "Line umpires have played a central role in our officiating set-up at the championships for many decades," she said, "and we recognize their valuable contribution and thank them for their commitment and service." Line-calling technology has long been used at Wimbledon and other tennis tournaments to call whether serves are in or out. The All England Club also said Wednesday that the ladies' and gentlemen's singles finals will be scheduled to take place at the later time of 4 p.m. local time on the second Saturday and Sunday, respectively -- and after doubles finals on those days. Bolton said the moves have been made to ensure the day of the finals "builds towards the crescendo of the ladies' and gentlemen's singles finals, with our champions being crowned in front of the largest possible worldwide audience."

Wimbledon scraps line judges after 147 years in favour of artificial intelligence

Human judges not deemed accurate enough - with around 300 line judges to be replaced by technology Wimbledon line judges have been abolished in favour of artificial intelligence, with the Championships ending 147 years of tradition from next year. The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club will install automated electronic line calling on all match courts, including Centre Court, from 2025. Wimbledon were reluctant to ditch the long-standing tradition but electronic line calls (ELC) will be used as human judges were not deemed to be accurate enough. Hawk-Eye has been in use at Wimbledon since 2007 - a system where players could call for reviews of disputed points - but this will be upgraded with automated voice calls. It is understood these will be heard within a 10th of a second of the ball landing out. Around 300 line judges cover more than 650 matches across the fortnight at Wimbledon, working in teams and covering different courts on a rolling 60-minute rota. Pay varies, but experienced judges would earn around £180 a day. Line judges have been a rich part of Wimbledon history, with John McEnroe's infamous "you cannot be serious" tirade in 1981 following a disputed line call.

Wimbledon tennis tournament replaces human line judges with electronic system

Line-calling technology has long been used at Wimbledon and other tennis tournaments to call whether serves are in or out. A line judge looks on as Gael Monfils of France lies on the court during his third round match against Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria at the Wimbledon tennis championships in London, on July 5, 2024. That long-held Wimbledon tradition of line judges dressed in elegant uniforms is no more. The All England Club has announced that artificial intelligence will be used to make the 'out' and 'fault' calls at the championships from 2025. [Photo: AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth, File]

Wimbledon 2025: AI will call the shots, replacing humans first time in 147 years

AELTC said the officiating technology -- Live Electronic Line Calling (Live ELC) -- will be in place for all Championships and Qualifying match courts and cover the 'out' and 'fault' calls that human line umpires have previously made. These changes will see the introduction of ELC technology at the Wimbledon Qualifying Competition venue for the first time. Line calls The decision to adopt Live ELC was made after extensive testing during this year's Championships was successfully completed. This technology builds on the existing ball-tracking and line-calling technology for many years. "The decision to introduce Live Electronic Line Calling at The Championships was made following a significant period of consideration and consultation," Sally Bolton, Chief Executive of the All England Club, commented. "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."