The 2025 Wimbledon edition is the first one ever, in 147 years, to not use line judges. Instead, a technology called Live Electronic Line Calling, already used at the Australian and US Open, will be used, to offer players greater accuracy and eliminating human error or bias. But it doesn't seem to be working properly, and several players have raised their concerns over the accuracy.
This became evident during a fourth round match between Britain's Sonay Kartal and Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, where the system was accidentally switched off by an "operator error" during one game (and the umpire did not realise it). Pavlyuchenkova was convinced that a shot by her opponent had landed out, which became clear in the replays, but because the line-calling system was accidentally turned off, and chair umpires no longer use video review, the umpire of the match, Nico Helwerth, took the decision to replay the last point, which Kartal ended up winning.
"You took the game away from me. They have stolen the game from me, they stole it", the Russian player said, although she ended up winning the match. Wimbledon later apologised to the players, but this incident only helped increase the distrust on the new system, which should automatically detect if a ball is in or out.
Players like Emma Raducanu and Jack Draper, both of them eliminated, have shared their doubts about the system, although it has been proven over and over in other competition that this technology, when activated, works flawlessly... unless it's accidentally deactivated, like in the match between Kartal and Pavlyuchenkova. And putting all the faith in that system means that video reviews are no longer used by umpires, which could help prevent mistakes like those happening again, or at the very least, give players greater trust and confidence when they are unsure if the ball was in or out.