Wimbledon is replacing human telephone judges with electronic telephone calls.
The All England Club announced on Wednesday that technology will be used to give “dismissal” and “fault” calls at matches from 2025, eliminating the need for human officials to make them.
The Australian Open and the US Open have already done away with judges, and have only court umpires. The US Open has not had line judges since 2021, when it installed a Hawk-Eye Live telephone line that is used on all courts.
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The Wimbledon logo at the All England Lawn Tennis Club on June 27, 2020. (AELTC/Bob Martin via USA Today Sports)
Wimbledon’s switch to electronic line-calling leaves the French Open as the only Grand Slam tournament without some form of electronic line-calling.
Wimbledon organizers said the decision to adopt live electronic calling was made following extensive testing at the 2024 tournament and “builds on existing ball tracking and calling technology that has been around for many years.”
“We consider the technology to be robust enough, and the time is right to take this important step in seeking greater precision in our operations,” said Sally Bolton, chief executive of the All England Club. “For the players, it will give them the same conditions that they have played under in many other events on tour.”
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Stan Wawrinka jokes with the line judge during his men’s singles match against Reilly Opelka during Wimbledon, July 3, 2019. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis, File)
The line judges at Wimbledon were famously dressed in fancy uniforms, and for the tennis players, they were part of the setting that made Wimbledon.
Bolton said Wimbledon has a responsibility to “balance tradition and innovation.”
“Line referees have played an important role in our organization of competitions for many decades,” he said, “and we recognize their important role, and thank them for their commitment and service.”
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Line judges focus during a match at Wimbledon in London, July 5, 2023. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali, File)
While calling functions will be handed over to technology in 2025, Wimbledon has long used technology to call whether servers are in or out.
The All England Club also said on Wednesday that the women’s and men’s finals will be arranged later at 4pm local time on the second Saturday and Sunday, respectively – and after the doubles final on those days.
Bolton said the move was made to ensure that the day of the final “comes towards the end of the women’s and men’s finals, when our champions are crowned in front of a huge audience around the world.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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