“Awful decision” – Fans condemn Wimbledon for ditching 147 years old tradition

Fans on social media slammed Wimbledon for breaking from its 147-year tradition by switching from to electronic line calling from 2025.

“Awful decision” – Fans condemn Wimbledon for ditching 147 years old tradition

Wimbledon line judges (via Tennis.com

Wimbledon will be breaking away from a 147-year-old tradition in 2025. The oldest tennis tournament has revealed that faults and line calls will no longer be made by line judges but by electronic line calling (ELC).

The grass court Grand Slam is the third of the four Majors to replace human officials with technology. The ELC was first used during the 2020 US Open at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. It has remained in place at Flushing Meadows since. The Australian Open joined the move by implementing it in 2021.

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Wimbledon has also now decided to shift to using technology. On Wednesday (October 9), the All England Club (AELTC) revealed that the ELC will become effective on all 18-match courts in 2025. It also said that the technology will add maximum accuracy in officiating and make sure there are no more complaints from players.

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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.

Sally Bolton, Chief Executive of the All England Club said (via The Times)

Additionally, the AELTC revealed that the start time for the men’s and women’s singles final would go back to starting from 2:00 pm to 4:00pm. The doubles championship match will now precede the singles finals. However, the mixed doubles final maintained its second Thursday provisional place.

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Fans on social media slam Wimbledon for shifting to technology while abandoning the historical side of the tournament

Some fans on social media have slammed Wimbledon organizers for switching from line judges to technology. The move, as aforementioned, is stipulated to take effect from the 2025 edition of the event.

Carlos Alcaraz
Wimbledon final between Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz (image courtesy: X)
Here are some of the fans' reactions to Wimbledon's announcement:

Traditionalists who love Wimbledon for the fact that it remains steep in history have not liked the move. However, it is the best for the sport overall.

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For the past week at the Shanghai Masters, there have been controversies around judges not giving the right call. Perhaps, if there was technology in place, players would not have any need to question the chair umpire’s judgments.