Wimbledon could bid farewell to line judges as ATP follows the suit of Australian and US Open

Wimbledon could bid farewell to line judges as ATP follows suit of Australian and US Open.


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Wimbledon’s elegantly dressed line judges might not make an appearance in the future, as it was announced that all the ATP Tour events will have electronic line calling from 2025. This will mark the end of long followed tradition as different systems to make calls will become compulsory.

The Wimbledon and French Open are the only ones that have retained the smartly dressed men and women called judges, but with time, changes will be made. The ATP Tour does not administer the Grand Slams, but the Australian and US Open are over with the human line calls.

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ATP Chairman Andrea Gaudenzi applauded the decision as the required change. “This is a landmark moment for our sport, and not we’ve reached without careful consideration“, he said. “Tradition is core to tennis and line judges have played an important part in the game over the years. That said, we have a responsibility to embrace innovation and new technologies,” the ATP Chairman added.

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This measure will deliver fair results and bring consistency to the sport. It also means no more questionable calls and fewer furious players who complained about rulings that went against them. The incidents of players defaulting due to the hitting of human line judges will also be reduced, as happened to Novak Djokovic in the 2020 US Open.

However, with the advantage of cleaner courts due to fewer people, there will be drawbacks too. The sport’s ever-rising audiences will miss the on-court interactions and human drama, which they enjoy the most. There will be fewer applicants for the grassroots level joinings, as the opportunity to work at high-profile events will be limited. 

Also read: Carlos Alcaraz apologizes for racket-throwing incident, blames it on MENTAL lapse

Wimbledon 2023 is all about support, change, and celebration

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The Wimbledon Championships is all ready to lend support to the Ukranian players, introduce changes in the Men’s Doubles, allow in-match coaching from the stand, and also honor Roger Federer who retired in 2022.

The All England Club has announced to finance the expenses of the Ukranian players. They will be paying for 2 rooms for the player and their team, and will also donate one British pound for each ticket sold to the relief funds in Ukraine.

The move was made after the Russian and Belarusian players were permitted to compete as ‘neutrals’. There will be sanctions on the broadcast in Russia and Belarus, and their respective media houses will be barred from entry to the tournament. Also, flags or banners in support of either nation will be removed from the grounds. Another round of changes is in the Men’s Doubles, where the gameplay will be reduced from best of five-set matches to best of three matches. The move will garner a positive response from the singles players who might have set aside competing in doubles.

It has been decided to allow on-court coaching from the stands. The change in policy was after the Australian and French Open followed the ATP and WTA approach.

Roger Federer, the nine times Wimbledon champion, will be celebrated with some great gestures. The 20 Grand Slams title holder played his last match at the Laver Cup and was bid an emotional farewell by players and fans all around the world. He is also in talks for a comeback as a Wimbledon commentator.

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