Wimbledon tech trouble continues: Fritz match hit by 'line call malfunction'
Wimbledon's electronic line calling system faced fresh controversy during Taylor Fritz's quarter-final match, leading to a point being replayed due to a "malfunction." This incident follows a recent apology from organizers for human error impacting the system, raising further questions about the technology, which has already drawn criticism from players like Emma Raducanu.
The electronic line-calling system at Wimbledon has once again come under scrutiny, as a "malfunction" forced a point to be replayed during Tuesday's quarter-final clash between Taylor Fritz and Karen Khachanov. This incident marks the latest in a series of issues for the technology that has replaced human line judges at this year's tournament.
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The specific glitch occurred in the first game of the fourth set. With Fritz leading 15-0, after having won the first two sets 6-3, 6-4, but losing the third 1-6, a "fault" was erroneously called during play. Swedish umpire Louise Azemar-Engzell promptly halted the match. After a quick check via phone, she announced to the crowd on Court One, "Ladies and gentleman, we will replay the last point because of a malfunction. The system is now working."
The All England Club issued a statement explaining the cause: "The player's service motion began while the BBG [Ball Boys and Girls] was still crossing the net and therefore the system didn't recognise the start of the point. As such the Chair Umpire instructed the point be replayed." The incident happened shortly after a ball boy had collected a ball from the middle of the court following Fritz's first serve, which had landed out.
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Despite the technical hiccup, American Taylor Fritz went on to win the match 6-3, 6-4, 1-6, 7-6 (7-4), securing his spot in the semi-finals.
This latest malfunction adds to recent concerns about the system. Just last Saturday, Wimbledon organizers issued an apology after human error led to the Centre Court system being mistakenly turned off, missing three calls during Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova's match against Britain's Sonay Kartal. At that time, the All England Club asserted their "full confidence in the accuracy of the ball-tracking technology" and implemented changes to prevent future "human error."
However, despite these assurances, the technology, which is widely used at other top-level tournaments like the US Open and Australian Open, has faced notable criticism from players at Wimbledon. British number one Emma Raducanu famously labeled the system "dodgy," while Switzerland's Belinda Bencic confirmed that complaints about the technology are a common topic in the locker room. Raducanu, in particular, was unhappy with a call during her match against Aryna Sabalenka when a shot was judged to have clipped the line. "That call was for sure out," Raducanu stated after her narrow loss, adding, "No, I don't [trust the electronic line calls] - I think the other players would say the same thing, there were some pretty dodgy ones but what can you do?"
