Wimbledon‘s new electronic line-calling system faces fresh heat after another error caused mayhem on Court One – and bosses have thrown a ball boy under the bus.
Taylor Fritz and Karen Khachanov’s quarter-final clash on Tuesday was halted when the system called out a phantom ‘fault’ – despite the ball being around a metre inside the baseline.
This is the second major gaffe the technology has made since coming in and replacing the 147-year tradition of line judges calling the shots.
In the first game of the fourth set between Fritz and Khachanov, the umpire Louise Azemar-Engzell had to suspend play due to a ‘malfunction’ and the point was later replayed.
The technology had malfunctioned because a ball boy was not off the court surface when Fritz began his serve, and it therefore failed to recognise that a rally had got underway.
A spokesman for the All England Club said: ‘The player’s service motion began while the BBG (Ball Boys and Girl) was still crossing the net and therefore the system didn’t recognise the start of the point.
Wimbledon bosses have been left red-faced again after their new electronic line-calling system made another error – because a ball boy was just on court as Taylor Fritz served
The technology failed to recognise that Fritz had served and later called an erroneous ‘fault’ mid-rally, with the umpire then having to delay play
Russian star Karen Khachanov has called for traditional human line judges to be reintroduced
‘As such the chair umpire instructed the point be replayed.’
Russia’s Khachanov, who went on to lose the match by three sets to one, has called for traditional line judges to be brought back and said it was ‘scary’ leaving decisions up to machines.
‘To be honest, I’m more for line umpires,’ he said.
‘Like today I think there were a few calls. I don’t know, [it’s] very questionable if it’s really touching the line or not.
‘At the same time during one point, the machine called it just out during the rally. Sometimes it’s scary to let [the] machines do what they want.’
However, Fritz, who will face Alcaraz in Friday’s semi-final, has backed the new technology.
‘There’s going to be some issues here and there. I still think it’s much better to have the electronic line calling as opposed to the umpires,’ he said.
‘I do like not having to think about challenging calls in the middle of points. I do like that we don’t have to argue about calls. The ball gets called and that’s it. It’s a better system.’
Taylor Fritz, who advanced to the semi-finals, threw his weight behind the new technology
It is the second time the club has blamed issues with the system on ‘human error’ after it missed three calls when it was accidentally turned off in a fourth-round match on Sunday.
The technology was deactivated for more than six minutes during British star Sonay Kartal’s match against Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova resulting in the pair having to replay the point.
Bosses, who said they had ‘full confidence’ in the system, launched a review and upgraded the system overnight to prevent it from being turned off again.
Leading Britons Jack Draper and Emma Raducanu have also complained about the accuracy of the system, which is widely used in other tournaments.
Tuesday’s malfunction came as the UK’s Cameron Norrie crashed out to defending champion Carlos Alcaraz. The 29-year-old, who was the last British player left in the tournament, lost to the Spaniard, 22, in straight sets after just one hour and 39 minutes.
Sienna Miller led a star-studded royal box watching the quarter-final match-up on Centre Court, with US actress Jodie Foster, 62, also in attendance. Ms Miller, 43, wore a floral mini-dress as she took in the action on day nine of the championships. Classical singer Katherine Jenkins, 45, also took in the action from the royal box in an embroidered pink gown.
Tom Holland, who watched from the stands, was seen wishing Alcaraz good luck ahead of the match. And actor Sir Mark Rylance also appeared animated as he watched world No1 Aryna Sabalenka triumph over Laura Siegemund earlier in the day.