Wimbledon breaks 147-year tradition with major decision as 300 jobs at risk
Wimbledon will not have human line judges next year
PA
Wimbledon will make the move to electronic line calling (ELC) next year, bringing an end to human officials being used at the major tournament.
The ATP Tour announced in April last year that the ELC service would be adopted from 2025 onwards with players keen for the change.
Now Wimbledon are set to introduce the use of artificial intelligence and replace line judges next year.
According to The Times, the All England Club were initially reluctant to end the 147-year tradition of using human line judges.
It's reportedly a popular decision among players, who are said to be more in favour of tournaments using the ELC technology.
The drastic change will put around 300 jobs at risk with Wimbledon previously requiring hundreds of officials to help cover around 650 matches throughout the two-week tournament.
It's claimed that many line judges who have previously worked at Wimbledon did so on a part-time basis while a small group do it full time and travel internationally.
Line judges are said to have earned around £180 a day at Wimbledon depending on their experience.
There are said to be concerns about the impact of line judges being scrapped from Wimbledon and other UK events.
The Australian Open switched to ELC three years ago and there's been a drop in the number of line judges working in the country as a result.
It's said that some line judges will still be retained at Wimbledon in case the ELC system crashes at any stage.
A fire alarm inside the building housing the technical booth at the US Open briefly stopped play last month.
Line judges can earn up to £180 at Wimbledon
PA
The match between Daniil Medvedev and Nuno Borges was halted for six minutes before play resumed.
John McEnroe will certainly approve of Wimbledon's decision to install the ELC system from next year after calling for the big tournaments to make the move.
“If you have equipment that’s accurate, I’m sorry, you have got to go with that,” he said in 2023.
“Maybe I wouldn’t be talking to you now because of the antics and maybe I would have won more, but I would have been more boring."
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Line judges could earn around £180 a day at Wimbledon
PA
All England Club chief executive Sally Bolton explained why they felt the need to make the step for next year's Championships.
“The decision to introduce Live Electronic Line Calling at The Championships was made following a significant period of consideration and consultation,” she said.
“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.
“We take our responsibility to balance tradition and innovation at Wimbledon very seriously. Line umpires have played a central role in our officiating set-up at The Championships for many decades and we recognise their valuable contribution and thank them for their commitment and service.”
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