You cannot be serious? Wimbledon abolishes line judges after 147 years

Wimbledon will break with tradition and replace line judges with electronic line calling from next year’s championships, the All England Club confirmed on Wednesday. The sight of immaculately-dressed line judges standing or crouching at the side and back of the grass courts has been a feature at the Grand Slam for 147 years.

In will come Live Electronic Line Calling, the technology already widely used in the sport, including at the Australian Open and US Open, and the All England Club has now made the decision to follow suit.

The electronic system, which reacts within one tenth of a second of the ball landing, is regarded as more accurate than human line judges who are often seen ducking for cover to avoid being struck by a 100mph serve. A simple computer-generated call of “out” or “fault” will now be the final word on line calls.

Since 2007, Hawk-Eye has assisted the officials at Wimbledon on certain courts, with players able to challenge line calls, but the system will now be fully automated across the site, including during qualifying at Roehampton.

Wimbledon’s chief executive, Sally Bolton, said: “The decision to introduce Live Electronic Line Calling at the championships was made following a significant period of consideration and consultation. 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 for many decades and we recognise their valuable contribution and thank them for their commitment and service.”

The French Open, which has relied solely on human officials, is now the outlier, although it may well follow suit, with all ATP Tour events to feature the technology from next year.

One major concern for Wimbledon – first staged in 1877 – had been the loss of a prestigious opportunity for officials and the effect this could have at the lower levels of the sport, but ultimately progress has won out.

Meanwhile, a change to the schedule next year will see the two singles finals pushed back from 2pm on the final Saturday and Sunday to 4pm, with the men’s and women’s doubles finals to be held first at 1pm