'Out!' Wimbledon replaces line judges with electronic calling

Line judges are to disappear from Wimbledon after 147 years as the All England Club will adopt electronic line calling from 2025.

The technology will be in place for all qualifying and main draw matches and replace the judges who were responsible for calling shots 'out' and 'fault' on a serve.

The Australian Open and US Open adopted electronic line calling in 2021 and 2022 respectively.

Wimbledon's hand has been forced by the ATP's decision to adopt Electronic Line Calling Live across the men's tour from 2025, while the women's WTA Tour is moving in the same direction.

Wimbledon's decision means the clay-court French Open is the only major yet to ditch line judges.

"The decision to introduce Live Electronic Line Calling at The Championships was made following a significant period of consideration and consultation," the All England Club chief executive Sally Bolton 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."

The sight of line judges walking out on to court in their navy jackets, pinstriped shirts and white trousers or skirts has long been part of Wimbledon tradition. Many will miss the human touch, whether it is the official with the booming voice or the withering look from a player who disagrees with the call.

Being a line judge is not a full-time job, but the best officials could earn up to £200 a day plus expenses at Wimbledon.

They were selected on the strength of their work at lower tier events over the previous 12 months, with form in the grass court tournaments before Wimbledon likely to determine who ended up on Centre Court for the first couple of days.

Chair umpires will remain, but there will now be legitimate concerns about where the next generation of officials will come from.

Most British umpires started as line judges, and may have been given the opportunity to umpire qualifying matches while employed as a line judge at smaller events.

Will so many be interested in going down that career path if the carrot of officiating at Wimbledon is no longer available?

Players will intermittently complain about electronic line calling, but there has been consensus for a while that the technology is now more accurate and consistent than a human being.

"Machines don’t feel the pressure at five-all in the final set," was the way one umpire put it.

A lot of these jobs will not disappear completely. Although there is money to be saved by the removal of line judges, there are now many new roles for video review officials.

And in the absence of line judges, match assistants are required on court to escort players to the bathroom or take their racquets to the stringer.

"There is a bit of sadness of course - it is the end of a tradition at Wimbledon, but it is something we anticipated," Malgorzata Grzyb, chair of the Association of British Tennis Officials, told BBC Sport.

"We have watched the developments in major tennis events around the world - two of the Grand Slam tournaments already use electronic line calling. I think this was inevitable it was going to happen."

Grzyb believes the change will provide a more direct route for officials to become chair umpires, adding: "In the past we have traditionally developed chair umpires through line umpires.

"I think the pathway now will be a little more direct, so it will enable chair umpires to progress to that level more quickly."

The Lawn Tennis Association (LTA), which is the governing body of tennis in the UK, said it "understands the reasons" behind the All England Club's decision.

"We recognise the ongoing changes to officiating around the world," it said.

"With this in mind we are already working with the Association of British Tennis Officials to understand the impact on the pathway for British officials and develop a new joint strategy with them that will ensure officials can be retained within the sport."

There will also be a significant change to the schedule on the final weekend, with the ladies' and men's singles finalists no longer walking out on to court at 14:00 BST.

In future, the singles finals will begin at 16:00, with the men's doubles at 13:00 on the Saturday and the ladies' doubles at 13:00 on the Sunday.

The move brings Wimbledon in line with the other three Grand Slams, with the fortnight concluding with the men's singles on the final Sunday.

"The doubles players competing in the finals will have increased certainty over their schedule and fans will enjoy each day's play as it builds towards the crescendo of the ladies' and gentlemen's singles finals, with our champions being crowned in front of the largest possible worldwide audience," Bolton said.