One of the biggest features of the oldest and most prestigious championship such as Wimbledon has been modified, and it has generated all kinds of reactions.
And yes, the players will still wear white and strawberries and cream will still be handed out to the spectators. However, after 147 years, this Monday the line judges have been replaced by robots with artificial intelligence.
This decision by the All England Club reduced the 300 professionals to 80 and will feature “Hawk-Eye” technology. This system, owned by Sony, will track the ball with an accuracy of three millimeters and help determine in less than a tenth of a second if the ball is out or not, analyzing images from up to 18 cameras.
Although the U.S. and Australian Opensalso use it, this decision has caused a lot of talk, even among the players themselves.
Reaction from players and fans
The executive director of the All England Club, Sally Bolton, stated that “It’s not a money-saving exercise“, but with this new implementation, they seek to offer “the most effective possible line calling“.
Jannik Sinner, for example, supported Bolton’s words and looked favorably on this change, arguing that tennis is changing and improving, making it “more difficult to see in a small space whether they are in or out“: “for sure the technology helps, especially here on Grass,” he said.
However, one of the competitors, tennis player Yuan Yue confessed that she had difficulty hearing the decisions as the system was too quiet. The Chinese player’s complaint is joined by figures such as Fabio Fognini and Carlos Alcaraz.
In addition, on social networks, fans did not sweeten this situation either, claiming that the new AI implementation restricted human frailty. This is how they expressed themselves in X, ex Twitter:
“Well I have to say, the replacement of line judges & player challenges at #Wimbledon certainly speeds up matches…. but… it’s a very sterile experience now, a process, not a game. No character, less crowd participation in the ‘was it in?’ moment. AI robot players next?” opined one fan.
“I really miss seeing and hearing the line judges make the calls at #Wimbledon. Made the tournament unique. Using AI to make calls means there’s no challenging a call by players anymore. I miss it,” another user let it be known.
“No line judges at Wimbledon. The All England Club has gone for tiresome AI faux accuracy over beautiful human frailty. Great sports events need both human error and players capable of dealing with bad luck,” added a third fan.
Although AI decisions can be verified by humans, this change has caused a lot of talk.
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