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Wimbledon’s AI line-calling system causing problems for players

Jul 11, 2025, 1:21pm EDT
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British tennis player Emma Raducanu.
Andrew Couldridge/Reuters

Wimbledon’s new line-calling technology is causing problems for some players and fans of the century-old, tradition-centric tennis tournament. It’s Wimbledon’s first year replacing human line-callers with AI-powered software that tracks the ball with cameras and creates a 3D model of its path to determine if it was in or out of bounds — following the likes of the US and Australian Opens. Some players, however, have criticized certain calls made by the software, and in one match, the system shut down entirely.

When asked if she trusted the system, British player Emma Raducanu said, “No, I don’t… I think the other players would say the same thing. There were some pretty dodgy ones but what can you do?” according to Reuters.

The Hawk-Eye system, owned by Sony, says it is accurate within a few millimeters, intended to bring a new level of indisputable precision to the matches. But some question the need for disruption in a tournament that’s been serving the same strawberries and cream since the 1870s. The technology replaced roughly 300 human line judges this year, some of whom showed up in their striped uniforms to protest.

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