Wimbledon is poised to continue its embrace of technology this year, with electronic line calling (ELC) remaining a core part of its officiating system. The All England Club introduced ELC in 2025, replacing traditional human line judges after 147 years, citing its belief in the technology's superior accuracy compared to the human eye. This decision was also reportedly backed by players at the time.
The ELC system, which employs the same underlying technology as the familiar Hawk-Eye system, utilises 18 cameras strategically placed around the court. These cameras meticulously track the ball's movement and trajectory in real-time, feeding data to sensors and computers that generate a precise 3D image of its landing spot. An automated voice then mimics a human line judge, emitting a clear 'out!', 'fault!', or 'foot fault' call within a tenth of a second of impact. This year, Wimbledon has also added visual indicators to scoreboards, a direct response to fan feedback concerning the difficulty of discerning calls without a visible line judge.
Despite the perceived benefits, ELC has not been without its controversies. Last year, the system was accidentally deactivated during a match between Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Sonay Kartal due to 'human error', resulting in three missed calls within a single game. Further issues arose during Wimbledon qualifying at Roehampton when a power outage, likely caused by extreme heat, suspended play for an hour. British players, including Emma Raducanu, have expressed reservations, with Raducanu stating she doesn't 'completely trust' the system due to some 'dodgy' calls, and Jack Draper doubting its '100 per cent accuracy'.
Addressing these concerns ahead of this year's tournament, Sally Bolton, chief executive of the All England Club, affirmed confidence in the system. She highlighted that ELC operates as a combination of human oversight and technology, confirming that last year's issue was rectified and reviewed. Bolton also assured that all systems undergo rigorous testing before the Championships commence. The introduction of video review technology this year marks another significant technological leap, allowing players to challenge umpire calls on incidents such as double bounces or net touches, with this 'VAR'-style system available on the six main show courts, including Centre Court.
This new video review capability, which debuted on the ATP Tour last year and has been present at the US Open since 2023 and the Australian Open since 2025, offers an additional layer of accuracy and can serve as a backup should the ELC system encounter issues. While Wimbledon, the Australian Open (since 2021), and the US Open (since 2022) have all embraced ELC, the French Open remains the sole Grand Slam to retain human line judges. Despite a recent contentious call during a match between Casper Ruud and Joao Fonseca, where Hawk-Eye indicated an 'out' call contrary to the umpire's decision, French Open tournament director Amelie Mauresmo maintains that the 'reliability of the system is not absolute', preferring to trust human officials for now.