​Electronic line calling (ELC) remains in place at Wimbledon as the Championships continue to embrace advanced technology. The system, which replaced line judges in 2025 after 147 years of human officiating on the famed grass courts, was approved by Wimbledon because the organizers believe the technology delivers greater accuracy than the human eye. It also earned players’ backing. However, last year the system was accidentally deactivated during the match between Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Sonay Kartal due to a “human error,” causing three calls to be missed in one game. ELC also faced a power-related outage during Wimbledon qualifying at Roehampton, likely caused by extreme heat, which led to a suspension of play for about an hour.
Emma Raducanu of Britain has said she does not fully trust ELC, noting some calls she regarded as dodgy, while Jack Draper questioned whether the system is “100 percent accurate.” In the lead-up to this year’s tournament, Wimbledon’s chief executive, Sally Bolton, expressed confidence in the system. She explained that live electronic line calling operates as a collaboration between humans and technology. “There was an issue last year, that was rectified, and a review was undertaken during last year’s Championships. We will always test every system we have as we go into the Championships, but we’re confident that the issue was indeed rectified last year,” Bolton stated.
Wimbledon bid farewell to line judges last year, a shift captured in photographs and reports from Getty Images. The Electronic Line Calling system relies on Hawk-Eye technology, which previously allowed players to challenge questionable line calls. ELC employs 18 cameras positioned around the court to track the ball’s movement and trajectory in real time, with sensors and computers generating a three-dimensional image of where the ball lands. An automated voice mimics the line judge’s calls, emitting a loud “out!”, “fault!”, or “foot fault” within a tenth of a second.
This year, Wimbledon introduced visual indicators on the scoreboards to help fans who previously found it difficult to discern whether a ball had landed in or out without the on-court line judge’s assistance. The tournament also rolled out video review technology for the first time this year. This feature enables players to challenge umpire calls—such as whether the ball bounced twice or if a player touched the net. Umpires at Wimbledon will have access to these video reviews.
The All England Club confirmed that the so-called “VAR”-style technology will be available on the six main show courts, including Centre Court and No. 1 Court. Video reviews have been part of the ATP Tour since last year and have been used at the US Open since 2023 and the Australian Open since 2025. The presence of video review means the umpire can request a replay to help determine a call, and the system is designed to enhance decision-making accuracy while maintaining the flow of the match. This combination of scoreboard indicators, video reviews, and the automated line calling represents Wimbledon’s ongoing commitment to integrating technology with human oversight to deliver fair and efficient officiating on the world’s most prestigious grass courts.