Line judges out at Wimbledon

Horsham Museum & Art Gallery Friend Rick Domas looks at how a tennis tradition has disappeared. Rick will be giving a talk on July 30 to the Friends about the Watercolour collection in the Museum archives.

Wimbledon is a lot like the art world.

There are ‘in’ and ‘out’ players, ‘hot’ and ‘cold’ players, young players, old players, old masters.

Youthful players, ageing players, talented players, less-so talented players.

Agents, fees, commissions, exhibitions, breathtaking prices.

And controversy…

The latest controversy to hit Wimbledon is the elimination of line judges in lieu of electronic line calling (ELC), ending 147 years of tradition.

Not surprising, as the technology is used for all Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) events and most Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) tournaments.

The French Open is now the only major to use line judges.

John McEnroe defended Wimbledon’s decision. McEnroe, known for clashing with line judges, famously shouting “You cannot be serious!” at an umpire following a disputed call at Wimbledon in 1981, believes ELC is ‘preferable’ to line judges, but admits the latter will be ‘missed’ by spectators.

“I had an obviously long history with linesmen, but if they have electronic equipment that works, that’s preferable,” McEnroe told BBC.

Most players welcomed the development as they have become accustomed to relying on
ELC technology for most tournament play.

Electronic line calling uses cameras, computers, and sensors to track the ball’s trajectory.

A computerised voice shouts ‘out’ when the ball is deemed to be out by ELC.

Seems like HAL (2001: A Space Odyssey: “This mission is too important for me to allow you to jeopardize it”) has entered the earthly world of Wimbledon.