Wimbledon, the world’s oldest tennis tournament, will replace around 300 line judges with artificial intelligence during next year’s tournament, bidding farewell to a 147-year tradition.
The lines judges at Wimbledon have been standing around the court for years, looking at the lines with laser focus to determine whether a tennis ball is in or out. But you won’t see the cream berets and navy blazers at Wimbledon in 2025. The system the All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) has opted for instead is an evolution of the Hawk-Eye technology used for tight calls since 2007. The technology is called electronic line calling (ELC) and will be on all of Wimbledon’s 18 courts during the 2025 competition.
The AELTC confirmed in a statement on Wednesday that ‘leading technology will be available for all championships and qualifying fields and will cover the ‘out’ and ‘fault’ calls previously made by line umpires.’
This artificial intelligence technology is nothing new to tennis and has been implemented following the COVID pandemic at other major tournaments such as the US Open. The 2021 Australian Open was the first grand slam to remove line judges from all courts, and the ATP Tour will introduce the technology in 2025.
Wimbledon is built on tradition, so today’s announcement, while not surprising, is indicative of the new AI-driven world we now live in. In 2014, IBM, one of the main sponsors of Wimbledon, didn’t think we would replace people. Coming soon at Wimbledon. But a lot can change in ten years, and now we have an AI on Center Court.
What is ELC and how does it work?
The system, which will be implemented at Wimbledon for the 2025 tournament, works by monitoring the movement of the ball through twelve cameras strategically placed on each court. There are also microphones on the field that listen to the sound of the ball, and a computer that interprets the ball’s location in real time. A video operator, similar to the video assistant referee in football, will monitor the technology from an external room and communicate with the chair referee on the field.
This isn’t the first AI technology to be introduced at Wimbledon; earlier this year, the AELTC unveiled a new Catch Me Up tool, powered by IBM’s Watson generative AI platform. Catch Me Up allows fans to watch game highlights on a second screen, making it the perfect couch tennis companion.
