- Raducanu was knocked out of Wimbledon after defeat by the world number one
- An automated system has replaced line judges for first time at Championships
Emma Raducanu has urged Wimbledon to improve electronic line calling after saying she was disappointed by the technology during her defeat against Aryna Sabalenka.
A fully automated system has replaced human line judges – whose calls could be challenged using electronic reviews – for the first time at the Championships this year.
The two most vocal critics so far have been Britain’s leading players, with Raducanu going even further than Jack Draper after feeling one call in particular, when a Sabalenka shot was ruled to have clipped the line, was wrong.
‘That call was for sure out,’ said Raducanu after her intense 7-6 (6) 6-4 defeat by the world number one.
‘It’s kind of disappointing, the tournament here, that the calls can be so wrong, but for the most part they’ve been OK. I’ve had a few in my other matches, too, that have been very wrong. Hopefully they can fix that.’
The technology has become standard across the tour, with all ATP Tour events and a lot of WTA ones no longer using line judges.
Britain’s Emma Raducanu has urged Wimbledon to improve electronic line calling
Raducanu was disappointed by the technology during her defeat against Aryna Sabalenka
The same system operates at the Australian Open and the US Open but the French Open remains an outlier, so far eschewing any form of electronic system.
Draper queried one serve from Marin Cilic during his second-round loss on Thursday, and he said: ‘I don’t think it’s 100 per cent accurate, in all honesty. A couple of the ones today it showed a mark on the court. There’s no way the chalk would have showed.’
Wimbledon organisers have been contacted for comment.
