Sometimes progress registers simply as absence, and so it was on the opening day of Wimbledon this year when the pursuit of greater accuracy led to the disappearance of the tournament’s famous line judges.
Electronic line calls are now in operation in SW19, bringing the championships into line with the grand slam tournaments in Melbourne and New York and also the ATP Tour. The French Open still uses line judges. But the shift to camera‑based, AI‑enhanced decision-making cuts deeper at Wimbledon, where up to 300 line judges have been a colourful part of the tournament’s ensemble cast for the past 147 years.
