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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Comment
Hugh Muir

Look at Wimbledon without human line judges and tell me this: do you really want life to be perfect?

Two men dressed as line judges in caps, ties and shirts stand in a field in front of a Mr Whippy ice cream truck holding signs reading:
Men dressed as line judges protest against electronic line calling at Wimbledon, London, 1 July 2025. Photograph: Hannah Peters/Getty Images

It’s the perfect Wimbledon. The sun is out, the Brits are firing and as for the scoring, that too will be somewhat perfect, this being the first Wimbledon since the tournament told the line judges, long the arbiters of accuracy, that after 148 years, their services will no longer be required.

Arguments, unpredictability and, as the cameras zoom in to the line judge whose eyesight judgment prompts a participant explosion, buttock-clenching awkwardness in close-up: goodbye to all that. Hello, AI and sharp-eyed robots, analysing in real time 18 lots of footage.

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