When the Wimbledon organisers announced last year that electronic line-calling would replace line judges for the first time at the Championships this year, plenty of criticism could have been anticipated. Some people would take issue with the more sterile landscape on court and the lack of human touch, while the cull of around 300 linesmen and women would also surely be a sore point. It is difficult, however, to imagine they were prepared for the firestorm that has followed its long-awaited implementation at this tournament.
Electronic line-calling, or ELC, which uses automated ball-tracking technology has, after all, long been used in professional tennis tournaments, starting with the Next Gen ATP Finals in 2018. It has been four years since the Australian Open became the first grand slam to utilise the technology and this year, for the first time, the men’s tour, the ATP, is using ELC at all of its events. Although all other men’s clay-court events use ELC, the French Open is now the only grand slam that still employs human line judges.
