Wimbledon replaced up to 300 line judges with AI line calling. Here is what happened.

For 147 years, Wimbledon line judges called "out" and "fault". In 2025, they were gone from every court.

Electronic line calling took their place. The system, Hawk-Eye Live, uses AI on footage from up to 18 cameras per court.

Up to 300 line judges gave way to around 80 match assistants.

It is one of the most visible superintelligence use cases in tennis. It also shows what happens when a system fails in front of a full Centre Court.

Why are there no line judges at Wimbledon?

Wimbledon was not early on this. It was one of the last.

Electronic line calling was first trialled at the Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan in 2017. The Australian Open adopted it in 2021, and the US Open in 2022.

In April 2023, the ATP announced it would use it at every tour event from 2025.

On 9 October 2024, the All England Club confirmed Wimbledon would follow, on all main draw and qualifying courts. Chief executive Sally Bolton said testing at the 2024 Championships showed the technology was "sufficiently robust".

And Roland-Garros?

Roland-Garros is now the only Grand Slam that still uses line judges. In September 2025, the French Tennis Federation said it would keep them for 2026.

In June 2026, tournament director Amélie Mauresmo said: "We've made that choice for 2026. As for 2027, we'll see."

The problem Wimbledon wanted to solve

Line calling comes down to accuracy and consistency.

Before 2025, Wimbledon ran a hybrid. Human line judges made the calls, and players could challenge them with Hawk-Eye.

Cost was not the reason for the switch. "It's not a money-saving exercise," Bolton told The Guardian. She said the goal was "the most effective possible line calling".

How electronic line calling works at Wimbledon

Hawk-Eye Live: cameras, 3D tracking, a call in a tenth of a second

• Up to 18 cameras per court track the ball.
• AI analyses the footage and builds a 3D picture of where the ball lands.
• An "out" or "fault" call is issued within a tenth of a second.

What happened to the line judges

The challenge system is gone. Tight calls are still shown to the crowd as "close call" graphics.

Around 80 former line judges stayed on as match assistants. They support the chair umpire and take back the lines if the technology goes down.

What changed in 2026

Wimbledon added "out" and "fault" indicators on scoreboards, and video review for umpire calls such as a double bounce. Line calls still cannot be challenged.

Results: what AI line calling changed

• Staff on the lines: up to 300 line judges, now around 80 match assistants.
• Coverage: every main draw and qualifying court from 2025.

Some players welcomed it. Taylor Fritz said: "I do like that we don't have to argue about calls."

Novak Djokovic said the technology is "probably more accurate and making less mistakes than, I guess, a lines person".

Wimbledon has published no accuracy figure for its system, so I quote none.

What went wrong: the line calling failures

Centre Court, 6 July 2025

During Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova's fourth-round win over Sonay Kartal, the system was switched off in error on part of the court for one game.

Three calls were missed. One was a Kartal shot that replays showed was clearly long. The point was replayed.

Wimbledon apologised to both players. Its statement said the system "was deactivated in error" by "those operating the system".

The Guardian reported that an operator had unticked one set of cameras with a single click. The club then removed operators' ability to manually switch off ball tracking.

The Fritz v Khachanov fault call

Two days later, a "fault" was wrongly called in Taylor Fritz's quarter-final against Karen Khachanov. Organisers said the system had not reset after a ball kid picked up his first serve.

Players also questioned accuracy. Jack Draper said: "I don't think it's 100 per cent accurate." Emma Raducanu said she did not trust it. She and Aryna Sabalenka also found the calls hard to hear over the crowd.

The 2026 heat failure at Roehampton

In June 2026, extreme heat at the qualifying event in Roehampton made the system fail. Play stopped for over an hour.

What it means for a tennis or padel club

Most clubs will never buy an 18-camera system. What a club can copy is the method.

1. Pick one repetitive task where accuracy and consistency matter.
2. Keep people in the loop. Wimbledon kept around 80 of them as backup for a reason.
3. When you find a manual failure point, remove it.
4. Tell people what changed. Players noticed the missing challenge.

For a club, that first task is rarely line calling. More often, it is the repetitive work your staff does every week. Here is how to choose a tennis marketing partner for your club.

Another tour-level case: .