At the Wimbledon tournament in 2025, a significant change took place: line judges were replaced by the Hawk-Eye Live system, enhanced with artificial intelligence elements. Despite the claimed accuracy, this alteration has triggered a wave of criticism from both players and fans. TechRadar reports on this.

British tennis players Jack Draper and Emma Raducanu publicly expressed their doubts about the system's decisions, especially after contentious moments in their matches. During a game, Yue Yuan approached the umpire requesting an increase in the volume of announcements, which she found to be insufficiently clear for the athletes.

In the match between Sonay Kartal and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, the system completely shut down for a game due to an operator error. Following this, the All England Club issued an apology, acknowledging a server-side failure.

The replacement of human judges with algorithms has also impacted the tournament's social aspect — this year, over 300 referees were let go. Some even protested outside the club with signs.

Despite technological advancements, not all tournaments are following Wimbledon's lead — for instance, Roland-Garros still employs human judges. Critics of the innovation point out that the lack of an option to appeal AI decisions disrupts the balance between accuracy and fairness.

Organizers argue that automated officiating is a step towards objectivity. However, whether players and spectators are ready to forgo the human element that has shaped the spirit of the tournament for years remains an open question.