Wimbledon line system malfunctions again in quarter final

After breaking history with the electronic line system, Wimbledon’s tech hasn’t gone well with tennis fans as more drama ensues.

Oh Wimbledon, you’ve done it again.

The tennis tournament’s new electronic line system was once more in the firing line after yet another disastrous malfunction during the quarter final match between Taylor Fritz and Karen Khachanov.

The moment occurred in the opening game of the fourth set when Fritz was serving at 15-0 and the rally began.

After several shots play broke down as a “fault” call was heard and chair umpire Louise Azemar-Engzell called for a halt to the game.

“What was that? … because that serve wasn’t 121 (km), that was the second serve,” one commentator said.

“That’s the electronic line system has jumped the gun,” another replied.

“I don’t know what happened there.”

Azemar-Engzell could be seen jumping on a call with officials to ensure the system was reset before making an announcement.

“Ladies and gentlemen, we will replay the last point due to a malfunction. The system is now working,” she said.

Taylor Fritz served before the ball boy had returned to position, meaning the electric line technology had not begun tracking the play. Picture: Wimbledon.

Fritz's serve was clearly in but this was not the shot which the technology recognised. Picture: Wimbledon.

The news was met with boos from the crowd who took displeasure with the technology given the ongoing issues experienced throughout the tournament.

Drama had ensued earlier in the fourth round during Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova’s victory over Sonay Kartal when a shot by Kartal landed noticeably beyond the baseline but wasn’t called out by the tech as it had been mistakenly shut off.

The All England Club blamed “human error” for the incident, but for the drama in Fritz and Khachanov’s clash explained that the system had tracked one of Fritz’s shots in the rally as if it were a serve after he started play before the ball boy had returned to position.

“The player’s service motion began while the (ball boy) was still crossing the net and therefore the system didn’t recognise the start of the point. As such the chair umpire instructed the point be replayed,” the club said in a statement.

The tech instead recognised a shot during the rally as Fritz's serve, meaning the point needed to be replayed. Picture: Wimbledon.

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova’s victory was also marred by a tech failure after a ball that clearly cross the baseline was not called out. Picture: Instagram.

Fifth-seed Fritz advanced to the semi-finals 6-3, 6-4, 1-6, 7-6(4), but the crucial moment wasn’t too concerning for a disappointed Khachanov.

“If it would happen on a break point or deuce or maybe tiebreaker, ok you can get more mad,” he said.

“But it was just beginning of the set, 15-love or love-15. I don’t remember. It was maybe not that important moment. That’s why I stayed really focused and calm.”

Wimbledon ditched 148 years of tradition this year, following the Australian Open in replacing human line judges with the electronic Hawk-Eye system, but the continues issues have already called for scraps to the move.

However Fritz, who will now face defending champion Carlos Alcaraz in the semi-final, backed the new technology.

“There’s going to be some issues here and there but, to be honest, I still think it’s much better to just have the electronic line-calling (system) calling the lines as opposed to umpires,” he said.

“I do like not having to think about challenging calls in the middle of points,” Fritz continued. “I do like that we don’t have to argue about calls and all this stuff. I think it’s a better system.”

Originally published as Wimbledon line system malfunctions again in quarter final