Since then, ELC has gradually extended its hold on the professional tour. The march of electronic line-calling – or ELC for short – began when the brand-new Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan introduced Hawk-Eye Live in 2017, with its automated shouts of “fault” and “out”. The quality of the chair umpires will eventually go down as a result.” The ATP’s decision would “improve on-court officiating,” said the official, who preferred not to be named, “at the cost of losing thousands of people who are part of the tennis ecosystem. This stance was echoed on Friday by a distinguished former chair umpire who spoke to Telegraph Sport. The last chairman but one, Philip Brook, was always adamant that the existence of human line-judges helped to maintain the officiating pathway which eventually leads to the umpire’s chair.

It is not only tradition which informs the All England Club position. And individual mistakes will become more and more controversial as they grow rarer around the tour – even if Wimbledon still gives players the option to make three Hawk-Eye challenges per set. Most players prefer the clinical nature of the robots to the possibility of human error, however sterile the automated system might feel. But as time goes by, the All England Club are likely to come under growing pressure to fall into line with other events. Telegraph Sport understands that line judges will still work the courts during this year’s Championships, dressed in their distinctive blue Ralph Lauren blazers. The All England Club face a battle to keep human line judges at Wimbledon after it was announced on Friday that all ATP tournaments will have electronic line-calling by 2025.Īs a grand slam, Wimbledon is not subject to the ATP’s rulings.

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