Historical changes are coming to the legendary Wimbledon tennis tournament. For the first time in the 147 years of the competition, the organizers have decided to abandon the services of line judges in favor of a high-tech artificial intelligence system, “Rossiyskaya Gazeta” reports with reference to The Times.
All 18 courts, including the famous Centre Court, will be equipped with an automated Electronic Line Calling (ELC) system.
Wimbledon organizers were initially skeptical about the idea of introducing ELC. However, concerns about the tournament's high standards being undermined while maintaining the human element in judging, as well as the growing habit of leading players towards electronic systems, tipped the scales in favour of innovation.
Until now, around 300 line judges aged between 18 and 80 were used to officiate over 650 matches during the two-week tournament. Now they will be replaced by an impartial and highly accurate AI system, which, according to the organizers, will improve the quality of refereeing and correspond to modern trends in tennis.