Imagine Wimbledon without line judges! Yes, you read that right – after 148 years, the legendary line judges are retiring, replaced by cold, lifeless technology. No more flamboyant blazers, no more moments of judges leaning forward, hands on knees, ready to make split-second calls. All replaced by electronic line-calling systems that can earn hundreds of euros a day, but lack the soul and tension that line judges brought to the court.
For many, line judges were the heart and soul of Wimbledon. Their uniforms were admired, and their dedication and focus unmatched. Pauline Eyre, a line judge with 16 years of Wimbledon experience, recalls how special the job was that she had to take annual leave to do it. Today, although pay is better, motivation is not money but passion and love for the game.
But technology is relentless. This year, Wimbledon is introducing electronic line calling, meaning no more line judges on the grass. Players are already used to this system from other tournaments, but traditionalists are shocked. “All the little things that made Wimbledon Wimbledon are now disappearing,” says Eyre. Fans may miss the excitement when the chair umpire announces a call and the crowd reacts with rhythmic applause or gasps.
Technology is, of course, more accurate. The challenge system, first used at Wimbledon in 2006, is now standard. But is this really progress? Paul Hawkins, the inventor of this technology, admits that the excitement was greater at the start, but now it’s all routine. Players no longer have someone to yell at when they make mistakes, and the crowd loses part of the atmosphere.
Some of the most famous tennis players, like Novak Djokovic, have had fiery moments with line judges. Djokovic was even disqualified at the 2020 US Open for accidentally hitting a line judge with a ball. Andrey Rublev was disqualified last year in Dubai for shouting at a judge. Now, without line judges, players will have fewer people to vent their anger on, which could change the dynamics of the game.
But what about the line judges themselves? About 80 of them will be reassigned to other roles, such as match assistants or player escorts. Still, many wonder if the quality of officiating will decline in the future, as the path to becoming a chair umpire is now different and less motivating.
Chair umpires are not spared changes either. Seven-time Grand Slam champion John McEnroe, known for his outbursts, even suggested removing chair umpires entirely and relying solely on technology. But is that possible? Thomas Swiny, who started as a line judge with a free sandwich and now umpire finals, believes there will always be a need for the human factor. Empathy, understanding player pressure, and managing the flow of the match are things technology cannot replace.
Although the court will look emptier with nine fewer people, the officiating team still exists, just in a different form. Ball kids still assist players, and one official oversees the technology. But the atmosphere? It seems it will be different, colder, less human.
And how will the calls sound? Wimbledon plans to use voices of people behind the scenes, tourist guides, to avoid confusion between courts. Eyre jokes it would be fun to hear McEnroe’s voice shouting “out!” – that would surely boost the atmosphere. But will it be enough to replace those legendary moments when a judge stands on the court in their iconic blazer and makes calls everyone eagerly awaits?
Technology is inevitable, but is this the end of an era? Will we really want to watch tennis matches without the human factor that has been part of the game for decades? Or is it time to embrace a future where machines make decisions and humans are just statistics in the background?
If you have your own opinion or miss the legendary uniforms and human judgment, feel free to join the conversation. Maybe it’s time for all of us to decide what really matters in the world of tennis – the human factor or the cold precision of technology? Who knows, maybe soon we’ll watch matches where umpires are holograms and the crowd cheers through VR glasses. But for now, let’s remember the good old days when every out was drama and every point a show.
And hey, if a line judge ever got you a free sandwich, maybe it’s time to thank technology for no longer needing that. Or not? Just saying.
