LONDON — An unexpected glitch in Wimbledon’s newly implemented electronic line calling system led to a replay of a crucial point during the thrilling quarterfinal clash between Taylor Fritz and Karen Khachanov on Tuesday.
The incident unfolded at the start of the fourth set on Court No. 1, following Fritz’s serve at 15-0 and a series of exchanges between the players. Suddenly, a “fault” call disrupted the flow of the game.
Chair umpire Louise Azemar-Engzell halted play, shortly instructing the players to “replay the last point due to a technical malfunction.”
The electronic system mistakenly recorded Fritz’s shot during the rally as if it were a serve, the All England Club clarified.
“The player’s service motion commenced while the ball boy/girl was still crossing the net, resulting in the system failing to recognize the beginning of the point. Consequently, the chair umpire directed that the point be replayed,” the club remarked in an official statement.
Khachanov managed to win the replayed point, but fifth-seeded Fritz triumphed overall, moving on to the semifinals with a 6-3, 6-4, 1-6, 7-6 (4) victory.
This year, Wimbledon adopted an electronic system in place of traditional line judges, but the transition has faced significant challenges.
Just last Sunday, a major error occurred on Centre Court during Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova’s three-set triumph over Sonay Kartal in the fourth round. A clear out shot by Kartal went uncalled by the automated system, known as Hawk-Eye, due to it being turned off.
The following day, club officials attributed the oversight to “human error.” Club CEO Sally Bolton noted that the technology had been “inadvertently deactivated” by someone for three pivotal points in the match.
