Wimbledon announced on Wednesday that it was abandoning its iconic linesmen in favor of an electronic verification system, changing the face of the only Grand Slam tennis tournament played on grass.
Smartly dressed referees and linesmen have been as much a part of the London tournament as time immemorial as the strawberries, cream and all-white outfits that the players must wear.
But Wimbledon has just announced a major development in this area, aiming according to the organizers to “balance tradition and innovation”, by renouncing these line judges, following an ATP measure.
The men’s circuit has in fact decided in 2023, by 2025, to generalize an electronic refereeing system (ELC) making it possible to check whether or not the ball has touched the line, with the aim of optimizing precision and consistency. between tournaments.
If the Grand Slam tournaments remain free of their choice, the All England Club, which manages Wimbledon, indicated on Wednesday that it itself would move to the ELC from 2025 “for all matches, from qualifying until the final,” the organizers said in a press release.
“We take our responsibility to balance tradition and innovation at Wimbledon very seriously. Line referees have played a central role in our refereeing system (…) for many decades and we recognize their valuable contribution and thank them for their commitment and service,” explained the General Manager of the All England Club. , Sally Bolton.
The All England Club also revealed that the men’s and women’s singles finals will now start later, at 4:00 p.m. (local time, but 5:00 p.m. Belgian time), on the final weekend of the tournament. Next year, Wimbledon will take place from June 30 to July 13.
