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Kartal Secures Contentious Victory Amid Electronic Line-Calling System Malfunction
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova voiced strong disapproval after a disputed incident involving Wimbledon’s electronic line-calling system during her fourth-round match against Britain’s Sonay Kartal, claiming a game was ‘stolen’ from her.
The incident occurred at 4-4 in the first set when a Kartal backhand appeared to land long, yet no ‘out’ call was registered, prompting chair umpire Nico Helwerth to interject with “stop, stop” to halt play.
Pavlyuchenkova, of Russia, clearly perceived the ball as out, a view substantiated by television replays that indicated a significant margin.
Addressing the spectators, Helwerth stated, “We’re just going to check if the system was up and running, because there was no audio call.”
Following a telephone consultation, he announced that the electronic system “was unfortunately unable to track the last point, so we will replay the point.”
A correct ‘out’ call would have awarded Pavlyuchenkova the point, granting her the lead.
Instead, the point was replayed, with Kartal prevailing and subsequently breaking for a 5-4 advantage.
The electronic line calling system did not call the shot from Sonay Kartal out
A visibly frustrated Pavlyuchenkova was overheard questioning the umpire during the changeover: “I don’t know if it’s in or out. How do I know? How can you prove it?
“Because she is local, they can say whatever. You took the game away from me.
“They stole the game from me. They stole it.”
An All England Club spokesperson attributed the incident to “operator error,” stating, “the system was deactivated on the point in question.
“The chair umpire followed the established process.”
The automated line-calling system, implemented at Wimbledon for the first time this year, has faced increased scrutiny this week, with several players expressing doubts about its accuracy and the audibility of its calls.
Debbie Jevans, chair of the All England Club, affirmed on Friday her confidence in the precision of the electronic line calling and the decision to introduce it.
The umpire explained to the players that there had been no line call
Electronic line calling technology has been under scrutiny this week at Wimbledon, with a number of players saying they did not trust it.
Such an obvious failure on the biggest stage – on Centre Court, in a match featuring a British player – has ensured this topic will not go away.
Britain’s Emma Raducanu has been among those voicing concerns, describing some calls as “dodgy,” while former Olympic champion Belinda Bencic noted the technology as a frequent topic of discussion among players in the locker room.
Bencic, typically a proponent of the technology, stated that “it is not correct” at this tournament.
Line judges have been replaced by technology at many top-level tournaments, including the US Open and Australian Open.
Jevans previously stated that the technology was implemented “because the players wanted it,” and some have supported the system, with former world number one Iga Swiatek acknowledging her doubts but affirming she “has to trust” the calls.
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The fact that Pavlyuchenkova went on to take the match despite losing a point she should have won means that the malfunction was not as unfortunate as it could have been.
Britain’s Billie Jean King Cup captain Anne Keothavong stated that the incident “is going to be something the referee and organizers are going to have to reflect on what could have been done better.”
“If there is uncertainty, that creates anxiety,” she said on BBC TV. “They [players] just need to feel reassured that the technology is working and the person who is pressing the buttons is doing the job they are meant to do.
“Hopefully we don’t see mistakes like this again.”
Former world number one Tracy Austin characterized the incident as a “one-off.”
“An interesting, dramatic situation that I’m sure we will fix in the future, but it was tough to watch for those few minutes,” the American added.
Men’s fifth seed Taylor Fritz, recalling a similar incident in Cincinnati last year, suggested that umpires should be empowered to make calls when the technology fails, rather than replaying the point.
Under the previous system with line judges, players could challenge calls via electronic review. The current system lacks both challenges and video replays.
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