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Kartal Secures Contentious Victory Amid Electronic Line-Calling System Malfunction
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova voiced her discontent after a failure in 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 halt play, shouting “stop, stop”.
Pavlyuchenkova, of Russia, clearly saw the ball was out, a fact corroborated by television replays.
Addressing the crowd, 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”.
An ‘out’ call would have awarded Pavlyuchenkova the point and the lead.
Instead, the point was replayed, Kartal won it, and subsequently broke serve 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.”
A spokesperson for the All England Club attributed the incident to “operator error,” resulting in the system being deactivated during 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 scrutiny this week, with several players expressing doubts about its accuracy and sound level.
Debbie Jevans, chair of the All England Club, affirmed on Friday her confidence in the accuracy of the electronic line calling and the decision to introduce it.
The umpire explained to the players that there had been no line call
The reliability of electronic line calling technology has been a point of contention at Wimbledon this week, with numerous players voicing distrust in the system.
Such a prominent failure on Centre Court, in a match featuring a British player, ensures that the debate surrounding the technology will persist.
Britain’s Emma Raducanu is among those who have voiced concerns, describing some calls as “dodgy,” while former Olympic champion Belinda Bencic noted that the technology is a frequent topic of discussion among players.
Bencic, while generally supportive 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 expressing that while she has had doubts, she “has to trust” the calls.
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Pavlyuchenkova’s eventual victory, despite the lost point, mitigates the impact of the malfunction.
Britain’s Billie Jean King Cup captain Anne Keothavong stated that the incident “is going to be something the referee and organisers 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 the call in the event of technological failure, rather than replaying the point.
Under the previous system, players could challenge line calls using electronic review. Challenges are not permitted under the current system, and video replays are not utilized.
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