John McEnroe has defended Wimbledon’s decision to ditch line judges in favour of electronic line calling.
Wimbledon has become the latest Grand Slam to move away from line judges, with the French Open now the only major to use them.
The All England Club announced last year that ELC would be used from 2025 onwards, ending 147 years of service from line judges.
Most players welcomed the development as they have become accustomed to relying on ELC technology for all ATP events and most WTA tournaments.
But some fans and pundits were disappointed with the move, believing the tradition of line judges should have been upheld at a venue steeped in history.
The absence of line judges was felt for the first time on the opening day of the Championships in which defending champion Carlos Alcaraz survived a huge scare and seven Brits progressed to the second round.
McEnroe was known for clashing with line judges, famously shouting ‘You cannot be serious!’ at an umpire following a disputed call at Wimbledon in 1981.
The American tennis icon, who won Wimbledon three times, believes ELC is ‘preferable’ to line judges but admits the latter will be ‘missed’ by spectators.
‘I had an obviously long history with linesmen, but if they have electronic equipment that works, that’s preferable,’ McEnroe told BBC.
‘As fast as the balls are now being hit, to expect human beings to be able to get everyone right is a big ask, even for someone who complained a lot about it.
How does Electronic Line Calling work?
Electronic line calling uses cameras, computers and sensors to track the ball’s trajectory – similar systems are used in cricket with Hawk-Eye and the Decision Review System.
The ATP now uses the technology across all events, while it is becoming increasingly common in WTA events.
A computerised voice shouts ‘out’ when the ball is deemed to be out by ELC.
Former British number one Tim Henman believes it would have been ‘very bizarre’ for Wimbledon not to adopt the new technology this year.
‘When you look at the technology within the sport, every event on the ATP Tour is going to have electric line calling this year,’ he said in a roundtable which Metro attended.
‘If Wimbledon took a decision to keep line judges I think that would have looked very bizarre at just one event.
‘Do I wish I’d had Electronic Line Calling at Wimbledon? Yes, I do. Actually, I’d have less white hair, and I might have a little more hair and I would have wasted less energy on that.
‘Maybe I would have been more boring and I wouldn’t have been here [as a pundit], speaking to you now, and I wouldn’t have been commentating. So I got to look at the bright side.
‘But there’s something in the interaction that you miss, I believe, and there’s something about that that I think people will miss.
‘But it’s also nice to know if, in fact, it’s accurate, and hopefully it’s 100 per cent accurate, or 99.9 per cent.
‘You would hate to find out later that a call that was made on match point was not accurate, that would be truly infuriating.’
Explaining the development last October, Wimbledon chief executive Sally Bolton said: ‘The decision to introduce Live Electronic Line Calling at The Championships was made following a significant period of consideration and consultation.
‘Having reviewed the results of the testing undertaken at The Championships this year, we consider the technology to be sufficiently robust and the time is right to take this important step in seeking maximum accuracy in our officiating.
‘For the players, it will offer them the same conditions they have played under at a number of other events on tour.
‘We take our responsibility to balance tradition and innovation at Wimbledon very seriously.
‘Line umpires have played a central role in our officiating set-up at The Championships for many decades and we recognise their valuable contribution and thank them for their commitment and service.’
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