Wimbledon faced a major blunder when its latest technology failed at the worst possible moment. During the fourth-round match between Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Sonay Kartal, the electronic line-calling system broke down, sparking huge controversy.
Wimbledon organizers have issued formal apologies to the players and vow not to repeat this kind of error involving the Hawk-Eye system. While they attributed the incident to human error during operations, Rennae Stubbs also shared her thoughts.
‘Machines Call Lines Better Than ’Humans’– Rennae Stubbs Over Recent Hawk-Eye Controversy at Wimbledon 2025
For the first time this year, Wimbledon replaced its human line judges with the Hawk-Eye automated line-calling system. But during Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova’s match against Sonay Kartal on Sunday, Jul. 6, the new system glitched and went dark.
The Hawk-Eye system was introduced to reduce human error and ensure more precise and accurate line calls. It uses a network of cameras with computer vision to track tennis balls in real-time. When the ball lands out, a pre-recorded voice loudly says, “Out.” If the ball is in, there’s no call, and play continues.
At 4-4 in the opening set, Kartal hit a backhand that was clearly out by several inches, but Hawk-Eye didn’t make a call. With no intervention from the system, chair umpire Nico Helwerth decided to order a replay of the point, even though video replays later confirmed the ball was out.
Instead of awarding Pavlyuchenkova the point, the officials made them replay it. That gave Kartal a chance to break serve and go up 5-4. Although the Russian lost that game, she eventually regrouped and won the match, beating the Brit in straight sets, 7-6(3), 6-4.
Following the significant disruption during the round of 16 match, Wimbledon organizers have issued an apology. A spokesperson for the All England Club said, “In this instance, there was a human error, and as a consequence, we have fully reviewed our processes and made the appropriate changes.”
“We have apologized to the players involved,” they added.
‘Human error’ – Wimbledon sorry over missed line calls https://t.co/FTYiKA3kD1
— BBC News (UK) (@BBCNews) July 7, 2025
Following the recent controversy surrounding the electronic line-calling system and some questionable umpiring decisions, former world No. 1 in doubles, Rennae Stubbs, weighed in on the issue in a post on X (formerly known as Twitter) the next day.
“The malfunction of the line call yesterday on center court was potentially terrible for Pavs, but she won the the set thank god & the match. But for those saying we should have the linesman back because of it, are way short sighted. Much like a bad call this was human error,” she wrote.
The malfunction of the line call yesterday on center court was potentially terrible for Pavs, but she won the the set thank god & the match. But for those saying we should have the linesman back because of it, are way short sighted. Much like a bad call this was human error
— Rennae Stubbs ♈️ (@rennaestubbs) July 7, 2025
Stubbs expressed her strong support for the electronic line-calling system, saying it’s “better.” She added:
“Someone didn’t check the necessary protocols before the point started. It was a mistake that will be rectified going forward. This system is 100% better for the players. They will learn from this & make it even better. Machines call lines better than humans, so let’s just chill.”
Someone didn’t check the necessary protocols before the point started. It was a mistake that will be rectified going forward. This system is 100% better for the players. They will learn from this & make it even better. Machines call lines better than humans so let’s just chill.
— Rennae Stubbs ♈️ (@rennaestubbs) July 7, 2025
Next, Pavlyuchenkova will take on 13th-seeded American Amanda Anisimova in the quarterfinals of the 2025 Wimbledon Championships.
