Former British tennis player Tim Henman has slammed players' complaints, calling them “utter garbage” after Emma Raducanu and Jack Draper both complained about the electronic line calling at Wimbledon.
The All-England Club was forced to issue an apology after an embarrassing mishap saw a member of staff turn off the system, leading to points not being called as out and leading to a four-minute delay of the game.
This is not the first time issues have been raised with the system, as last week both British No1’s questioned the new technology.
Both have questioned the accuracy of the system, as well as defending champion Carlos Alcaraz.
Tim Henman has been very critical of players who speak out against the new technology
PA
However, BBC analyst Henman, who is also an All England Club committee member, fired back, stating: “The narrative around players questioning the accuracy of the calling is just utter garbage. I was commentating on some of those matches, and when you see it in real time, you sort of think: ‘Oh, I'd like to see that one again.
“And then when you go back, as I've done, and look at them in slow motion. They are on the outside edge of the line, they hit the line. You can sometimes see even that little puff of white chalk, whatever it is.
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“I rewatched incidents from when Jack and Emma were playing, and the Alcaraz one, I remember I saw that one on the baseline, and then Alcaraz sat down at the change of ends, and he had a real talk to the umpire.”
Henman did defend the players on the court, understanding the players are unable to see a replay: “And then we went to a different camera. We went much higher. And then you see the shot, and you see it in slow motion, and it's on the back edge, there's a puff of white. It's the correct call, but I get it from a player's point of view because you're out there. It's happening quickly.”
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Neither Jack Draper or Emma Raducanu are fans of the new system
PADraper and Raducanu both mentioned in post-match interviews that they did not agree with the system. Draper claimed: “I don't think it's 100 per cent accurate, in all honesty.”, while Raducanu argued that during her defeat a shot was “for sure out” and added: “It's kind of disappointing, the tournament here, that the calls can be so wrong.”
Henman continued to defend the system, adding: “This is technology that's been around for a long, long time. It's a Hawkeye version when we had line judges. So this is an enhanced version.
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“So is the technology accurate?
"Absolutely, 100% so then when you move to the Sonay Kartal element, and there's been a statement from the club, that's human error, that is someone that has un-clicked a box, and so therefore, the system is deactivated.
"So if it's not activated, it's not going to work, and it didn't work. So they're two totally separate situations.
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Reuters“We have the technology, let's use it. And we've been using it in the sport, and it's a great addition, because the ball is traveling around 140 miles an hour it's really difficult to call the lines.
"And if you've got the technology, why get it wrong if you can get it right. The conversation from the players it's rubbish.”
The All-England Club has announced changes to be in place to not allow a repeat of Sunday’s incident, meaning the system will not be able to be turned off during games.
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