Play at Wimbledon was brought to an unexpected halt during the match between Britain's Sonay Kartal and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova when the tournament's new electronic line calling technology failed to register an obviously out ball.
The incident occurred with Pavlyuchenkova serving at advantage in a 4-4 game during the first set.
Kartal struck a forehand that landed approximately a foot beyond the baseline, yet the automated system failed to make any call.
German umpire Nico Helwerth immediately intervened, calling "stop, stop" before informing spectators: "Ladies and gentleman we are going to check the system is up and running because there was no audio call for the ball on the baseline."
Play at Wimbledon was brought to an unexpected halt during the match between Britain's Sonay Kartal and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova when the tournament's new electronic line calling technology failed to register an obviously out ball
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The umpire was then forced to make an emergency call to tournament supervisors for guidance on how to proceed.
Pavlyuchenkova expressed frustration with the situation when play resumed, questioning the fairness of the proceedings.
"I don't know if it's in or it's 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," the Russian player told the umpire at the change of ends.
Today's malfunction represents the latest controversy surrounding Wimbledon's decision to implement electronic line calling for the first time this year, replacing human line judges entirely.
The system has faced mounting criticism throughout the tournament, with several high-profile players questioning its accuracy and reliability after experiencing questionable calls during their matches.
The technology has drawn sharp criticism from several prominent players this week, including British stars Emma Raducanu and Jack Draper, as well as world number three Carlos Alcaraz.
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Raducanu voiced her concerns following her defeat to Aryna Sabalenka on Friday, stating: "That call was for sure out. It's kind of disappointing that the calls can be so wrong, but for the most part they've been OK."
She revealed this wasn't an isolated incident, adding: "I've had a few in my other matches, too, that have been very wrong. Hopefully they can fix that."
The accumulating complaints suggest widespread player dissatisfaction with the new system's performance during its debut at the Championships.
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Replay the point because the electronic line calling system missed this return from Sonay Kartal being out.
— edgeAI (@edgeAIapp) July 6, 2025
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova thought she held for 5-4.
Kartal serving for the set at 5-4 now …
Ball was clearly out but a lot. pic.twitter.com/Ck1uh7eQot
All England Club chair Debbie Jevans mounted a strong defence of the electronic system on Saturday, highlighting the irony of player complaints.
"It's funny, isn't it, because when we did have linesmen, we were constantly asked why we didn't have electronic line calling because it's more accurate, like they do on the rest of the tour," Jevans said.
Sonay Kartal is hoping to make the quarter-finals of Wimbledon
REUTERSShe emphasised that the change came at the players' request: "The players wanted it because they were asking us, why do we have linesmen? And now we have it in situ.
"We have to think of innovation and we're just moving with what the players expect."
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