Wimbledon officials have issued an apology following an extraordinary technology failure that saw the electronic line-calling system switched off during a crucial moment in the fourth-round match between Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Britain's Sonay Kartal on Centre Court.
The malfunction occurred when a Kartal backhand sailed long but no "out" call was made by the automated system.
Pavlyuchenkova, who had stopped playing after seeing the ball miss the baseline, was on game point at the time.
Chair umpire Nico Helwerth halted play and, unaware the system had been deactivated, announced that the technology was "unable to track the last point", ordering the point to be replayed.
The incident occurred during Sonay Kartel's fourth-round loss to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova on Centre Court
ReutersKartal won the replayed point and went on to break serve for a 5-4 lead in the first set.
An investigation by the All England Club revealed that the live electronic line-calling system had been "deactivated in error on part of the server's side of the court for one game by those operating the system".
During this period, three calls on the affected side were not detected by the technology.
Helwerth, who had not been informed of the deactivation, managed to call two of them himself before the incident highlighted by Pavlyuchenkova came to light.
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Wimbledon apologised to both players for the error after the match
REUTERS
A Wimbledon spokesperson confirmed: "We have apologised to the players involved. We continue to have full confidence in the accuracy of the ball-tracking technology."
The club acknowledged that whilst the system itself was "working optimally", human error had caused the failure.
They have since "fully reviewed our processes and made the appropriate changes".
The Russian player did not hold back in her criticism, accusing officials of favouring the home player.
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"I don't know if it's something to do [with Kartal being] local. I think it's also difficult for [Helwerth]. He probably was scared to take such a big decision," Pavlyuchenkova said.
She told the umpire during the match: "You took the game away from me... they stole the game from me. They stole it."
Pavlyuchenkova argued that Helwerth should have made the call himself, stating: "That's why he's there. He also saw it out, he told me after the match."
Despite the controversy, Pavlyuchenkova recovered to win 7-6 (3) 6-4, and when asked how she would have felt had she lost, she joked: "I would just say that I hate Wimbledon and never come back here."
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Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova believed the umpire should have called the ball out, after claiming he admitted to her he had seen the ball go out of play
REUTERS
The incident has reignited concerns about the new technology amongst players.
Britain's Emma Raducanu has been vocal about her doubts, describing some calls as "dodgy" and expressing disappointment that "the calls can be so wrong".
Fellow Brit Jack Draper has also questioned the system's accuracy, whilst former Olympic champion Belinda Bencic revealed it has become a topic of discussion in the locker room, saying the technology at the tournament "is not correct".
Pavlyuchenkova suggested tennis should implement video reviews similar to football, telling BBC Sport: "On such a big event, I think it is necessary, since this isn't the first time this has happened.
"I think we are losing a little bit of the charm of actually having human beings."
This year marks the first time Wimbledon has introduced automated line-calling, replacing the traditional line judges who have been a fixture at the Championships for decades.
The technology has already been adopted at other major tournaments, including the US Open and Australian Open.
All England Club chair Debbie Jevans defended the decision, stating the technology had been brought in because "the players wanted it".
Some players have supported the system, with former world No1 Iga Swiatek saying she has had doubts but "has to trust" the calls.
Under the new system, players cannot challenge calls using electronic review as they could when line judges were present.
Video replays are also not used, leaving players entirely dependent on the automated technology's accuracy.
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