World No. 50 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova commented on an umpire`s error during her Wimbledon fourth-round match against Sonay Kartal.
The electronic line-calling system malfunctioned at a score of 4-4, ad-in, when a shot from the British player landed clearly out. The chair umpire ordered the point to be replayed. As a result, the Russian lost the game, and Kartal served for the set.
Pavlyuchenkova ultimately won the match with a score of 7-6(3), 6-4.
– What did you talk about with the chair umpire after the match? Did he initiate the conversation to explain something to you?
– I can`t say for sure. I think he felt a bit awkward. Perhaps he decided he should have taken the initiative himself and called the shot out, because he told me he saw it was out. But I won the match, so I didn`t want to dwell on that topic and spoil the mood for everyone. I wanted to enjoy the moment – I won, I`m in the quarterfinals. Everything is fine now.
– Some players believe that umpires have deteriorated because they have so little to do now. Did this influence the situation today, where the umpire didn`t overrule the system despite an obvious out?
– I think it wasn`t easy for him either. Maybe he was afraid to take responsibility. But I believe that`s exactly why they are in the chair. Why do we need a chair umpire if not for this? Otherwise, we could completely do without them and automate everything. We are losing the charm of live human presence – for instance, the ball kids who weren`t there during COVID. Everything is becoming too robotic. Although, they issue penalties and warnings flawlessly – they react immediately to any reason. I would prefer them to pay more attention to lines and errors, not just that.
– There used to be 7-8 more people on court when there were line judges. Would you like to bring that back to feel more human presence on the court again?
– Yes, but you can ask Alena Ostapenko; she is a fierce opponent of electronic officiating. At first, it was funny, but then I started to understand her a bit. Sometimes when we play, I think: am I crazy, or was the ball out? But nothing happens, the system doesn`t react.
After that, I thought about Alena many times and that perhaps she is right. I saw a couple of matches in Miami – something happened there because the ball was literally in the tramlines. And the system didn`t call it out.
The chair umpire was confused again. It seems to me they just need a clear protocol for such situations. I think they get a bit lost. They start calling everyone. They don`t know what to do instead of making a concrete decision – for example, if the system isn`t working, they should take the initiative themselves and officiate. Maybe we should have a replay system like in football, Pavlyuchenkova said at the press conference.
Rupert Hartwell