Taylor Fritz was visibly frustrated during his Wimbledon quarterfinal match against Karen Khachanov, not long after expressing his annoyance with the tournament's curfew rules. This time, the source of his ire was a glitch in the Electronic Line Calling (ELC) system, which has been a recurring point of contention throughout the 2025 tournament.
The incident occurred during the first game of the fourth set, with Fritz leading 6-3, 6-4, 1-6. As Khachanov prepared to hit a forehand, the ELC system suddenly blared a "Fault" call, disrupting the point. Fritz had missed his first serve at 15-0, and while the system correctly called it a fault, the second serve landed in, and three shots were played before the erroneous interruption occurred. "What was that?" BBC commentator Todd Woodbridge exclaimed. His colleague, John Lloyd, chimed in, "The electronic line system has jumped the gun because that serve wasn't 121mph, that was the second serve".
Chair umpire Louise Azemar-Engzell was forced to stop play and order a replay of the point. She made an emergency phone call to reset the system, while television cameras captured Fritz's visible frustration with the delay. The umpire then announced to the crowd: "Ladies and gentlemen, we will replay the last point due to a malfunction. The system is now working". Khachanov won the replayed point and broke Fritz's serve, but the American quickly recovered, securing a win in a tiebreak to advance to the semifinals against Carlos Alcaraz.
The All England Club later explained the malfunction, stating that "The player's service motion began while the BBG (ball boy/girl) was still crossing the net and therefore the system didn't recognise the start of the point". As a result, "the Chair Umpire instructed the point be replayed".
This is not the first time the ELC system has come under scrutiny at Wimbledon 2025. In a previous incident, a clear error by the system led to a delay during Sonay Kartal's fourth-round match against Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, with the mistake later attributed to human error. A ball that was clearly out was not called because cameras at Kartal's end had been switched off by an operator. Wimbledon officials have since taken steps to prevent a recurrence of this particular issue. "Following our review, we have now removed the ability for Hawk-Eye operators to manually deactivate the ball tracking," the All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) said in a statement to BBC Sport.
The ELC system, which replaced traditional line judges at the All England Club, has been a major talking point at Wimbledon, with players expressing varied opinions on the technology. Seven-time Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic remains supportive, stating, "I think that technology's probably more accurate and making less mistakes than a lines person". However, others, like Emma Raducanu and Jack Draper, have been critical. British doubles star Joe Salisbury suggested that eliminating line judges has altered the atmosphere of the sport. "It takes away the trust when you see some of the things that have happened," Salisbury told the i. "It's supposed to be way more accurate than the human eye,".
These incidents highlight the challenges of implementing new technology in a sport steeped in tradition. While the ELC system aims to improve accuracy and efficiency, its reliance on complex technology makes it vulnerable to glitches and errors. As Wimbledon continues, it remains to be seen whether these issues will be fully resolved and whether the ELC system will ultimately gain the full confidence of players and fans alike.
