Wimbledon organisers have issued a formal apology after a technical glitch deactivated the electronic line-calling system on Centre Court during a key fourth-round match, leading to three missed calls in a single game.
Russian player Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova expressed frustration after a backhand from her opponent, Sonay Kartal, landed long but was not called out. Believing the point was over, Pavlyuchenkova stopped playing, only for the chair umpire, Nico Helwerth, to halt play and spark confusion.
Initially, the All England Club attributed the issue to “human error.” However, a later statement clarified that the malfunction occurred due to a “deactivation in error on part of the server’s side of the court for one game.”
As a result, three calls were missed on that side, two of which Helwerth called manually, unaware that the system had failed.
The most controversial moment occurred when Pavlyuchenkova felt a game had been “stolen” from her due to the missed out call.
“We have apologised to the players involved,” said a spokesperson for the All England Club. The organisers stressed that the incident was isolated and that measures are being taken to prevent a recurrence.
