logo
Umpire given a rest while Wimbledon officials insist tech fail can't be repeated

Umpire given a rest while Wimbledon officials insist tech fail can't be repeated

Officials blamed human error for the incident at a crucial stage of the fourth-round match between Sonay Kartal and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, with the system inadvertently turned off and not flagging that a shot from the British player was out.
Pavlyuchenkova, who would have moved 5-4 ahead, was furious with umpire Nico Helwerth for ordering the point to be replayed rather than making the call himself, accusing him of stealing the game and the tournament of home bias.
German Helwerth, who had officiated at matches on each of the first seven days and is one of the sport's leading umpires, was notably absent on Monday, although organisers insisted it was a regular day off rather than a reaction to Sunday's events.
Wimbledon officials apologised to both players, and chief executive Sally Bolton said: 'It was important for us to to explain as much as we could at that point in time what we believed had happened, and to apologise to the players for it happening in the first place.
'We're deeply disappointed that this has happened in the Championships. It was a human error. The ball-tracking technology is working effectively.'
The system has replaced line judges for the first time this year and such a high-profile malfunction is hugely embarrassing for the All England Club.
Bolton refused to go into the details of how the error had happened, or to explain what safeguards had been put in place during a briefing with reporters on Monday morning.
'They stole the game from me' 😠
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova wasn't happy when #Wimbledon's electronic line-calling system failed ❌ pic.twitter.com/JA0WIYSccD
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) July 6, 2025
'I wasn't sat there, so I don't know what happened,' she said. 'It was clearly deactivated in error, because you wouldn't ordinarily deactivate a set of cameras mid-match intentionally.
'Once this happened, we did a full review of all of our systems and processes to check all of those kinds of things and to make sure that, both historically and moving forward, we have made the appropriate changes that we needed to make. So we're absolutely confident in the system.'
Organisers later clarified the changes that have been made, with a spokesman saying: 'Following our review, we have removed the ability for Hawk-Eye operators to manually deactivate the ball tracking. This error cannot now be repeated.'
Pavlyuchenkova, who went on to lose the game in question but won the match, was critical of Helwerth in her post-match press conference.
'I just thought also the chair umpire could take initiative,' said the Russian. 'That's why he's there sitting on the chair. He also saw it out, he told me after the match. He probably was scared to take such a big decision.'
Bolton cited a breakdown in communication between the review official and the umpire, with Helwerth unaware the system had not been working previously during the game.
It is also a big week in a different type of court for the All England Club, with a judicial review into the decision to grant planning permission for its expansion into neighbouring Wimbledon Park taking place at the High Court on Tuesday and Wednesday.
There has been vehement local opposition to the scheme, which will see 39 new courts, including an 8,000-seat show court, built on the site of a former golf club.
Wimbledon chair Debbie Jevans will be at the High Court on Tuesday, and Bolton said: 'We remain really confident that we'll make the progress we need to make.'
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Iga Swiatek fires back at her doubters by winning maiden Wimbledon title
Iga Swiatek fires back at her doubters by winning maiden Wimbledon title

Glasgow Times

time18 minutes ago

  • Glasgow Times

Iga Swiatek fires back at her doubters by winning maiden Wimbledon title

The Pole crushed first-time grand slam finalist Amanda Anisimova 6-0 6-0 in less than an hour on Centre Court, making it the most one-sided final for 114 years. Not since 1911, when Dorothea Lambert Chambers beat Dora Boothby, had a Wimbledon title been decided by such a scoreline, while the only other instance at a grand slam came in the French Open in 1988 when Steffi Graf beat Natasha Zvereva. A new Wimbledon champion is crowned 🇵🇱 Iga Swiatek defeats Amanda Anisimova 6-0, 6-0 to win the 2025 Ladies' Singles Trophy 🏆#Wimbledon — Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 12, 2025 Swiatek had slipped to eighth in the world rankings after a disappointing clay season by her extremely lofty standards, with the 24-year-old failing to win the French Open for the first time since 2021. 'We as public people and as athletes, we can't really react to everything what's going on,' said Swiatek, who served a one-month doping ban at the end of last season after taking contaminated medication. 'We've got to focus on ourselves. Obviously sometimes it's easier to do that, sometimes it's harder. For sure, the past months, how the media sometimes describe me – and I've got to say, unfortunately, Polish media, how they treated me and my team, it wasn't really pleasant. 'I hope they will just leave me alone and let me do my job because obviously you can see that we know what we are doing, and I have the best people around me. Iga Swiatek celebrates victory (Adam Davy/PA) 'I have already proved a lot. I know people want more and more, but it's my own process and my own life and my own career.' Swiatek maintained her unblemished record in grand slam finals, making it six titles and becoming the first Polish player, male or female, to win a Wimbledon singles trophy. By adding the grass-court title to her four French Open crowns and one US Open trophy she has also now won slams on all the surfaces. She had never previously been beyond the Wimbledon quarter-finals, and she said: 'It's something that is just surreal. I feel like tennis keeps surprising me, and I keep surprising myself. The Princess of Wales presents the Venus Rosewater Dish to Iga Swiatek (Andrew Matthews/PA) 'I think the fact that it's on grass, for sure it makes it more special, I would say, and more unexpected. So it feels like the emotions are bigger because, at Roland Garros, I know I can play well, and I know I can show it every year. Here, I wasn't sure of that. I also needed to prove that to myself.' Anisimova's comeback has been one of the stories of the fortnight, with the former teenage prodigy having stepped away from tennis for eight months in 2023 for mental health reasons. She came into the final off the back of a semi-final victory over Aryna Sabalenka but from the start appeared paralysed by nerves. Anisimova's serve deserted her and there were many more errors than winners off the ground. Amanda Anisimova failed to win a game (Adam Davy/PA) The crowd, who had paid more than £300 each per ticket, willed the American to find a foothold in the contest but Swiatek was utterly ruthless. Another treat for the Pole was receiving the trophy from the Princess of Wales. 'On court she just congratulated (me),' said Swiatek. 'She told me some nice stuff about the performance. Later on, I don't remember really because I was too overwhelmed. 'I didn't want to do any faux pas. I wanted to behave well. Overall the process of getting the trophy from Her Royal Highness was something surreal. Since I'm a kid, honestly I'm a big fan of the Royal family. It was amazing.'

Edgar Berlanga vs Hamzah Sheeraz LIVE RESULTS: Undercard ON NOW as Shakur Stevenson defends title before huge event
Edgar Berlanga vs Hamzah Sheeraz LIVE RESULTS: Undercard ON NOW as Shakur Stevenson defends title before huge event

The Sun

timean hour ago

  • The Sun

Edgar Berlanga vs Hamzah Sheeraz LIVE RESULTS: Undercard ON NOW as Shakur Stevenson defends title before huge event

ALL eyes will be on British star Hamzah Sheeraz as he goes head-to-head with Edgar Berlanga for a potential world title shot TONIGHT! Sheeraz, 26, is yet to taste defeat, but his most recent fight ended in disappointment as a controversial draw with WBC middleweight champion Carlos Adames cost him the belt. Meanwhile, battling Berlanga recently bounced back from his 2024 Canelo Alvarez loss in emphatic fashion by knocking out Jonathan Gonzalez-Ortiz in the first round. The huge undercard also includes WBC lightweight champ Shakur Stevenson, who takes on William Zepeda in what should be another exciting clash. 12th Jul 2025, 22:44 By Connor Greaves Tonight's card in full Some huge bouts will take place in the lead up to tonight's main event, here is the running order with the card set to begin at 11pm BST/6pm ET: Edgar Berlanga (23-1, 18 KO) vs Hamzah Sheeraz (21-0-1, 17 KO), super middleweights, 12 rounds Shakur Stevenson (23-0, 11 KO) vs William Zepeda (33-0, 27 KO), lightweights, 12 rounds - for Stevenson's WBC title Alberto Puello (24-0, 10 KO) vs Subriel Matias (22-2, 22 KO), super lightweights, 12 rounds - for Puello's WBC title David Morrell Jr (11-1, 9 KO) vs Imam Khataev (10-0, 9 KO), light heavyweights, 10 rounds Reito Tsutsumi (1-0, 0 KO) vs Michael Ruiz (2-7-1, 0 KO), lightweights, 4 rounds 12th Jul 2025, 22:41 By Connor Greaves Good evening and welcome to SunSport's live blog of Berlanga vs Sheeraz! The two super middleweights will headline The Ring III card tonight in New York. The winner of the blockbuster bout will move a step closer to a huge showdown with Canelo Alvarez. Tonight's huge bill also sees Shaktur Stevenson defend his WBC lightweight strap against William Zepeda.

Carlos Alcaraz gets a pizza the action with fans as defending Wimbledon champion dines out in London ahead of men's final clash at SW19
Carlos Alcaraz gets a pizza the action with fans as defending Wimbledon champion dines out in London ahead of men's final clash at SW19

Daily Mail​

time3 hours ago

  • Daily Mail​

Carlos Alcaraz gets a pizza the action with fans as defending Wimbledon champion dines out in London ahead of men's final clash at SW19

Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz loaded up on carbs the healthy way as he dined out with his team ahead of today's men's final at SW19. The 22-year-old Spanish star tucked into a hefty gluten-free, cheese-topped pizza in an Italian restaurant in south-west London on Friday night. Back-to-back Wimbledon winner Alcaraz's gluten-free diet is following in the footsteps of veteran Novak Djokovic, with the 24-time Grand Slam winner crediting it with transforming his performance. The diet is believed to reduce inflammation and boost energy levels. Despite his fame, Alcaraz is known for frequenting local neighbourhood restaurants – such as the Olive Garden in Southfields just down the road from the All England Club – wherever he plays. Dressed casually in grey Nike shorts and a white T-shirt, he swapped his trainers for trendy white Crocs emblazoned with charms spelling his nickname 'Carlitos' across both shoes. Arriving with an entourage of nine, Alcaraz was 20 minutes late for his table. Staff pulled down blinds near his corner table to give the star privacy. But he was happy to pose for pictures with fans, right, who wished him good luck for today's match as he left the restaurant at 11pm. Alcaraz faces world No 1 Jannik Sinner, who is looking to avenge his French Open defeat. Italian Sinner escaped a lengthy drugs ban last year after twice testing positive for steroids. Alcaraz is battling to join an elite club of men who have won the title three years in succesion, which at present includes only Bjorn Borg, Pete Sampras, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic. Even Alcaraz's hero Nadal's only won two Wimbledon crowns. Between 2003 to 2023, Roger Federer, Rafa Nadal and Novak Djokovic accumulated 66 Grand Slam titles between them. However, Djokovic's semi-final defeat is just the latest evidence that a changing of the guard has taken place, with Sinner and Alcaraz perhaps the next big rivalry to dominate the sport. Between them, Alcaraz and Sinner have shared the last six Grand Slam titles and their mesmeric clash last month in the longest-ever French Open final is being touted as one of the greatest of all time. The Spaniard came back from two sets down and saved three match points on his way to a fifth Grand Slam title, in the process taking his head-to-head record over Sinner to 8-4, including winning all of the last four. It was a painful defeat for world number one Sinner but he has not had to wait long to try to set the record straight. 'He is the favourite. He won here two times in a row. He's again in the final. It's very tough to beat him on grass but I like these challenges,' the 23-year-old Sinner said of Alcaraz after beating Djokovic to reach his first Wimbledon final. 'This is the second consecutive Grand Slam that we are in the final and playing each other, which is great from my side. I believe it's good for the sport.' Sinner's three Grand Slam titles have all come on hard courts, two in Melbourne and one in New York. The only other time they have met on grass was at Wimbledon in 2022 when Sinner won their last-16 clash in four sets. 'I expect that on Sunday, just to be on the limit, to be on the line,' the 22-year-old Alcaraz, who is on a 24-match winning streak, said. 'I just hope not to be five hours and a half on court again. But if have to, I will.'

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store