The Wimbledon 2025 has just been entangled in a rare scandal when the technology system of automatic calling (ELC) is turned off in the match between the Russian tennis player, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and the British host player, Sonay Kartal. The incident caused Pavlyuchenkova to lose an important point and forced the organizers to apologize.
The incident occurred in the first set, when Pavlyuchenkova was serve with the advantage of 4-4. Kartal polished out clearly, but did not have any “out” call from the AI system. The referee Nico Helwerth confusedly called the referee to run, before notifying the system could not handle the last ball and asked to play again.
Kartal then won the break, making Pavlyuchenkova angry: “I don't know the shadow inside or out. But she's a local person, they want to say whatever they say.
After the match, referee Helwerth admitted to Pavlyuchenkova that he saw the ball out but “too afraid to decide”. The Russian player won the final 7-6, 6-4 but still expressed his discontent with the way of running: “If the referee does not dare to make a decision, what exists for?
Wimbledon then confirmed that the ELC system was “disabled” on the pitch of Pavlyuchenkova in a game, resulting in 3 non -recognized ball phases, including controversial points. The referee is not informed that the system is turned off, so it should be processed according to the default process.
“This is a human fault. We apologize to two related players,” the organizers said. “We still believe in the accuracy of technology, but this system needs a smooth coordination between the operator, the referee and AI – what did not happen that day. We reviewed the process and made the necessary changes.”
The incident has bloated the controversy that who should completely replace the human arbitration in big matches. Pavlyuchenkova was not the first to complain – before that, Jelena Ostapenko also sarcastically this system. Wimbledon can trust in technology, but after this scandal, fans are skeptical about … people behind it.