Why are line judges no longer used at Queen’s?

You might have noticed something missing from the courts at Queen’s Club this year – where have the line judges gone?

A familiar sight around the edges of the courts for decades, the men and women who shout “out” and “fault” have been replaced by electronic line calling.

Electronic line calling uses cameras, computers and sensors to track a ball and is used by tennis umpires to judge whether a ball is in or out.

This season the men’s tour – the ATP – has adopted the technology across all of its events, while the WTA – the women’s tour – has also been using it at many of its events.

A combined men’s and women’s event, such as Queen’s, offers an easy opportunity for the technology to be used across the two tournaments.

The ATP said the move to electronic line calling was to “optimise accuracy and consistency across tournaments, match courts and surfaces”.

Getty Images

Get in touch

What about Wimbledon?

Wimbledon will end its 147-year use of line judges this summer, relying solely on electronic line calling.

The technology will be in place for qualifying and the main draw.

Roland Garros is the only Grand Slam tournament that still uses line judges and players are not allowed to use electronic replays to challenge human decision.

The French Open want to maintain traditions synonymous with the 134-year-old tournament and are unwilling to lose human control.

What is Ask Me Anything?

Ask Me Anything is a service dedicated to answering your questions.

We want to reward your time by telling you things you do not know and reminding you of things you do.

The team will find out everything you need to know and be able to call upon a network of contacts including our experts and pundits.

We will be answering your questions from the heart of the BBC Sport newsroom, and going behind the scenes at some of the world’s biggest sporting events.

More questions answered…

Related topics

  • Tennis

Kartal wins and Raducanu & Boulter team up as women return to Queen’s

To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.

Britain’s Sonay Kartal secured the biggest win of her career as women’s tennis returned to Queen’s Club for the first time since 1973.

The 23-year-old secured a superb 6-1 3-6 6-3 win over world number 16 Daria Kasatkina of Australia to start her grass-court season on a high.

It is the first time a women’s tournament has been held at the iconic venue since 1973, when Olga Morozova lifted the trophy.

Queen’s has been a mainstay on the men’s calendar and a WTA 500 event has been added this year in an attempt to raise the profile of the women’s game and increase the visibility of the sport.

Fellow Briton Jodie Burrage missed the chance to set up a meeting with doubles partner Kartal in the second round as she lost 6-4 3-6 6-4 to eighth seed Amanda Anisimova.

World number 162 Burrage started well but struggled in an error-strewn second set, before battling back from 3-0 down in the decider.

However, mistakes at crucial moments allowed world number 15 Anisimova to regain her advantage and and ultimately serve out the match.

Meanwhile, British pair Katie Boulter and Emma Raducanu overcame China’s Jiang Zinyu and Wu Fang-hsien 6-4 6-2 on their maiden outing as a doubles partnership on a packed Court One.

Britain’s Kartal has enjoyed a remarkable rise in the past 12 months, moving from outside the top 250 to a career-high of 50 in the world.

Cheered on by a packed partisan crowd, Kartal dominated the opening set against Kasatkina before the Australian bounced back in the second set to level proceedings.

But it was an impressive response from the Briton, who beamed after slamming down a forehand winner to seal victory.

“The nerves hit me a little but to be able to play on this court with you guys cheering me on it was a super special moment,” said Kartal.

“The last few months I’ve played bigger tournaments so I’m handling the bigger occasions better.

‘Scrap that, we’re going for the Wimbledon title’

Fans were treated to an appearance from Sir Andy Murray before the action kicked off, with the club’s main court renamed the Andy Murray Arena in honour of the five-time champion.

Murray spoke on court before hitting a few balls – later apologising for his “diabolical” tennis.

Getty Images

But while crowds had gathered early to see three-time Grand Slam champion Murray, it was the more intimate court one where fans queued for over an hour to see Boulter and Raducanu team up.

The pair were full of smiles as they comfortably came through their opening-round match thanks to some powerful baseline shots from Boulter and clever put-aways from Raducanu, who was playing only her second WTA Tour doubles match.

Asked if they would pair up again for Wimbledon, Raducanu gave a diplomatic answer, saying: “We haven’t spoken about it.

“It kind of happened spontaneously but it went pretty well. We’re just going to keep trying to do as best as we can this week and take it from there.”

To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.

That friendly rapport between the two translated on court, with the pair laughing and high-fiving between points.

Raducanu even had a chat with the crowd while filling up her water bottle, such is the closeness of the stand to the players’ chairs.

Backed by a capacity crowd of 1,000, the British number one and two complimented each other well.

“Sometimes on the smaller courts you get a bigger feel for the match because it’s more intimate and you hear the support more. I think it puts a really nice feel to it,” Raducanu added.

It also gave the two a chance to play on the grass before they begin their singles campaigns on Tuesday.

Raducanu faces Spain’s Cristina Bucsa before Boulter takes on Australian qualifier Ajla Tomljanovic.

Related topics

  • Tennis

What are the prospects for peace in the war in Ukraine?

Attacks have intensified again while Russian forces gain more territory.

Attacks by both Russia and Ukraine have intensified in recent weeks, with little sign that Europe’s largest conflict since World War II is nearing an end.

So, what are the strengths and weaknesses of each side and their alliances?

And what are the chances of peace?

Presenter: Elizabeth Puranam

Guests:

Peter Zalmayev – Executive director at the Eurasia Democracy Initiative

Alexander Bratersky – Independent journalist and political analyst

Italy cuts ties with Israeli spyware firm Paragon amid surveillance scandal

Italy has terminated its contracts with Israeli spyware company Paragon, after revelations that the surveillance technology was used against critics of the government – including journalists and migrant rescue workers – prompted political uproar and calls for a full investigation.

The move was confirmed in a parliamentary report released on Monday by the intelligence oversight committee COPASIR, which found that Italy’s intelligence services had initially paused, then cancelled their use of Paragon’s spyware.

The timeline of the contract’s end remains unclear, especially since Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s government had told parliament in February that the deal was still active.

Both the Italian government and Paragon confirmed the termination, but offered diverging narratives.

The controversy has provoked condemnation from opposition parties and media freedom advocates. Italy’s journalists’ union, FNSI, urged prosecutors to determine whether state surveillance laws were broken.

Paragon’s software was allegedly used to target individuals in Italy, including a journalist and members of the migrant rescue organisation Mediterranea, which has frequently criticised Meloni’s right-wing government.

Meta-owned WhatsApp revealed in January that the spyware had been deployed against dozens of users globally — including some in Italy.

Italian government denies illegality

The government has admitted that seven Italians were targeted, but maintains that any surveillance was lawful and overseen by a public prosecutor. It denied engaging in illicit spying and said it had tasked the National Cybersecurity Agency with reviewing the matter.

One of those allegedly targeted, Francesco Cancellato, editor of investigative outlet Fanpage, had claimed to the Reuters news agency and others that he was placed under surveillance.

But COPASIR said it found no evidence supporting the claim. Paragon, in a statement to Fanpage, said it halted services to Italy once Cancellato’s case came to light and claimed the Italian government refused a joint probe into the matter.

Meloni’s office has declined to comment. Meanwhile, opposition lawmakers are demanding that the government explain its role in parliament.

The report also revealed that Italy’s intelligence services had authorised the use of Paragon’s spyware in 2023 and 2024 to monitor a small number of individuals in connection with criminal investigations, including suspected “terrorism”, people smuggling and espionage.

COPASIR defended the surveillance of Mediterranea members Luca Casarini and Beppe Caccia, saying it was not due to their activism but their suspected links to irregular migration. The spyware’s use on them was approved by Undersecretary Alfredo Mantovano, Meloni’s top intelligence adviser, on September 5, 2024.

Mantovano did not respond to requests for comment.

Jodie Comer reveals very unusual ways he chooses new roles after eye-opening moment

Killing Eve legend Jodie Comer has revealed the usual way she chooses new roles, admitting she follows her instincts nowadays as she prepares to tour with a play

Jodie says she gets emotional more than feeling rage these days (Image: Scandebergs/GQ)

Jodie Comer says she relies on her instincts when choosing new roles to play. The actor, 32, will be in a touring version of the play Prima Facie and stars in new post-apocalyptic horror sequel 28 Years Later.

Looking back on her work in Free Guy, a 2021 action comedy starring Ryan Reynolds, she says it gave her a moment of clarity about her career: “It was my first film and I had the most amazing experience on that job – they were just the most gentle, inclusive, supportive people, and it was incredibly fun… But I realised, when I was coming home, Ah, there’s something I’m not feeling. I feel like I’m not stretching. Or not discovering. And I realised that it was the emotional part of it. I wasn’t exercising [that] part of myself.”

Speaking to GQ, she added: “I realised that’s actually where I get my fulfilment – trying to find those places. If the instincts aren’t there, if I’m not excited by it, then I just don’t want to go near it because then I’m pulling from an artificial place. It feels almost dishonest with myself.”

In 28 Days Later a virus called “rage” has obliterated the country. But in real life she struggles to summon up her own rage and it often turns to another emotion.

Jodie said: “I’ve realised my own [rage] just immediately goes to a very emotional place – my anger can so quickly go to tears. I think I swallow it as well,. I think, as women, we suppress it and that’s probably why I have trouble accessing it – I’ve done that so much that it feels kind of foreign, like I’m not quite sure where to pull it from.”

The actor, who is best known for playing Villanelle in BBC spy series Killing Eve previously starred in a run of Prima Facie in London’s West End in 2022. It follows the story of a barrister named Tessa, who specialises in defending men accused of sexual assault, and whose view of the legal system changes after she is sexually assaulted herself.

Article continues below
Jodie Comer GQ Cover
Jodie speaks to the new issues of GQ(Image: Scandebergs/GQ)

Speaking about the reaction to the play from men, she said: “I imagine it’s quite confronting, I don’t know. Maybe also, when they read what it’s about, they think, ‘well, that’s not something that’s directed at me’.

“I imagine, for a man, it will force them to look back at their own behaviour, which I imagine would be – or could be – potentially very uncomfortable. But (sexual assault) isn’t ‘a woman’s issue’, you know what I mean?”

She added that a male police officer who had visited the show wrote a letter to the production afterwards. Jodie said: “I don’t think I’ve had a deep, meaningful conversation with many men about the play, actually.

“I do know there was a male police officer that came in one night, and he wrote in to the production.

“He was kind of saying, ‘this is me – I see myself, and I recognise the kind of work that needs to be done as a police officer’.”

Article continues below

The actor, who is best known for playing Villanelle in BBC spy series Killing Eve, said many women had contacted the production after seeing it to share their personal stories.

Speaking about the interactions, she explained: “It’s so beautiful, and it’s so rare, for someone to look you in the eyes and share something of themselves, and there’s so much that isn’t said, but even in just the briefest of moments, it’s like, ‘that was me, or, I feel that’.”