Raducanu does not trust ‘dodgy’ electronic line calls

Emma Raducanu says she does not trust the electronic line-calling at Wimbledon, pointing to “dodgy” calls in her defeat by world number one Aryna Sabalenka.

The Briton was particularly unhappy when a shot from the Belarusian was judged to have clipped the line midway through the first set.

“That call was for sure out,” Raducanu said after a closely-fought 7-6 (8-6) 6-4 loss where she went toe-to-toe with the top seed for much of the match.

“It’s kind of disappointing that the calls can be so wrong, but for the most part they’ve been OK. I’ve had a few in my other matches, too, that have been very wrong. Hopefully they can fix that. “

Wimbledon replaced line judges this year with the technology, which is being used at many other top-level tournaments, including the US Open and Australian Open.

Asked if she trusted the electronic line calls, Raducanu replied: “No, I don’t – I think the other players would say the same thing, there were some pretty dodgy ones but what can you do? “

Raducanu is not the only player to question the accuracy of the system, with British men’s number one Jack Draper saying after his second-round defeat by Marin Cilic on Thursday: “I don’t think it’s 100% accurate, in all honesty.

“A couple of the ones today it showed a mark on the court. There’s no way the chalk would have showed. “

Debbie Jevans, chair of the All England Club, said she was confident in the accuracy of the electronic line calling and in the decision to bring it in.

“It’s funny, isn’t it, because when we did have linesmen, we were constantly asked why we didn’t have electronic line calling because it’s more accurate than they do the rest of the tour,” she told BBC Sport on Saturday.

“The players wanted it because they were asking us, why do we have linesmen? Because of potential human error. And now we have it in situ.

It is not just the accuracy of the automated ‘out’ calls that have been questioned this week, with players saying they have also been too quiet.

Raducanu said she had not been able to hear all of the calls during her match against Sabalenka on Centre Court, where the roof was closed and the partisan fans were noisy during a gripping encounter.

“Some of them were a little bit quiet or dulled out by the crowd,” she added. “But overall you kind of have an idea if the ball was in or out. And then hope that Hawk-Eye calls it the same. “

Sabalenka agreed, adding: “It was quite loud and I think people also weren’t sure if it’s in or out. So there was a little pause and then they figured [it out] by the scoreboard. “

Jevans said the volume of the calls could be turned up but that there were no plans to do so at present.

“It’s a balance because if the stadiums full or not full, it makes a difference,” she said. “I know the team is looking at it but haven’t yet made a decision to increase the volume. Yesterday I could hear the calls. “

When there were human line judges, players could challenge the calls by using electronic reviews, which were shown on a big screen. Now the screens show replays of close calls but they can not be overruled.

Raducanu said she thought the Hawk-Eye electronic line calling system “was way more accurate back in the day when there were lines judges and you could challenge”.