Wimbledon in chaos: AI makes a mistake and the tennis players rebel
On the perfect lawns of Wimbledon , where every millimeter counts and tradition is sacred, an unexpected revolution has erupted this year. For the first time in the history of tennis's most prestigious tournament, AI has replaced the linesmen . The result? Chaos, protests, and players looking at the cameras with the same anger they reserved for their opponents.
Tennis Players Revolt: AI Fails at WimbledonBritish tennis star Emma Raducanu was the first to publicly explode. During her match, the artificial intelligence called in a ball that to everyone's eyes looked spectacularly out. The images on TV confirmed the suspicions: the AI had made a mistake, and Raducanu had to continue playing a point she had already won.
The system is called ELC (Electronic Line Calling) and is designed to be more accurate than humans. In theory. Jack Draper, Britain's number 1, did not mince words: "I don't think the technology is 100% accurate."
The most embarrassing moment came during the match between Sonay Kartal and Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. The ball clearly went out, but the AI didn’t make any calls. Total silence. The umpire had to stop the game and replay the point because the system had “lost” the ball. Wimbledon apologized, calling it “ human error ”… Ironic, considering that technology was supposed to eliminate human error.
The silence that confuses the championsBut the problems go beyond simple miscalculations. Ben Shelton found himself having to speed up his match because the AI system was about to stop working due to the fading sunlight. Other players complained that they couldn’t hear the new automated speaker system .
The situation becomes dire for players with hearing impairments . Without the hand gestures of human linesmen, one deaf player said she couldn’t tell when she had won a point. Technology that was supposed to be more inclusive turned out to be a barrier.
The All England Club's response The response from the organization was not long in coming. Debbie Jevans , president of the All England Club , responded to the criticisms of Raducanu and Draper: When we had line judges, we were constantly asked why we didn't use the electronic call, because it's more accurate.
The problem is not new in the world of tennis. In April, Alexander Zverev had already criticized the same system by posting a photo on Instagram showing a ball called in when it was clearly out.
The Price of Automation (Which Isn't Perfect)The truth is that artificial intelligence , used to completely replace humans, can create more problems than it solves. Even Klarna , which had bet everything on automation, had to change its mind and go back to hiring humans for VIP customer service.
On the courts of Wimbledon , where every point can be worth a career, the pure AI experiment is showing all its limits.
Punto Informatico
