WIMBLEDON have apologised for a failure of its all-electric hawkeye system during Sonay Kartal’s match against Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.
The Russian star was left fuming after a point was replayed when the hawkeye system failed to register a shot which had been out of bounds.
Kartal’s forehand at game point to Pavluchenkova in the ninth game of the opener was clearly out but there was no call from the electronic officials.
With both players perplexed, German umpire Nico Helwerth halted play for three minutes as TV replays showed the non-call was totally wrong.
Eventually, Helwerth announced: “The electronic system was unable to track the last point”, ordering a replay, which saw Pavlyluchenkova volley wildly and eventually lose serve again.
She then complained, “Because she is local, they can say whatever. You took the game away from me,” due to the failure.
And Wimbledon chiefs have since apologised for the issue and revealed what caused the problem.
A spokesperson for the All England Club commented: “Following the Pavlyuchenkova vs Kartal match, we have had the opportunity to undertake further investigation, including speaking to the players, Chair Umpire, Hawk-Eye operators and Review Official.
“It is now clear that the live ELC system, which was working optimally, was deactivated in error on part of the server’s side of the court for one game by those operating the system.
“In that time there were three calls not picked up by live ELC on the affected part of the court.
“Two of these were called by the Chair Umpire, who was not made aware that the system had been deactivated.
“Following the third, the Chair Umpire stopped the match and consulted with the Review Official. It was determined that the point should be replayed.
“The Chair Umpire followed the established process.
“We have apologised to the players involved.
“We continue to have full confidence in the accuracy of the ball tracking technology.
“The live ELC system relies on the Hawk-Eye operators, the Review Official and the technology to work in harmony. This did not happen.
“In this instance there was a human error and as a consequence we have fully reviewed our processes and made the appropriate changes.”
It came just two days after Emma Raducanu publicly called out the AI judging.
Kartal, the last British player in the women’s singles and making her Centre Court bow under a roof closed for daylight play for the first time this Championships, gave her all in a topsy-turvy roller-coaster of a match against Pavlyuchenkova.
Despite earning a set point in the opener, the 23-year-old Kartal was eventually out-hit as she lost 7-6 6-3 in two hours and two minutes.
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