The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club has announced revolutionary changes in the officiating of the oldest Grand Slam tennis tournament, Wimbledon. According to AP News, starting in 2025, artificial intelligence will be used at Wimbledon to make calls on out-of-bounds and service faults. The line judges, who previously handled these decisions, were thanked for their significant contribution and dedicated service.

Sally Bolton, the club’s Chief Executive, commented on the decision: “We believe the technology is reliable enough, and it’s time to take this important step to ensure maximum accuracy in our officiating.” She added, “For players, it will create the same conditions they compete under at many other tournaments.” Bolton emphasized that Wimbledon carries the responsibility of maintaining a “balance between tradition and innovation” and expressed gratitude to the line judges for their years of service in the tournament.

Thus, from 2025, Wimbledon will join the Australian Open and US Open, where line judges were already replaced by electronic systems in 2021. The French Open will remain the only Grand Slam tournament where automatic officiating technologies have not yet been adopted.

Additionally, the All England Club announced a change in the scheduling of the women’s and men’s singles finals. They will now begin at 4:00 PM local time on the second Saturday and Sunday, following the doubles finals. Bolton noted that these changes are aimed at gradually building the climactic tension of the women’s and men’s singles finals, with the crowning of the champions taking place in front of the largest global audience possible.