Of the four Grand Slams that take place each year on the tennis calendar, perhaps the most traditional one is Wimbledon at the All England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club — it is the oldest of the four, after all.
However, the 138th edition of The Championships at Wimbledon has broken away from at least one of its longstanding traditions.
If you keep a keen eye on the action at Wimbledon as the tennis ball goes past a player and out of bounds on the grass court surface, you’ll notice there are no longer line judges standing near the lines.
Here’s why the 2025 Wimbledon Championship doesn’t have line judges on the courts:
Why does Wimbledon not have line judges?
A new change to the 2025 Wimbledon Championships was the removal of a line judge and the introduction of an electronic line-calling system. There is still a chair umpire used in the Grand Slam event.
“The decision to introduce live electronic line calling at The Championships was made following a significant period of consideration and consultation,” said Sally Bolton, chief executive of the All England Club, in an October statement.
“Having reviewed the results of the testing undertaken at The Championships this year, we consider the technology to be sufficiently robust and the time is right to take this important step in seeking maximum accuracy in our officiating. For the players, it will offer them the same conditions they have played under at a number of other events on tour.
“We take our responsibility to balance tradition and innovation at Wimbledon very seriously. Line umpires have played a central role in our officiating set-up at The Championships for many decades and we recognize their valuable contribution and thank them for their commitment and service.”
As noted by The Associated Press, Wimbledon’s decision to go away from a human line judge for this electronic line-calling system isn’t a first for Wimbledon and the All England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club to use technology. The tournament has used line-calling technology to call whether serves are in or out.
Here’s what it looks like on the baselines at a Wimbledon this season without line judges:
Do any Grand Slams in tennis have line judges?
Following Wimbledon’s move to electronic line calling, the only Grand Slam event on the tennis schedule that still uses a human line judge is the French Open.
‘I think we are right to keep our referees and line judges at Roland Garros,’ French Tennis Federation president Gilles Moretton told ESPN. ‘For Roland Garros, we want to keep our linesmen as long as the players agree with that.’