Electronic Line Calling malfunction during match between Taylor Fritz and Karen Khachanov blamed on ball boy by Wimbledon officials

There have been several advocates of the latest electronic line calling system implemented at the 2025 Wimbledon Championships. However, the new format is not very popular among tennis players, as another malfunction occurred during the quarterfinal match between Taylor Fritz and Karen Khachanov.

These are the first Championships without human judges, and organizers at SW19 were forced to apologize after a point had to be replayed when the technology was accidentally deactivated. A rally between Fritz and Khachanov had to be replayed after an electronic "fault" call interrupted play.

Wimbledon officials put the blame on ball boy

The umpire stopped play, announcing: “We will replay the point due to a malfunction. The system is now working.” Following the conclusion of the match that Fritz won in four sets, the All England Club then explained that movement by a ball boy on Court One had prevented the Electronic Line Calling system from starting, leading it to label Fritz’s forehand as the serve which went over the service line and was called out.

"The player’s service motion began while the BBG was still crossing the net and therefore the system didn’t recognize the start of the point." said the Wimbledon spokesperson. "As such the Chair Umpire instructed the point be replayed."

Khachanov gave his opinion on the issue after the match, revealing he was not a fan of the Electronic Line Calling system and was in fact an advocate for human line judges.

"To be honest, I'm more for line umpires, to be honest," said the Russian. "I don't know. You feel a little bit court too big, too alone without line umpires. At the same time looks like AI and electronic line calls has to be very precise and no mistakes, but we've seen a couple. That's questionable why this is happening. Is just like error of the machine or what's the reason?"

Nonetheless, Fritz advances to the semifinals, where he faces two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz on Friday.