Wimbledon’s Hawk-Eye tech flubs critical line call in Pavlyuchenkova vs Kartal match
The All England Club’s AI-powered Hawk-Eye Live system stumbled during Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova’s singles match against Sonay Kartal at Wimbledon. For the first time ever, line judges were replaced by this tech in the 2025 competition. But it failed at a key moment on court.
At 4-4, game point, Kartal’s shot went clearly long. Hawk-Eye didn’t make the call. Play paused awkwardly. Umpire Nico Helwerth gave an automated “STOP STOP” before halting the match. 
Tennis rules say if line-calling tech fails, the chair umpire must decide. If unsure, the point is replayed. Helwerth called for a system check, then had the point replayed live.
Fans and commentators groaned. The ball was visibly out. Pavlyuchenkova voiced frustration straight after.
"I don’t know if it’s in or out. How do I know? How can you prove it? You took the game away from me … They stole the game from me. They stole it."
Kartal won that game, taking a 5-4 lead. Pavlyuchenkova won the match 7-6(7-3), 6-4 but kept criticizing the tech.
"I expected a different decision," Pavlyuchenkova said post-match.
"I just thought also the chair umpire could take initiative, and that’s why he’s there for sitting on the chair, and he also saw it out."
"I think we’re losing a little a bit of the charm of actually having human being ball boys. During COVID, we didn’t have ball boys and then it just becomes a little bit weird and robot-oriented."
The All England Club blamed human error, not AI:
"Due to operator error the system was deactivated on the point in question. The chair umpire followed the established process."
Hawk-Eye uses 10 cameras capturing 60 images per second. Still, reliance on automation without checks caused confusion and controversy on court.
Watch the controversial moment here: BBC footage.
