Wimbledon’s HawkEye tech fails again, sparks pro-Brit bias backlash
The issue started Sunday when Wimbledon’s HawkEye line-calling system missed an obvious out ball by British player Sonay Kartal against Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova on Centre Court. The automated system didn’t call the ball out during a crucial game with the Russian serving.
Chair umpire Nico Helworth had to step in. He clearly saw the ball was out and tried to stop play, but the tech malfunction caused total confusion. After a four-minute delay, Helworth announced: 
‘The electronic line-calling system unfortunately was unable to track the last point so we will replay the point.’
Kartal saved the game point and broke Pavlyuchenkova’s serve, triggering a furious backlash from the Russian who accused officials of pro-Brit bias.
‘I don’t know if it’s in or it’s out,’ Pavlyuchenkova said.
‘How do I know? You cannot prove it. Because she is local, they can say whatever. You took the game away from me.’
Helworth defended the system and the rules:
‘The problem is that we have to go with the system. If they tell me it is up and running, there is nothing we can do. If they tell me they don’t have it, that’s the rule unfortunately.’
Pavlyuchenkova doubled down:
‘They stole the game from me. They stole it.’
The tech woes pile up after Emma Raducanu earlier slammed HawkEye as “dodgy” following her defeat. Raducanu questioned the accuracy during her match, saying:
‘It’s kind of disappointing, the tournament here, that the calls can be so wrong… No, I don’t [trust the tech]. I think the other players would say the same thing, there were some pretty dodgy ones but what can you do?’
Britain’s Jack Draper also questioned accuracy this week, pointing out chalk marks left by HawkEye that didn’t match reality.
Wimbledon pushed back. Debbie Jevans, chair of the All England Club, defended the AI system:
‘It’s funny, isn’t it, because when we did have linesmen, we were constantly asked why we didn’t have electronic line calling because it’s more accurate than they do the rest of the tour.’
‘The players wanted it because they were asking us, why do we have linesmen? Because of potential human error. And now we have it in situ.’
‘We have to think of innovation and we’re just moving with what the court and mostly what the players expect.’
After Sunday’s incident, Wimbledon issued this statement:
‘Due to operator error the system was deactivated on the point in question. The chair umpire followed the established process.’
The controversy highlights cracks in Wimbledon’s fully automated line-calling move. When HawkEye fails, umpires can’t overrule. That leaves players and fans frustrated with calls appearing inconsistent—and accusations flying about bias on Centre Court.
This ball from Sonay Kartal was not called out as HawkEye line judge malfunctioned on Sunday
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova couldn’t believe the decision and made her feelings known
The former French Open finalist appear to allege a pro-British bias from the line judging
German umpire Nico Helwerth made the decision to replay the point despite the clear error
Britain’s Kartal went on to save the game point and then break her Russian opponent
