27/6/2025–|Last update: 23:11 (Mecca time)
In a technological revolution that might move to the rest of the games, the General Club of England decided to abandon the referees of the Airlines in the Wimbledon Tennis Championship (one of the Grand Slam) and the use of technology with the world’s appetite for artificial intelligence, but human referees hope to continue playing a major role.
The championship has always respected the norms and traditions throughout its 148 -year -old history, but it is impossible to resist technological progress, as the tournament uses an electronic system to determine whether the ball exceeded the stadium’s borders instead of the referees of the lines who wear elegant clothes when the tournament starts on Monday.
It was decided to reduce the number of referees in the championship from about 300 to 80, who will work “assistants for matches”, that is, they support the main referees and interfere in the event of the disruption of the electronic system (technology) that depends on more than 450 cameras – in any of the 18 stadiums used.
The British Tennis Association said that the new position, which will be adopted in the events that use the direct electronic system, provides a new way for rulers interested in this role.
“Although this development led to a decrease in the total arbitration days of the referees of the fonts, the influence was partially compensated by the establishment of an assistant position (referee) the match,” the association said.
The association indicated that the line of calligraphy will not have a role in the Wimbledon championships or the Union of Professional Tennis players, but there are opportunities available among them some of the competitions of the Professional Tennis Federation and the global tournaments of the International Tennis Federation.
The electronic system was used for the first time as a trial in the final championship of the next generation season of the Milan Tennis Federation in Milan in 2017, and was expanded on a broader scale during the Kofid-19 pandem
It also relied on the Australian Open and American Open championships on the electronic system, but the French Open Championship did not support this change despite the availability of technology for sand stadiums, as the football fingerprint helps referees in making their decisions.
The electronic system has great popularity
The electronic system is very popular with the players even if some, among them the world number one, Arena Spalinka and Alexander Zverev, who reached the final three times in the Grand Slam, did not believe decisions during the last sand stadium season.
But the championships that depend on the human eye are not completely immune to the controversial decisions, and it is likely to take the move by the General Club of England, which came after extensive tests last year, to raise the ire of some.
The British Tennis Association said it understood the decision amid changes in arbitration worldwide and expressed its commitment to the continued development of referees in the country in the future.
“We are working with the British Tennis Association to develop a joint strategy that ensures the possibility of maintaining referees within sports, the possibility of appointing new referees, and supporting the arbitration community through changes,” the association said.
She said, but the executive president of the General Club of England, Sally Bolton, said that a number of referees realized that the change was coming.
“It is the time to go ahead. We fully appreciate the commitment made by the referees of the championships for many years,” Bolton added.
“A large number of them return in new roles … so we are really happy with the involvement of many of them in organizing the championship,” she added.
