Line judges get the boot as Wimbledon embraces the modern era, writes Grant Shub.
The 138th edition of Wimbledon will mark the introduction of artificial intelligence which replaces line judges.
Following tests at the 2024 tournament, the All England Lawn Tennis Club made the decision to apply live electronic calling to counteract human error.
Rising 20-year-old tennis star Isabella Kruger, who is the daughter of late 1995 Rugby World Cup-winning flanker Ruben Kruger, believes the use of technology is great for the development of the game but ideally would like to have the best of both worlds.
“With the technology, I know that some players have complained about it but it’s probably a little bit more accurate than people judging the lines,” Kruger told SportsClub, having returned to South Africa after a busy time travelling within the United States.
“I think a good mix would be the use of technology and line judges – that would be great!”
Kruger, who reached the quarter-finals of the Girls’ Singles draw at Junior Wimbledon in 2022, attained a career-high ranking of No.330 in the world during that same year.
“My run at Wimbledon a few years ago was an amazing experience and hopefully in the near future I can play there again,” Kruger said.
“Even though I played in the Juniors event, the atmosphere was amazing and playing on those courts was really special.”
Since Kruger’s breakthrough performance at SW19, she had to contend with some injuries which have stalled her progress and is currently No.835 in the WTA singles rankings.
In 2024, she competed for South Africa in the Billie Jean King Cup in Kenya as well as the African Games.
Kruger’s older sister, Zoe (22) is also an accomplished player and the siblings are tipped to become the face of South African women’s tennis.
On the men’s side of the sport, Lloyd Harris is South Africa’s sole singles participant at Wimbledon this year.
After an injury-ravaged few seasons, coupled with wrist and back surgeries, Harris will look to improve on second round appearances in 2021 and 2024.
In terms of contenders for the trophy, Jannik Sinner (left) returns from his doping-enforced ban to stake a serious claim for his maiden Wimbledon title.
The 23-year-old, who marked his comeback at the Italian Open, has never advanced beyond the semi-finals. Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz, who is the defending champion, is always a threat.
Last year, he defeated Novak Djokovic in straight sets to claim his maiden Wimbledon crown. Of late, the Serb has not been at the peak of his powers but cannot be written off on grass.
In the women’s draw, defending champion Barbora Krejcikova (right) will have her work cut out to emulate her exploits in 2024.
The Czech overcame Italian starlet Jasmine Paolini in three sets to clinch her first Wimbledon title and second Grand Slam.
Aryna Sabalenka is set to challenge on the grass this time and starlet Mirra Andreeva could also go deep.
“I would say Sabalenka for sure because she has one of the best chances in any tournament she’s competing in at the moment,” said Kruger of her imperious form.
“Aryna has a really big ball and I think opponents will struggle with that on the grass.”
Having won the US Open once and Australian Open twice, getting past that elusive semi-final stage will be at the forefront of the top-ranked WTA player’s mind this time.
In terms of Andreeva, who is two years Kruger’s junior but has already won two WTA 1000 titles and hit a career-high ranking of No.18 as of March 2025, Kruger noted, “Mirra is also doing amazingly well and I always have to root for one of the young ones.”
Kruger also believes Wimbledon is set to bring out the best in the home-grown players.
“There are always some British players that do well on their home grounds and I’m hoping to see Katie Boulter go far,” said Kruger.
