John McEnroe clashed with fellow commentator Andrew Castle over Wimbledon’s line-call system during a live broadcast, following a controversial moment involving Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. The Russian star found herself in an unusual situation during her fourth-round match against Sonay Kartal on Centre Court.
After more than 140 years of using line judges, Wimbledon switched to full electronic line calling this year. The move has sparked debate across the tennis world and has drawn increased criticism, especially in light of several controversial calls and player reactions since the start of this year’s tournament.
While live on the BBC, McEnroe and Castle were involved in a tense exchange about the situation. The former American player described himself as the “perfect guy to ask” about the predicament. The seven-time Grand Slam champion was well known for his outbursts at umpires.
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McEnroe expressed skepticism over the technology’s accuracy, joking that he might still have more hair if not for all the bad calls by line judges over the years.
"The thing is, it needs to be right. I think they [hawk-eye] have said it’s plus or minus 3mm but is that for sure? Who’s done the testing?" he asked, questioning the system’s reliability, via The Sun.
Castle was quick to defend the technology, noting that players had few issues with the old challenge system, which used the same Hawk-Eye software. McEnroe maintained:
"If it’s accurate, I’m all for it."
Castle shot back:
"It is accurate. It’s only people that lose that say, I didn’t think that was right. You know, come on. Maybe on clay it’s different and maybe it’s still not perfect."
During the fourth-round match between Sonay Kartal and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova at Wimbledon, a major controversy unfolded when the entirely electronic line-call system failed for nearly seven minutes.
A crucial out ball was missed before a chair umpire halted play and ordered a point replay. This sparked outrage and renewed debate over ditching human officials.
A look into the Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova controversy that has shaken the 2025 Wimbledon Championships
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova ignited a storm of controversy at the 2025 Wimbledon Championships following a shocking technical failure during her fourth-round clash with Britain’s Sonay Kartal.
The match hit a dramatic pause when an automated line-call system failed to register a clear-out ball from Kartal. At this point, Pavlyuchenkova had already reached game point at 4-4 in the opening set.
However, chair umpire Nico Helwerth was forced to call for a replay, which ultimately cost the Russian the game. While Pavlyuchenkova went on to win the match 7-6(3), 6-4, her post-changeover comments ignited controversy.
Pavlyuchenkova accused the officials of bias, implying that Kartal was treated preferentially because she was local:
"Because she is local, they can say whatever… You took the game away from me… They stole the game from me," she was heard saying, via The Guardian.
Her frustration echoed earlier concerns voiced by players like Emma Raducanu and Jack Draper. Wimbledon officials later clarified that the issue stemmed from a technician accidentally deactivating cameras and issued a formal apology.
