Line judges will no longer feature at Wimbledon from next year.
“It is sad that we won’t be going back as line judges,” said David Bayliss. “The game has moved on, but never say never.”
Bayliss served as a line judge and umpire at Wimbledon for 22 years.
Whether the technology works is one thing, but whether it’s worth it is another.
As the BBC’s tennis correspondent Russell Fuller outlined, players will intermittently complain about electronic line calling, but there has been a huge improvement in accuracy.
However, whether we need human line judges at all is another debate.
Dr Anna Fitzpatrick, a former tennis player, said players became friends with line judges and umpires as they would see them at a variety of tournaments.
“Human judges bring a different level of emotional intelligence, and if you take that away, you’re not just getting rid of one aspect, you’re changing the atmosphere of the sport,” Fitzpatrick said.
Dr Tom Webb, an expert in the officiating of sport at Coventry University, said that the issue with VAR is that it is not necessarily relying on how accurate the technology is.
“It’s still reliant on individual judgment and subjectivity, and how you interpret the laws of the game,” he added.
Many people are frustrated with the video assistant referee (VAR) system, with decisions taking too long and fans in the stadium not being aware of what is happening.
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