Wimbledon chief hits back at Emma Raducanu over swipe at Championship's AI line calls following loss to world number one

The 22-year-old complained the system had been "wrong" on several occasions at the Championships, including when an Aryna Sabalenka shot was ruled to have clipped the line.

She joined a growing voice of discontent among tennis players over the technology with Jack Draper also expressing doubts that it was "100 per cent accurate."

It is a claim that has been refuted by Debbie Jevans, chair of the All England Club, who argued electronic line calling was more robust than using line judges because of "potential human error".

Ms Jevans told BBC Sport on Sunday: "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.

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"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."

Raducanu criticised the fully automated system, implemented at Wimbledon for the first time this year, after an intense 7-6 (6) 6-4 defeat by the world number one Ms Sabalenka.

She said: “It’s kind of disappointing, the tournament here, that the calls can be so wrong, but for the most part they’ve been OK. I’ve had a few in my other matches, too, that have been very wrong. Hopefully they can fix that.”

Draper previously queried one serve from Marin Cilic during his second-round loss on Thursday.

He said: “I don’t think it’s 100 per cent accurate, in all honesty. A couple of the ones today it showed a mark on the court. There’s no way the chalk would have showed.”

Swiss player Belinda Bencic also expressed skepticism over the use of AI line calling.

"I also don't trust it,' she said.

"Of course, you feel a little bit stupid questioning an electronic line call, but of course it always depends how it's installed and how accurate it is.

"It's not only me, you know. I feel like I'm watching other matches too, and I see players like saying the exact same thing, complaining. Or even on TV, you can see clearly some balls are out or long or something. "We players talk about it and I think most of us have the same opinion."

However, Wimbledon tournament director's Jamie Baker previously defended the AI model and insisted its accuracy was "robust".

The technology has become standard across the tour, with all ATP Tour events and a lot of WTA ones no longer using line judges.

The same system operates at the Australian Open and the US Open but the French Open remains an outlier, so far eschewing any form of electronic system.

Mr Baker said according to The Guardian: "The concept of live line calling is absolutely standard across the tour now – mandatory across the ATP tour. Two of the other grand slams have had it for four or five years.

“What that has meant also actually [is] that the level of sophistication and certification around the system has become more professional and more robust as time has gone on.

“The accuracy and the reliability and the robustness of the system and the process as a whole, in terms of officiating, is in as good a place as it has been for tennis."

This year, Wimbledon also rolled out Gen AI-powered analysis for those watching grass court matches available for fans through its Wimbledon.com website and app.

The conversational assistant responds to questions, such as which player has won more tie-breakers or break points, with insights delivered instantly.