Wimbledon 2025: Umpire Nico Helwerth Takes a 'Rest Day' After Controversial Line-Calling Incident

The umpire, Nico Helwerth, who was at the center of a line-calling controversy during Sunday's match on Centre Court at Wimbledon, is reportedly taking a 'rest day', as per the All England Club's CEO, Sally Bolton. An 'operator error' led to the deactivation of the ball-tracking technology for one game in the fourth-round match between Britain's Sonay Kartal and Russia's Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.

During the game, when Kartal sent a backhand long while fighting for game point at 4-4, the line-call system failed to detect it, instead signaling 'stop' twice. Umpire Helwerth chose to replay the point, which Kartal eventually won, but this decision faced criticism from Pavlyuchenkova and some pundits for not using his authority to overrule and call the ball out.

Bolton confirmed that Helwerth is taking a day off, stating, "We have rotation of our umpires regularly. A little bit like the players, the umpires also need rest days throughout the tournament. So he's having a rest day today." She added, "He's fine. The umpire followed the protocols in place and acted entirely correctly."

Pavlyuchenkova, following the match, expressed her dissatisfaction with Helwerth's decision, stating, "The chair umpire should be able to take the initiative, that's what he's there for. If the ball is very close to him, they have no problem giving us fines and code violations for any reason. I would like them to be a bit more attentive to this sort of situation."

According to the rulebook, if the electronic line-calling system fails to make a call, "the call shall be made by the chair umpire". If the chair umpire is unable to determine if the ball was in or out, then the point shall be replayed. This protocol applies only to point-ending shots or in the case when a player stops play. The technology was introduced at this year's Championships, replacing line judges, who had been a staple on court for 147 years.

The technology used is an 'enhanced' version of the previous Hawk-Eye system. There is a line-calling hub inside Wimbledon's grounds, where 50 operators use 144 screens to monitor the ball-tracking footage from 12 cameras on each court. Despite the incident, the All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) maintains confidence in the technology, stating that they are reviewing the processes and have made necessary changes to prevent such incidents in the future.

Related topics: Tennis, Wimbledon, Umpire, Controversy, Technology