Wimbledon is once again in the spotlight for the wrong reasons, as yet another malfunction of their electronic line-calling system left fans and players frustrated. Just a day after they expressed confidence in the system’s reliability following a blunder, chaos erupted during a quarter-final match between Taylor Fritz and Karen Khachanov.

The drama unfolded when Fritz, serving at 0-15 in the opening game of the fourth set, had his first serve called out correctly. However, things took a strange turn when the automated system mistakenly called his legal forehand a fault — a call that left the crowd in disbelief.

Umpire Louise Azemar-Engzell swiftly intervened, announcing to the audience, "Ladies and gentleman, we will be replaying the last point due to a malfunction. The system is now working,” which was met with a chorus of boos from the crowd.

A spokesperson for Wimbledon explained that the error occurred because a ballboy was still on the court during Fritz's serve, leading the system to fail to recognize the start of the point. Fans were left wondering how such critical technology could fail in high-stakes moments.

This incident marks the latest chapter in a series of missteps involving the newly implemented electronic line-calling, which replaced traditional line judges this year. Just a few days prior, the system faltered spectacularly when it failed to call a backhand from Sonay Kartal that clearly landed out, much to the chagrin of her opponent Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.

Organizers admitted that technology had been unintentionally deactivated, leading to the controversial call. They assured that measures have been taken to prevent such mistakes in the future.

The reactions from players are mixed. Khachanov expressed his preference for human line judges, questioning the reliability of machines and saying, "Sometimes it’s scary to let machines do what they want." Meanwhile, Fritz stood by the automated system, stating it benefited him in this instance and made the game smoother by eliminating the need for challenging calls.

As Wimbledon continues to navigate the complexities of modern technology, one thing remains clear: fans and players alike demand a system that they can trust.