Wimbledon isn’t new to drama, but Saturday delivered a double dose. The day began with the usual suspects—grey skies, umbrellas popping open across the grounds, and a 1-hour-and-40-minute rain delay that threw the schedule into chaos. Play on the outside courts eventually resumed, but just when things seemed to be getting back on track, a different kind of interruption struck—this time, it wasn’t the weather’s fault. A technical glitch added to the day’s unpredictability, halting play at Alex de Minaur’s match.

In his third-round clash against August Holmgren, Alex de Minaur had managed to stay clear of the early seed exits. He was cruising through the second set with a 4-2 lead when the match came to a sudden standstill. The reason? A technical malfunction with the HawkEye system temporarily brought play to a halt. Thankfully, the issue was resolved within minutes, and the match resumed. The Aussie then cruised through the match 6-4, 7-6 (5), 6-3. He will next face the winner of the match between Miomir Kecmanovic and Novak Djokovic.

This year, Wimbledon ushered in a new era—electronic line calling is being used for the first time in the tournament’s history. Gone are the traditional line judges in their iconic uniforms, replaced by a network of up to 18 HawkEye cameras on each court. These high-speed trackers are tasked with making instant in/out decisions, a job once handled by nearly 300 line officials for the past 148 years.

While Hawk-Eye has been a staple at the US and Australian Opens, its Wimbledon debut hasn’t gone unnoticed. The tech upgrade marks a historic shift, but today’s glitch is a reminder: even the most advanced systems can have their off days.

What are the players saying about this new change?

Players react to Hawkeye at Wimbledon

There’s a noticeable void on the courts this year. Cameron Norrie admitted that while the new look has its sleekness, something feels missing. “It looks cool,” he said, “with the line umpires in place and contributes to the tradition of the tournament. Obviously there’s a lot of jobs and people that love tennis, which will definitely be missed from them.”

Though many players acknowledge that line judges added to Wimbledon’s distinct atmosphere, few have argued with the precision of the calls. “As a player it’s pretty black or white with the calls,” Norrie added.

But not everyone is convinced that the change is for the better. Frances Tiafoe, for one, would have liked to see tradition upheld. “I actually like [it] with them [line judges] on the court, because I think for fanfare it’s better,” he said. “If I were to hit a serve on a big point, you go up with the challenge, is it in, is it out? The crowd is, like, ‘ohhh’. There’s none of that.”

Emma Raducanu, meanwhile, has raised questions about the system’s reliability. In her match against World No.1 Aryna Sabalenka, the Brit was left frustrated after a crucial point went unquestioned. Serving at 2-4, 15-0, Sabalenka fired a serve that was ruled in by the automated system. On replay, the ball appeared out—but with no line judges and the call made by HawkEye, the chair umpire had no authority to intervene.

At her press conference, Raducanu didn’t hold back. “I mean that call was like, for sure, out. It’s kind of disappointing at Wimbledon here that the calls can be so wrong, but for the most part it’s been okay,” the World No. 40 said.

Wimbledon’s high-tech upgrade is serving accuracy, but not without stirring debate. Get all the action from the Championships live and uninterrupted on EssentiallySports.