Emma Raducanu expressed her frustrations at a new Wimbledon rule after her third-round loss to world number one Aryna Sabalenka.
Raducanu lost in two sets, 7-6, 6-4, in a war with Sabalenka in front of her home crowd at Centre Court. She had opportunities to take control of the game, serving for the first set and up a break in the second, but ultimately fell short to the Belarusian.
During the game, Raducanu showed her frustration to the umpire about a new Wimbledon rule, which benefited Sabalenka during one of her service games.
Emma Raducanu criticises Wimbledon’s Hawk-Eye system, ‘calls can be so wrong’
British number one, Raducanu, complained to the umpire during her match that one of Sabalenka’s serves, called in by Wimbledon’s automated Hawk-Eye system, was clearly out.
She said in her post-match press conference that this had been a running theme during the tournament, “ That call was for sure out. It’s kind of disappointing at a tournament here that the calls can be so wrong.”
She continued, “For the most part, they’ve been ok, but I’ve had a few in my other matches that have been very wrong. Hopefully, they can fix that.
When asked if this was an issue with the Hawk-Eye system at other events, she said, “Yes, I think so.”
Wimbledon, for the first time in 148 years, does not have line judges at the tournament. They changed to an automatic line calling system, relying on cameras to make line calls without human intervention.
But there are concerns that Hawk-Eye gets calls wrong too frequently. After his second-round loss against Marin Cilic, Britain’s Jack Draper, who had a difficult draw at Wimbledon also said that he didn’t think it was “100% accurate”.
If the point of removing a long-standing tradition was to ensure the calls were accurate, this is a worrying development for Wimbledon, as their home-country number ones have both doubted its credibility.
Emma Raducanu is confident despite loss to Aryna Sabalenka
Raducanu impressed against Sabalenka, and will hope to return to the Grand Slam-winning form that she displayed a few years ago. The match gave her confidence that she can take it to the world’s best.
She said, “It gives me confidence that I’m not as far away as I perhaps thought before the tournament. I think previously, when I was playing the top five players, the losses were pretty convincing, so today to really push Aryna to the top gives me a lot of confidence.”
The 2021 US Open winner, Raducanu, who will pair with Carlos Alcaraz in mixed doubles at this year’s US Open, pumped the brakes on a resurgence in New York. She said that the surface at Wimbledon was better suited to her game.
She added, “Grass, for me, is a great surface, and it’s a bit of a leveller in that sense, so taking it onto a different surface where it’s a lot more lively in America is a different challenge in itself.”
But Raducanu has won there before, and while that may be beyond her at this point, there is every chance for a deep run when she goes stateside.