Novak Djokovic demands line judges be replaced by machines

Novak Djokovic, who had been disqualified from the US Open 4th round, demanded that the line judges should be replaced by technology.

Djokovic defaulted at the US Open after he accidentally hit a tennis ball which felled a line judge.

The 17-time Grand Slam winner after losing the match hit the ball with the tennis racket without even looking, hitting the female judge who was behind his back. The incident happened on the showpiece Arthur Ashe Stadium.

On all the others, electronic line calling was used as part of plans to reduce the number of people on the Flushing Meadows site during the coronavirus pandemic.

There have been growing calls for a similar system to be introduced at Roland Garros which still relies on officials making rulings with the naked eye.

“With all respect for the tradition and the culture we have in this sport, when it comes to people present on the court during a match, including line umpires, I really don’t see a reason why every single tournament in this world, in this technologically advanced era, would not have what we had during Cincinnati/New York tournament,” he said.

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“The technology is so advanced right now, there is absolutely no reason why you should keep line umpires on the court. Of course, I understand technology is expensive, so it’s an economical issue and a question mark.

“But I feel like we are all moving towards that, and sooner or later there is no reason to keep line umpires.

“Maybe you can tell me if there is any significant reason why we should keep other than tradition that we had and have in this sport. Then I would also probably then have fewer chances to do what I did in New York.”

Top players such as US Open champion Dominic Thiem, Denis Shapovalov and Stefanos Tsitsipas have called for a rethink of officiating at Roland Garros this week.