Shocking! Strange disappearance at Wimbledon...

Everything's gone down the drain! This year at Wimbledon, a tradition dating back almost 150 years has been trampled on in a tournament that has long been the temple of tradition: linesmen have been abolished altogether and replaced by robots.

A new electronic refereeing technology, known as ELC (Electronic Line Calling Live), has been adopted to replace the human eye, a decision that has provoked a great deal of reaction and emotion. Pauline Eyre, a former line judge at Wimbledon, remembers with nostalgia the many years she spent on the tournament's courts, when the line judges, dressed in their distinctive uniforms, were an enduring symbol of Wimbledon's history and charm.

In her view, this reliance on technology undermines a fundamental aspect of sport: human interaction and the spirit of competition. For Pauline Eyre, interviewed by CNN Sport, tennis is above all a human experience, where players have to face adversity, including disputed decisions. The presence of the linesmen not only added an aesthetic and traditional touch, but also a dimension of emotion and connection that will now be missing. What would a John McEnroe tantrum be without a linesman or referee to endure it?

This change at Wimbledon is part of a wider trend in globalised tennis, where most major tournaments have already adopted technology to secure and standardise refereeing. Only at Roland Garros can you still hear flesh-and-blood linesmen shouting "foul!"

For its detractors, technology, even if it offers greater reliability, can never completely replace the dynamics and atmosphere offered by experienced humans. For Pauline Eyre, it's a sign of a change in values, where the emphasis is increasingly on mechanical performance rather than emotion or tradition.

And what of the young officials, who will no longer see any future in this profession that is as charming as it is old-fashioned, except for smaller-scale events? With the irretrievable demise of the linesmen, a symbol of the history and culture of tennis at Wimbledon is disappearing. In short, it's a black day for tradition.

Dark green and purple... the colours of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club have lost some of their lustre this year. Fortunately, we still have the green of the grass, the red of strawberries with cream, the immaculate white of traditional dress and the amber brown of a glass of Pimm's Cup to sip in the alleys of the tournament, while regretting the good old days...

(MH with LpR - Source: CNN Sports - Picture: davidkenny91 via Pixabay)