The French Open has defended its continued reliance on human line judges after a controversial call during Joao Fonseca's victory over Casper Ruud. With Ruud holding set point in the second-set tie-break, Fonseca's forehand appeared to land long, but the chair umpire ruled it in after inspecting the ball mark. Hawk-Eye later showed the ball was out, sparking criticism from former champion Jim Courier.
Roland Garros is the only Grand Slam still using human line judges. Wimbledon introduced electronic line calling (ELC) last year, while the Australian and US Opens adopted it in 2021 and 2022 respectively. ELC uses cameras and sensors to track the ball, but some argue clay courts can affect its accuracy.
Tournament director Amelie Mauresmo confirmed the French Open will keep human officials for 2026, but remains open to change for 2027. “The reliability of this system is not absolute,” she said, citing a review after this year's tournament. “As of today, the machine is not 100 per cent reliable, so we continue to place our confidence in human officials.”
