Sony’s Bet on Sports Pays Off With AI Line Judges at Wimbledon

Human line judges dressed in crisp striped shirts and white bottoms will be absent from Wimbledon this year. Instead, 12 cameras will stand courtside to call whether the ball lands in or out.

The Grand Slam tennis championship, which opens on June 30, will fully adopt electronic line calling courtesy of Sony Group Corp.’s subsidiary Hawk-Eye Innovations Ltd. The Basingstoke, England-based company uses artificial intelligence to pinpoint a ball’s trajectory to supply gameplay analysis and refereeing across 25 sports including baseball and soccer.

Demand is strong due in part to growing pressure to shorten matches and keep spectators engaged, ...