Emma Raducanu

Emma Raducanu (born 2002 in Toronto and raised in Britain) shot to fame in 2021 when, ranked outside the top 100 and playing through qualifying, she won the US Open without dropping a set — one of the most improbable Grand Slam runs in the sport’s history. She has been a leading figure in British tennis ever since.

Questioning the electronic eye

When Wimbledon replaced its human line judges with an electronic line-calling system in 2025, Raducanu became one of its most prominent critics. After a loss to world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka, she said a call that went against her was “for sure out,” and when asked directly whether she trusted the technology, she answered flatly: “No, I don’t.” She added that other players had experienced “pretty dodgy” calls too.

Her comments were pointed enough that Wimbledon’s chief executive publicly pushed back, defending the accuracy of the system. The exchange made Raducanu a focal point of a wider player revolt against the removal of human officials from the sport’s most tradition-bound tournament.