Tennis Dependent on Technology: The Roland-Garros Exception

While almost the entire professional circuit adopts electronic officiating, Roland-Garros remains faithful to its line judges. A deliberate choice, between respect for traditions and defense of a certain romanticism of French-style tennis.

© AFP

Adrien Guyot

le 09/12/2025 à 19h22

2 min to read

Extraits de Dossiers Roland Garros

Roland-Garros Still Reluctant About Technology

As the only Grand Slam played on clay, Roland-Garros is the last of the four Majors to resist the introduction of ELC (Electronic Line Calling) on the professional circuit. With the marks left by the ball's impact on the surface, the organization believes it is not necessary to implement this system.

Roland-Garros has also confirmed in a statement that line judges will still be part of the event in May 2026 to perpetuate the tournament's tradition: "During the 2025 edition, 404 officiating officials were present. Among them, there were 284 French representatives from all leagues in France.

These umpires and line judges are rigorously selected from about 30,000 officials in France, who officiate throughout the year within the leagues, departmental committees, and clubs affiliated with the FFT. This decision contributes to the uniqueness of Roland-Garros, which is the last Grand Slam tournament to rely on line judges."

Line Judges at Roland-Garros, a Historical Tradition

However, most players advocate for the automated system to also be established in the French capital. Ben Figueiredo, director of innovations for hawk-eye in tennis, understands the situation.

"It is up to the tournaments to decide if they want to use it or not. I know that Roland-Garros likes keeping line judges and seeing umpires get down from their chairs to check the mark."

"The French are genuinely questioning whether they really need it. Their umpires are very experienced. Around the world, audiences have different connections with traditions.

The simple act of seeing the umpire get down and show the mark to the players helps perpetuate this tradition. If Roland-Garros decides to install hawk-eye, where all decisions are made in real time, the tournament will lose that human touch," adds Christopher Clarey, sports journalist and author on tennis.

Find the Full Investigation

Find the full investigation "Technology in Tennis: The Challenges of a New Officiating, Between Tradition and Dehumanized Modernity," which will be available in full on the weekend of December 13 on TennisTemple.