“The machine is not 100% reliable”: Roland-Garros stands by human line judges, citing Casper Ruud’s reaction
A day after a disputed call proved costly for Casper Ruud against João Fonseca, Roland-Garros director Amelie Mauresmo defended keeping human line judges — and leaned on the Norwegian’s own reaction to justify trusting people over a technology she still considers unreliable on clay.
Amélie Mauresmo, Roland-Garros 2026 | © Lapiste / PsNewz
Roland-Garros will keep its human line judges for now, and tournament director Amelie Mauresmo made the case in plain terms on Monday: “The machine is not 100% reliable, so we keep the confidence to the human.”
Asked whether the tournament would review introducing electronic line-calling, Mauresmo said the question is revisited every year but that the current evidence points against it. “From what we’ve seen in the previous clay-court tournaments in the last few months… it appears that the technology on the clay is not 100% reliable,” she said.
She spoke barely twelve hours after Casper Ruud was denied a set point against João Fonseca. The Brazilian hit a ball called out, but the umpire overruled the line call; the electronic system then showed the ball had been long. Back to 8-8, Fonseca went on to take the set, and later the match.
From what I see, Casper wasn’t shocked by the umpire’s decision.
She precisely turned to the previous night’s controversy, enlisting the beaten player’s reaction into the tournament’s defence. “When you see Casper’s reaction also last night,” Mauresmo said, “from what I see, he wasn’t shocked by the umpire’s decision.” The wider point, she returned to again: “We have to keep in mind that this technology, as of today, is not 100% reliable.”
Pressed on whether the system is less reliable on clay than on other surfaces, she declined to claim expertise – “I don’t know. We should ask specialists” – and would not say it is less reliable than the human eye: “I don’t have an answer to that either.” But she was firm on the principle. “It is important to show and say out loud that we trust our system based on umpires and line judges,” she said.
The policy, she confirmed, will be examined at the tournament’s end-of-June review, as it is annually. “We will address everything, to be honest. Each year we address everything,” Mauresmo said, noting the conversation has run for more than a year “even the fact that the electronic line calling is really coming in the tennis environment.”
The machine is not 100% reliable, so we keep the confidence to the human.
On how the fortnight had gone under human officiating, she was content: “It’s gone well opening week and first week of the tournament so far.” And she framed the choice as one of trust pending proof: “As of today, again, the machine is not 100% reliable, so we keep the confidence to the human.”
The position leaves Roland-Garros increasingly isolated among the majors as electronic calling spreads across the tour. Tennis Majors understands that the players, accustomed to electronic line-calling, would push for consistency across tournaments and for the umpire to retain the ability to overrule the machine when the mark left in the clay plainly contradicts the technology.
