Pavlyuchenkova Beats Kartal Amid Wimbledon Line-Call Controversy

Sonay Kartal, the last British woman remaining at Wimbledon, was defeated in the fourth round by Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in a match overshadowed by controversy over the electronic line-calling system. At a crucial moment in the first set, the technology failed to call a clear out shot by Kartal, resulting in a replayed point that Pavlyuchenkova believed cost her the game and led to allegations of home bias. Despite the setback, Pavlyuchenkova, a 34-year-old former French Open finalist recovering from Lyme disease, used her experience and powerful baseline play to win 7-6(3), 6-4 and advance to the quarterfinals for the first time in nine years. Kartal, who made her Centre Court debut and was competing with a strapped knee, will rise to a career-high ranking near 44 and surpass Emma Raducanu as Britain's No. 2. The incident reflects wider criticism of the new AI-based line-calling system at Wimbledon, which replaced human line judges and has faced scrutiny from players including Raducanu and Carlos Alcaraz. Pavlyuchenkova will next face the winner between Amanda Anisimova and Linda Noskova in the quarterfinals.