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The Wimbledon umpire who was at the centre of controversy in Sonay Kartal's defeat by Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova has been left off the tournament's match list for Monday.
Wimbledon were forced to apologise yesterday after admitting their controversial line-calling technology failed at a crucial moment during Kartal's match with Pavlyuchenkova because someone accidentally turned it off.
Pavlyuchenkova subsequently accused officials of pro-Brit bias and claimed a game was 'stolen' from her during their fourth-round match on Centre Court when Kartal hit a ball clearly long but the electronic calling system (ELC) didn't call it out.
The Russian was serving with advantage at 4-4 in the opening set of her victory when no 'out' call was heard. Chair umpire Nico Helwerth halted play before an automated call of 'Stop! Stop!' sounded over the speakers.
After a four-minute delay while Helwerth sat on his court-side phone, he declared: 'The electronic line-calling system unfortunately was unable to track the last point so we will replay the point.'
Pavlyuchenkova was left furious although she maintained her composure to win the match, yet Helwerth's absence from officiating any of the eight last-16 clashes on what has been dubbed 'Magic Monday' was conspicuous.
The Wimbledon umpire who was at the centre of controversy in Sonay Kartal's defeat by Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova has been axed from the tournament's match list for Monday
This ball from Kartal was not called out as the HawkEye line judge malfunctioned on Sunday
Pavlyuchenkova couldn't believe the decision and made her feelings known to Helwerth
However, The All England club claimed that Helwerth's absence on Monday is merely a standard procedure and it was his day off, rather than any reaction to Sunday's events.
They added that Helwerth, who had taken charge of nine games over the past seven days, is expected to back umpiring games later this week.
Meanwhile, in the aftermath of the controversy and Helwerth's call, Kartal went on to break serve, prompting a furious Pavlyuchenkova to accuse officials of favouring her British opponent.
'I don't know if it's in or it's out,' she raged. 'How do I know? You cannot prove it. Because she is local, they can say whatever. You took the game away from me. They stole it.'
Pavlyuchenkova later claimed that Helwerth had told her after the match that he knew the ball was out and suggested he was 'too scared' to make a decision.
It was then revealed that the technology had been accidentally turned off by the operator leaving Wimbledon forced to apologise to Kartal and Pavlyuchenkova.
A spokesperson for the All England Club said: 'Following the Pavlyuchenkova vs Kartal match, we have had the opportunity to undertake further investigation, including speaking to the players, chair umpire, Hawk-Eye operators and Review Official.
'It is now clear that the live ELC system, which was working optimally, was deactivated in error on part of the server's side of the court for one game by those operating the system.
Britain's Kartal went on to save game point and then break her Russian opponent
The former French Open finalist appeared to allege a pro-British bias from the line judging
'In that time there were three calls not picked up by live ELC on the affected part of the court. Two of these were called by the chair umpire, who was not made aware that the system had been deactivated.
'Following the third, the chair umpire stopped the match and consulted with the review official. It was determined that the point should be replayed. The chair umpire followed the established process.
'We have apologised to the players involved. We continue to have full confidence in the accuracy of the ball tracking technology. The live ELC system relies on the Hawk-Eye operators, the review official and the technology to work in harmony.
'This did not happen. In this instance there was a human error and as a consequence we have fully reviewed our processes and made the appropriate changes.'
Pavlyuchenkova ultimately secured her passage to the quarter-finals by virtue of a 7-6, 6-4 victory, but urged the tournament organisers to ensure a similar incident is not repeated after the game.
'The chair umpire was so confused,' Pavlyuchenkova said. 'I think they just need to… chair umpire needs to maybe have a clear plan if that happens, "Okay, what I'm going to do in this situation".
'I think they [are] a little bit lost. They start calling everybody. They don't know what to do.
'Instead [they should be able to say]: "if the system is down, then I'm going to take initiative and call this".
'We probably should have this system like in football to review.'
Wimbledon officials said Helwerth's absence was not a reaction to Sunday's dramatic events
Emma Raducanu had previously hit out at the AI line-calling after her loss to Aryna Sabalenka
The controversy surrounding the line-calls comes with the tournament having dispensed with line judges this year in favour of the automated, Hawkeye-powered 'ELC' system.
Bosses are convinced the system is accurate but some players do not agree and the likes of Emma Raducanu and Jack Draper are among those who have criticised it.
Raducanu had suggested as such during and after her defeat by Aryna Sabalenka on Friday, but All England Club chair Debbie Jevans had given a robust response over the weekend.
She said: 'It's funny, isn't it, because when we did have linesmen, we were constantly asked why we didn't have electronic line calling because it's more accurate, like they do on the rest of the tour.
'The players wanted it because they were asking us, why do we have linesmen? And now we have it in situ.
'We have to think of innovation and we're just moving with what the players expect.'
