Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova advanced to her second Wimbledon quarterfinal after defeating Britain’s Sonay Kartal 7-6(3), 6-4 in a dramatic fourth-round match on Centre Court. The Russian overcame a controversial line-calling technology malfunction that nearly cost her the opening set.
Technology Malfunction Creates Drama in Pivotal First Set Moment
Pavlyuchenkova found herself in a heated dispute with officials after a critical system failure at 4-4 on serve in the first set. Kartal struck a backhand that television replays clearly showed landed well beyond the baseline.
However, with the All England Club using automated live ELC line-calling for the first time this year, replacing human line judges, no call was made. Pavlyuchenkova stopped play, expecting the obvious out call.
Chair umpire Nico Helwerth paused the match to make a phone call before ordering a replay of the point. The decision proved costly for the Russian, who was subsequently broken to trail 5-4 instead of holding serve for a potential 5-4 lead.
Pavlyuchenkova showed her veteran experience by saving a set point in the next game, breaking back to force a tiebreak, and then dominating the breaker 7-3. The momentum shift proved crucial as she controlled the second set to close out the victory.
After the match, an All England Club spokesperson confirmed a system malfunction, saying, as per ESPN, “The system was unintentionally deactivated on part of the server’s side of the court for one game. Three calls were missed: two were made by the chair umpire, who was unaware of the issue. After the third, the umpire consulted with the Review Official and followed protocol to replay the point.”
The controversy highlighted the growing pains of implementing new technology at tennis’s most traditional tournament. This marks the first year Wimbledon has fully embraced automated line calling, a system that has been gradually adopted across professional tennis.
Pavlyuchenkova’s Humorous Take on What Could Have Been
During her post-match press conference, Pavlyuchenkova was asked how she would have reacted if the faulty call had ultimately cost her the match. Her response drew laughter from the assembled media.
“I would just say I hate Wimbledon and never come back,” Pavlyuchenkova humorously replied. “I’d say I hate grass and Wimbledon.”
The 34-year-old’s lighthearted response belied the significance of her achievement. Pavlyuchenkova, who was the runner-up at the French Open in 2021, has exceeded expectations by reaching the last eight at Wimbledon.
She last made the quarterfinals at the All England Club in 2016, when she was defeated by eventual champion Serena Williams in straight sets.
“I always thought I was not good enough on grass, so this is incredible for me,” Pavlyuchenkova said in her on-court interview. “Especially with me getting older, I am so impressed and proud for competing with the younger girls.”
“I’m so impressed and proud of myself”
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova is loving grass court season at SW19 as she advances to the quarter-finals at #Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/JUKBKySQRH
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 6, 2025
Her opponent, Kartal, ranked No. 51 in the world, also surprised many by reaching the second week of Wimbledon. The 23-year-old British player has enjoyed the increased attention that comes with a deep tournament run.
“I think I have definitely had a bit more attention on me this week from people recognizing me to fans around the grounds to my social media,” Kartal said of her run.
“It’s kind of blown up a bit. The better in tournaments I do, I guess the more exposure I get. I think it will naturally come. But I’d say that people have gotten to know me a little bit better this week.”
Pavlyuchenkova will now face her toughest test yet in the quarterfinals, where she’ll need to maintain the form that carried her through this technology-marred but ultimately successful fourth-round victory.
