Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova reached her second Wimbledon quarterfinal by defeating Britain’s Sonay Kartal 7-6 (3), 6-4, saving a set point and overcoming a malfunction with Wimbledon’s new automated line-calling system[1]. This marks her 10th Grand Slam quarterfinal in the last 14 years, and her first Wimbledon quarterfinal since 2016[1]. The nine-year gap between her quarterfinal appearances at the All England Club is tied for the second longest in the Open era among women[2].
The match included a controversial moment when the electronic line-calling (ELC) technology failed at a crucial point, resulting in a game being replayed that Pavlyuchenkova felt should have been hers. The incident happened while she was serving at game point. Kartal hit a shot that was clearly long, but the ELC made no call and the chair umpire ultimately decided the point had to be replayed. Pavlyuchenkova expressed her frustration to the umpire, saying “They stole a game from me. They stole it,” but managed to regroup and win the match[3][4].
Pavlyuchenkova, 34, has battled Lyme disease this season and recently reached her first career grass-court semifinal in Eastbourne. She now boasts an 8-1 record on grass this year and is set to play for a spot in her second major semifinal against either Amanda Anisimova or Linda Noskova[1].