For the first time in Wimbledon’s 148-year history, the line judges at the back of the courts…

For the first time in Wimbledon’s 148-year history, the line judges at the back of the courts calling "out" and "fault" are gone as play begins today.

Wimbledon is cherished for its traditions, from the white clothes worn by the players to the strawberries and cream served to fans and the manicured flowers that colour the grounds.

Yet the All-England Club has to balance that heritage against innovation.

The Australian Open and U.S. Open have already gone down this route, leaving the French Open as the only one of the four Grand Slams to still use humans in the role.

As a result, Jamie Baker, Wimbledon’s tournament director, believes the people who will least notice the change are the players, who are used to the technology.

But this isn’t the first time technology has changed Wimbledon. Since 2007, Hawk-Eye assisted officials at Wimbledon on certain courts, with players able to challenge a number of calls.

Its introduction added a new element of theatre for spectators.

There was a buzz of excitement when the umpire signalled a video replay of a line judge's decision, followed by rhythmic clapping as it was shown on the big screen.

That little piece of theatre disappears under the new system.

Crowds don’t come for perfection, they come for possibility.

The chalk-dust puff, the delayed shout, the crowd’s gasp when a human gets it wrong – those micro-moments disappear when a speaker fires a robotic “Out.”

Every verdict now flows from speakers linked to more than 450 Hawk-Eye cameras. The All-England Club has kept just 80 ex-line judges on court as “match assistants” – humans on hand only if the system crashes.

While the move will undoubtedly gain a mixed reception, I do like Baker's quote summing up why it does in fact make sense: “If you get back to the very nature of the sport itself, it's gladiatorial, it's one-on-one, everything that happens on the stage should be focused around”.