In its 147 years as the quintessentially English summer sporting highlight, Wimbledon’s immaculately-dressed line judges crying “fault” are as evocative as strawberries and cream.

From next year, however, the men and women in fetching Ralph Lauren blue and white uniforms will be absent from the world-famous tennis lawns and replaced by artificial intelligence.

In a major break from history for the Championships, a new automated electronic line calling (ELC) system extends across all 18 match courts, including Centre Court.

The move to rely on technology rather than the naked eye is intended to boost decision-making reliability and, as result, reduce player meltdowns like John McEnroe’s infamous  “you cannot be serious” outburst. Sally Bolton, the All England Club’s chief executive, said the decision to extend Hawk-Eye technology to live action on court is to achieve “maximum accuracy in our officiating”.

But tennis traditionalists and senior figures in umpiring are now grieving the departure of a much-cherished part of the Wimbledon experience. The All England Club has previously recruited around 300 line judges aged between 18 and 80 each year to cover more than 650 matches over the fortnight. Richard Ings, who was the ATP’s head of officiating from 2001 to 2005, expressed concern that a key talent pathway for senior officials in the game is being taken away. “Every top umpire today built their experience levels in tennis officiating as line umpires,” he said. “That development path is now history.”

Many of those working at Wimbledon juggle umpire duties with other lines of work, earning between £40 a day for lower-tier professional events and up to about £180 for more experienced officials.

A cost-saving for Wimbledon is not a given, however, with sources telling Telegraph Sport the club’s uniform branding deal with Ralph Lauren will now be worth around £1 million less a year. The fashion designer has been supplying kit for all officials and ball boys and girls since 2006 in a deal worth around £4 million a year.

Wimbledon maintains Ralph Lauren will remain a clothing partner, but leading brand expert Marcel Knobil, who advises athletes and top sponsors, said: “Whilst Ralph Lauren does dress the umpires and ball girls and boys, the line judges have been the most eye-catching ‘mannequins’ for its brand. I expect the company will certainly be wanting to revisit the current partnership arrangement.”

Wimbledon is following other tournaments by introducing AI, which has been used elsewhere in the majors since the 2020 US Open. The men’s ATP Tour had already pledged to install the system widely from next year. The French Open is the only remaining grand slam competition yet to make a commitment to the technology. Warning further of a knock-on impact on the talent pipeline for senior umpires, Mr Ings, who has umpired at the grand slams, said the technology will help lift decision standards “a little”, but added: “For aspiring officials globally it’s over.”

Another experienced official to lament the change was John Parry, whose eight Wimbledon finals are a record. Parry loved line-judging so much that he returned to it after retiring from the chair, and served as the the team captain for the Roger Federer-Andy Roddick final of 2009.

“It’s just a feeling of sadness because there are quite a nucleus of line judges at the top level who are now out of a job,” Parry told Telegraph Sport. “I suppose the players have been pushing for it, but there were a few who always relished the human element, and I believe Federer was one of them, because he thought that line-judges were part of the flavour of the game. The way things are now, the umpire has very little to do apart from reading the score out.”

Wimbledon confirmed in an announcement that “officiating technology will be in place for all Championships and qualifying match courts and cover the ‘out’ and ‘fault’ calls that have previously been made by line umpires”.

Bolton added: “The decision to introduce live electronic line calling at the Championships was made following a significant period of consideration and consultation.”

There had initially been some initial reluctance at Wimbledon to depart with human line judges, but Bolton added: “Having reviewed the results of the testing undertaken at the Championships this year, we consider the technology to be sufficiently robust and the time is right to take this important step in seeking maximum accuracy in our officiating. For the players, it will offer them the same conditions they have played under at a number of other events on tour.

“We take our responsibility to balance tradition and innovation at Wimbledon very seriously. Line umpires have played a central role in our officiating set-up at the Championships for many decades and we recognise their valuable contribution and thank them for their commitment and service.”

More limited versions of Hawk-Eye had been in use at Wimbledon since 2007, with players allowed to call for unlimited electronic reviews of any disputed calls until they reach three incorrect challenges. However, now the challenge concept is abandoned, with automated calls heard within a tenth of a second via cameras on court. There are no plans to part with a chair umpire, the leading official on the court.

In contrast with officials and many fans, many players  past and present back the technology switch. Three-time Wimbledon champion John McEnroe, infamous for his combustible protests over line judge calls during his playing career in the 1980s, is among established figures in the game calling for the technology. “If you have equipment that’s accurate, I’m sorry, you have got to go with that,” McEnroe said last year. “Maybe I wouldn’t be talking to you now because of the antics and maybe I would have won more, but I would have been more boring.”

In another strategic shift, the men’s and women’s singles finals will also start two hours later at 4pm to appeal more to global broadcasters. The change from the traditional 2pm start means that both showpiece events will now begin on the west coast of the United States at the more generous time of 8am rather than 6am.

The All England Club said the decision to move the singles finals to later slots, with doubles preceding from 1pm, “was felt that this makes for a better conclusion to the Championships”.

Bolton said: “We have adjusted the provisional schedule for the final weekend of the Championships with the ambition of improving the experience for all involved. The doubles players competing in the finals will have increased certainty over their schedule and fans will enjoy each day’s play as it builds towards the crescendo of the ladies’ and gentlemen’s singles finals, with our champions being crowned in front of the largest possible worldwide audience.”

Wimbledon also announced its public ballot – having first been held in 1924 – saw a record number of fans registering for their chance to attend as the application period closed recently.