Wimbledon has departed from 147 years of history today by calling time on its use of line judges in favour of artificial intelligence — and with it comes the end of the on-court rants.From John McEnroe’s famous ‘You cannot be serious!’, to Fabio Fognini’s ‘Opera rant’, Wimbledon’s on-court arguments are something spectators have become accustomed to over the years.But an announcement today that Wimbledon intends to replace its line judges with an electronic system, could mean the end of these heated disputes. Fans are torn over the decision, with some praising the forward-thinking idea while others disliked the idea of technology taking the place of a person. Now, MailOnline has taken a look back at some of Wimbledon’s most famous on-court disputes as they are due to become a part of the sport’s history. Arguably, the most famous Wimbledon meltdown took place in June, 1981, when a young John McEnroe, sporting a red headband and hair, shouted ‘You cannot be serious!’ at umpire Edward James who called his serve. John McEnroe (left), who is now a prominent commentator, is one of the least surprising proponents of the new technology having frequently railed against umpires’ calls It is 40 years since John McEnroe’s famous outburst when he yelled ‘you cannot be serious’ at umpire Edward JamesMr James argued the ball was on the wrong side of the line, while McEnroe launched into his world-famous outburst: ‘You can’t be serious, man. You cannot be serious. That ball was on the line. Chalk flew up. It was clearly in.’Even now, some 40 years on, those immortal words continue to be recognised way beyond the confines of tennis as an expression of outrage at a perceived injustice. In 2013, Fabio Fognini had the most theatrical reaction to a tight line call possibly ever seen at Wimbledon, later to be known as the ‘Opera rant’. The Italian, now 37, was playing against Austria’s Jurgen Melzer when he collapsed onto the floor with his head in his hands shouting ‘no, no, no’, after his ball was declared out. Fognini then proceeded to embark on an Oscar-worthy rant which was so entertaining that the umpire could barely control his laughter.  Italy’s Fabio Fognini pictured playing against Tallon Griekspoor of the Netherlands during their men’s singles tennis match in Wimbledon 2022In 2022, Australia’s Nick Krygios lost his temper with a line judge over an intervention about a line call, in his match against Britain’s Paul Jubb.Within 12 minutes of the match, he proceeded to rant at the umpire about the line judge being a ‘snitch’ and said that the official in question had ‘no fans’. Kyrgios questioned: ‘Has one person today come to see her speak?’. He went on: ‘No. I understand, but why is she doing that? Not one person in the stadium has come here to watch her do anything! Not one person.’Like, you know what I mean? You got fans, but she has got none.’What did I do? Like, come on. I know, but what? She just selfishly walks to you in the middle of a game because she’s a snitch! Nick Kyrgios (pictured in 2022) during a match against Novak DjokovicIn 2016, Serbian Viktor Troicki lost his temper in the penultimate point of his match against Spaniard Albert Ramos-Vinolas when his opponent was given an ace by the umpire which had been called out by the line judge. The No25 seed screamed, grabbed the ball from the ball boys hands and held it up to the umpire declaring ‘Please look at it. What? What? Look at it’.At the end of the match he told umpire Damiano Torella he was the ‘worst ever’ and refused to shake hands with Ramos-Vinolas.Troicki later called for the Hawk-Eye challenge system on all courts.He said: ‘Only a few courts have hawk-eye and I think if we are playing serious tennis with such a bad chair umpire, I think at least we should have Hawk-Eye. It was just frustrating not having that today.’ Viktor Troicki of Serbia (pictured in 2012) returning a shot during a Wimbledon match against Juan Monaco of ArgentinaThe Hawk-Eye Live system has been used on the tour for a number of years and was rolled out at a Grand Slam for the first time in the 2020 US Open.It is an upgrade to the original technology, first introduced at tennis’s premier competition in 2007, which has gifted players the ability to review calls they feel to be incorrect.Inevitably, the uprooting of one of the most quintessential features of one of sport’s most famous events has caused some controversy with fans divided on the move.A whole host of supporters have taken to social media to back the implementation of automated electronic line calling (ELC) with some praising the forward-thinking idea. Fans of sport’s most well-mannered spectacle have fallen into a dispute over a huge change Wimbledon announced that its iconic line judges are to be replaced by artificial intelligence The Hawk-Eye Live system has been used on the tour for a number of yearsJames R Kennedy posted on X, formerly Twitter: ‘Long overdue – the standard of line calling in recent years has been utterly abysmal.’Professor X said: ‘Tech replaces human oversight.’Another user added: ‘Good news…. Line judges are outdated anyways.’And one simply posted: ‘Love this change!’ Organisers are not believed to have come to the decision lightly, with concerns over the breaking of Wimbledon’s staunch tradition as well as the effective dismissal of dozens of line judges coming into consideration.The competition employs more than 300 on-court officials each year to cover more than 650 matches across the fortnight.The employees, aged between 18 and 80, work on an one-hour-on and one-hour-off basis and operate as a team.  Inevitably, the uprooting one of the most quintessential features of one of sport’s most famous events has caused some controversy The team of line judges take part in the presentation ceremony after Carlos Alcaraz’s 2023 win Organisers are not believed to have come to the decision lightly, with concerns over the effective dismissal of dozens of line judges coming into consideration Some things will remain the same, however, with the chair umpire continuing to lead the officiating teamThey are generally from the UK and, with a few elite exceptions, take on the work as a part-time gig along with a regular job. The officials are paid up to £180 a day.Paired with Queen’s Club’s decision to do the same, the switch to ELC has added to mounting concerns about the pathway of officiating in this country after Australian tennis saw a decline in the number of umpires and line judges after the Australian Open brought in the technology three years ago. And Chip Skylark took to social media, along with hordes of other objectors, to draw attention to this fact.’First self service tills and now this,’ they said. Computers stealing everyone’s jobs.’Meanwhile, Matt Baker added: ‘They are quintessential Wimbledon, they may not have got the calls right sometimes, but that’s what Hawkeye is for, don’t get rid of them because of technology, get them back on the courts.’ Others took issue with the breaking of a tradition that has lasted almost a century and a half. Miss Mac posted: ‘What’s next, AI umpire? AI players?’@Wimbledon, some traditions are worth standing apart for, especially when Hawkeye is in operation to cover the less than ten per cent error rate in line judging.’ A whole host of supporters have taken to social media to back the implementation of automated electronic line calling (ELC)Matthew added: ‘Whatever happened to respecting tradition?’And Mark Doig evoked John McEnroe’s catchphrase during the 1980s, reserved for whenever one of the line judges made a decision he disagreed with.’You cannot be serious!!’ he said.McEnroe, who is now a prominent commentator, is one of the least surprising proponents of the new technology and previously said: ‘If you have equipment that’s accurate, I’m sorry, you have got to go with that.’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.’The existing reviews system will also now be ditched as automated voice calls can now make a decision within a tenth of a second after a ball lands out. Several cameras will be able to track the ball’s flight throughout the rally as an additional video operator watches on in a separate room away from the court. Some things will remain the same, however, with the chair umpire continuing to lead the officiating team out in the heart of the action, but the edges of the court will take on a decidedly quieter feel from 2025.  Hordes of objectors have pointed out the importance of tradition and line judges’ livelihoodsThe move to ELC might come as a shock to devoted fans of the yearly event but, for tennis stars, the technology is familiar.Hawk-Eye Live has gradually been installed in tournaments across the world and the men’s ATP Tour has made clear its desire to implement it in every competition from next year.This means that the All England Club risked being left behind as technology raced into the future, burdened still with the yearly controversies over tight calls in important moments.