eyre

For Pauline Eyre, who called the lines at Wimbledon for 16 years, some natty blazers and the chance to buy tickets for the tournament were the main recompense for work she had to take annual leave to do.

Being so close to Jana Novotna on Centre Court that she could see her foot shaking on the first point of a Wimbledon final or being "psyched out" by John McEnroe were priceless experiences for Eyre.

The absence of line judges now gives players fewer people to take out their frustrations on, with Eyre remembering being "yelled at" by players and being hit by many balls.

"Why would you go to call the lines at Finchley Tennis Club under-12s if you haven't got that carrot of 'maybe one day I can get to call lines at Wimbledon'?" said Eyre, who called the lines in 12 Wimbledon finals in the 1990s and 2000s and is now a comedian touring a show about her line judge experiences.

With players also no longer able to rely on the line judges' arm gestures to indicate if the ball is out, Eyre says the voices used at the grass-court tournament were not loud enough.