Wait, What? Wimbledon's Scoreboard Logic Makes Zero Sense and Fans Are Losing Their Minds

By Lewis Barnett 5 July, 2025 5 mins read 40 Views

So I'm watching Wimbledon coverage yesterday, minding my own business, when I notice something that made me do a double-take at my screen.

The BBC's new scoreboard system – which honestly looks pretty slick with the previous set scores finally showing up – has this bizarre quirk that's driving tennis fans absolutely mental. And once you see it, you can't unsee it.

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The Great Name-Shortening Mystery

Here's where it gets weird. They managed to squeeze "Pavlyuchenkova" – all 14 letters of it – onto the scoreboard when she played Naomi Osaka in round three. Looked cramped as hell, but they did it.

But then... and this is where my brain started hurting... they chopped off "Kudermetova" to "P. Kudermeto" when she faced Swiatek in round one. Just lopped off the "va" at the end like it never existed.

I counted the letters three times because I thought I was going crazy.

The Math Doesn't Add Up (And Neither Does the Logic)

One fan on Twitter – and bless them for doing the actual math – pointed out that "Pavlyuchenkova" is 14 letters while "P. Kudermetova" would be 12 letters plus the period and space. That's 14 total characters.

Same. Exact. Length.

Yet one gets the full treatment and the other gets butchered. Make it make sense, Wimbledon.

It Gets Worse

Turns out this isn't just a one-off thing. Fans started digging and found more examples that'll make your head spin. "Shapovalov" – only 10 letters – gets shortened to "Shapovalo." Why? Nobody knows.

And my personal favorite piece of madness: they turned "BASILASHVILI" into "BASILASHVIL" by just... removing an "I" for absolutely no reason. There was plenty of space! It's like they're playing some twisted game of Scrabble with people's names.

Tennis reporter Ben Rothenberg nailed it when he joked that someone could write an entire dissertation about Wimbledon's "haphazard" approach to surname shortening. (Pretty sure "chaotic" would be more accurate, but whatever.)

The Fan Reactions Are Everything

The comments section turned into a detective agency real quick. People started comparing character counts, analyzing spacing, questioning everything they thought they knew about scoreboard logic.

"I don't get it, they can fit Pavlyuchenkova on the scoreboard but not Kudermetova???" wrote one bewildered fan.

Another just said: "Yes was wondering the same."

That's it. That's the tweet. Pure confusion distilled into six words.

Here's My Theory

I think someone at the BBC graphics department is just winging it. No algorithm, no consistent rules, just some intern making split-second decisions about whose name gets the chop.

Either that, or there's some incredibly complex system at work that considers font kerning, visual balance, and the alignment of the planets. But honestly? I'm betting on the intern theory.

The whole thing reminds me of those autocorrect fails where your phone decides it knows better than you do. Except this is happening at Wimbledon, on live television, to professional athletes who probably aren't thrilled about having their names mangled.

Poor Polina Kudermetova. At least people know how to spell her name now – even if the BBC apparently doesn't.

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Did you miss our previous article...
https://sportingexcitement.com/tennis/djokovics-got-new-moves-and-im-here-for-it