Wimbledon will follow the American and Australian Opens in employing replay technology.
Video review systems will make its debut at Wimbledon this year.
Athletes are granted the right to question certain calls from the official, following the protocol currently in use at both the American Grand Slam and the Australian Open.
This technology will be operational on Centre Court and Court One throughout the tournament and on the remaining show courts when they are staging singles contests.
This move follows just a year after the All England Club rolled out ELC, which terminated the 147-year tradition of line judges.
Scope of Challenges
Competitors cannot to dispute the call of the ELC system, but are allowed to request the official to review specific decisions, such as:
- Whether a ball has bounced twice.
- Whether a ball made contact with an rival's racket or person during play.
- Potential hindrance at the conclusion of a point.
Importantly, there will be an unlimited number on the amount of reviews a competitor can initiate.
Case in Point
An illustrative example occurred in a recent tournament recently, where a top player initiated the video challenge against Jack Draper.
Draper conceded it was a tough situation for the umpire, but believed his rival had "used the regulations effectively."
Official Aurelie Tourte viewed a video and ruled the player was responsible for hindrance, granting the rally to Medvedev.
Growing Trend
Video reviews are not new for major tournaments. It was adopted at the US Open since 2023 and the Aussie Open this year.
Additionally, it is increasingly prevalent on the WTA circuit, and by next season the ATP circuit plans to have video reviews implemented at every one of its tournaments.
Additional Innovations
Another innovation at The Championships this year will be the addition of visual indicators on displays to support the audio calls from the electronic line calling system.
This solves situations where fans have occasionally been uncertain if a shot was in or out.
Finally, with exactly a century of days remaining until the beginning of the tournament, the AELTC have further announced an expansion in daily capacity at the qualifying competition in the qualifying venue.
