Wimbledon will follow the American and Australian Opens in employing replay technology.
Video review technology are set to arrive at Wimbledon this year.
Athletes are granted the ability to challenge certain calls from the official, echoing the system already in place at both the American Grand Slam and the Aussie major.
This technology will be accessible on Centre Court and Court One throughout the tournament and on the remaining featured courts when they are hosting singles contests.
This move comes just a year after the AELTC implemented ELC, which effectively ended the 147-year role of line officials.
Reviewable Decisions
Competitors cannot to challenge the call of the electronic line calling, but are allowed to request the official to review other situations, such as:
- Whether a ball has bounced twice.
- If a shot made contact with an rival's racket or person during play.
- Possible interference at the conclusion of a rally.
Notably, there will be no limit on the amount of reviews a player can ask for.
Practical Application
A recent case occurred in Indian Wells last week, where a top player used the video challenge against his opponent.
Draper admitted it was a difficult situation for the official, but thought his rival had "played the rules effectively."
The umpire viewed a video and ruled Draper was guilty of hindrance, awarding the rally to Medvedev.
Broader Adoption
Video reviews are not exclusive to Grand Slams. The system was adopted at the American major since 2023 and the Australian Open this year.
Furthermore, it is increasingly prevalent on the women’s WTA Tour, and by the coming year the men's ATP Tour will have video reviews in place at all of its tournaments.
Other Changes
Another innovation at The Championships this year will be the introduction of graphical cues on scoreboards to support the audio calls from the electronic line calling system.
This addresses instances where the crowd have sometimes been unsure whether a ball was in or out.
In other news, with precisely 100 days to go until the beginning of the Championships, organizers have further announced an expansion in daily attendance at the qualifiers in Roehampton.
