Wimbledon will follow the US and Australian Opens in employing replay systems.
Replay systems are set to arrive at The Championships this year.
Players are granted the right to challenge certain calls made by the official, following the protocol already in place at each of the American Grand Slam and the Aussie major.
The new system is slated for use on Centre Court and Court One throughout the Championships and on the remaining featured courts when they are staging singles contests.
This move arrives only a year after the All England Club implemented ELC, which brought an end to the 147-year tradition of line judges.
Scope of Challenges
Players will not be permitted to dispute the call of the electronic line calling, but are allowed to request the official to re-examine other situations, such as:
- Whether a tennis ball has double-bounced.
- Whether a shot touched an opponent's racquet or body during play.
- Possible interference end of a point.
Notably, there will be an unlimited number on the amount of reviews a competitor can initiate.
Practical Application
A recent incident occurred in Indian Wells recently, where a top player initiated the video challenge against Jack Draper.
The British player admitted it was a tough situation for the official, but thought his opponent had "played the rules effectively."
The umpire viewed a replay and determined Draper was responsible for interference, granting the point to his opponent.
Growing Trend
This technology are not exclusive to major tournaments. The system was adopted at the US Open 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 events.
Other Changes
Another innovation at Wimbledon this year will be the addition of visual indicators on scoreboards to support the verbal announcements from the electronic line calling system.
This solves instances where spectators have sometimes been unsure whether a ball was in or out.
In other news, with exactly a century of days remaining until the beginning of the Championships, the AELTC have also revealed an increase in daily attendance at the qualifying competition in Roehampton.
