Wimbledon will follow the American and Australian Opens in employing replay systems.
Video review systems will make its debut at The Championships this year.
Competitors will gain the ability to contest specific calls from the chair umpire, following the protocol already in place at both the American Grand Slam and the Aussie major.
The new system will be accessible on Centre Court and the number one court for the duration of the Championships and on the remaining featured courts when they are staging singles contests.
This step comes just a year after the AELTC rolled out ELC, which effectively ended the longstanding tradition of line judges.
What Can Be Reviewed?
Players will not be permitted to challenge the call of the electronic line calling, but are allowed to ask for the official to review other decisions, such as:
- Whether a tennis ball has bounced twice.
- Whether a shot touched an opponent's racquet or person on the way past.
- Potential interference at the conclusion of a point.
Notably, there is no cap on the amount of reviews a player can ask for.
Practical Application
A recent example took place in a recent tournament last week, where a top player initiated the video challenge against his opponent.
The British player admitted it was a difficult call for the official, but thought his rival had "played the rules effectively."
Official Aurelie Tourte watched a replay and ruled Draper was responsible for interference, awarding the point to Medvedev.
Growing Trend
Video reviews are not exclusive to Grand Slams. The system was adopted at the US Open since 2023 and the Australian Open this year.
Additionally, it is becoming more common on the WTA circuit, and by the coming year the ATP circuit will have video reviews in place at every one of its tournaments.
Other Changes
A further change at Wimbledon this year involves the addition of graphical cues on displays to support the verbal announcements from the electronic line calling system.
This addresses instances where fans have sometimes been uncertain whether a shot was out or in.
Finally, with precisely a century of days to go until the beginning of the tournament, organizers have further announced an increase in daily capacity at the qualifiers in the qualifying venue.
