Wimbledon will follow the US and Aussie Opens in employing replay technology.
Replay systems are set to arrive at Wimbledon this year.
Players will gain the option to challenge certain calls from the chair umpire, echoing the system currently in place at each of the US Open and the Aussie major.
The new system will be accessible on Centre Court and Court One for the duration of the tournament and on the other four show courts when they are staging singles matches.
This development follows just a year after the AELTC rolled out electronic line calling, which effectively ended the longstanding tradition of line officials.
Reviewable Decisions
Competitors will not be permitted to dispute the call of the electronic line calling, but are allowed to ask for the umpire to re-examine specific decisions, including:
- Whether a tennis ball has bounced twice.
- If a shot made contact with an rival's racket or body on the way past.
- Possible interference end of a rally.
Notably, there will be an unlimited number on the amount of challenges a competitor can initiate.
Practical Application
An illustrative example took place in a recent tournament recently, where a top player initiated the video challenge against his opponent.
Draper conceded it was a difficult call for the umpire, but believed his rival had "used the regulations effectively."
The umpire watched a replay and ruled Draper was guilty of hindrance, awarding the point to Medvedev.
Wider Implementation
This technology are not new for Grand Slams. It was adopted at the US Open since 2023 and the Aussie Open this year.
Additionally, it is increasingly prevalent on the women’s WTA Tour, and by the coming year the men's ATP Tour will have video reviews implemented at all of its tournaments.
Other Changes
Another change at The Championships this year will be the addition of graphical cues on scoreboards to support the audio calls from the ELC system.
This addresses instances where fans have occasionally been uncertain whether a ball was out or in.
In other news, with precisely a century of days remaining until the beginning of the tournament, the AELTC have also revealed an increase in daily capacity at the qualifiers in the qualifying venue.
