Wimbledon will follow the American and Aussie Opens in implementing replay systems.
Replay technology are set to arrive at Wimbledon in the upcoming tournament.
Athletes are granted the option to question certain decisions from the chair umpire, echoing the protocol already in place at both the American Grand Slam and the Australian Open.
This innovation will be accessible on Centre Court and Court One throughout the Championships and on the other four show courts when they are staging singles contests.
This step arrives only a year after the All England Club rolled out ELC, which effectively ended the longstanding role of line judges.
Scope of Challenges
Competitors cannot to dispute the call of the electronic line calling, but they can request the official to review other situations, such as:
- If a ball has double-bounced.
- Whether a ball made contact with an rival's racket or body on the way past.
- Possible interference end of a rally.
Importantly, there will be no limit on the amount of challenges a competitor can initiate.
A Recent Example
An illustrative example took place in Indian Wells recently, where a top player initiated the review system against Jack Draper.
Draper conceded it was a difficult call for the umpire, but thought his rival had "played the rules effectively."
The umpire watched a video and ruled Draper was responsible for interference, granting the rally to Medvedev.
Growing Trend
This technology are not exclusive to Grand Slams. It has been in use at the American major since 2023 and the Aussie Open this year.
Furthermore, it is increasingly prevalent on the women’s WTA Tour, and by the coming year the ATP circuit will have video reviews implemented at all of its events.
Additional Innovations
Another change at Wimbledon this year involves the addition of visual indicators on displays to complement the audio calls from the electronic line calling system.
This addresses situations where the crowd have occasionally been uncertain whether a shot was out or in.
In other news, with precisely a century of days to go until the beginning of the Championships, the AELTC have also announced an expansion in daily capacity at the qualifying competition in Roehampton.
