Wimbledon will follow the American and Australian Opens in employing video review systems.
Video review systems will make its debut at The Championships in the upcoming tournament.
Competitors are granted the option to contest specific calls made by the official, echoing the protocol already in place at each of the American Grand Slam and the Aussie major.
The new system will be operational on the main stadium and the number one court throughout the Championships and on the remaining show courts when they are hosting singles matches.
This step follows just a year after the All England Club rolled out electronic line calling, which terminated the 147-year tradition of line officials.
What Can Be Reviewed?
Players cannot to challenge the call of the ELC system, but they can ask for the umpire to review specific decisions, including:
- If a ball has double-bounced.
- Whether a ball made contact with an opponent's racquet or person during play.
- Potential interference end of a point.
Notably, there will be no limit on the amount of challenges a player can ask for.
Practical Application
An illustrative example occurred in a recent tournament recently, where a top player initiated the video challenge against his opponent.
The British player conceded it was a difficult call for the official, but thought his rival had "played the rules effectively."
The umpire viewed a replay and ruled Draper was guilty of interference, awarding the rally to his opponent.
Growing Trend
Video reviews are not new for Grand Slams. It was adopted at the American major since 2023 and the Australian Open this year.
Additionally, it is becoming more common on the WTA circuit, and by next season the men's ATP Tour plans to have the system implemented at every one of its events.
Other Changes
Another change at Wimbledon this year will be the introduction of visual indicators on scoreboards to support the verbal announcements from the ELC system.
This solves instances where the crowd have occasionally been unsure if a ball was out or in.
In other news, with precisely 100 days to go until the beginning of the Championships, the AELTC have also announced an increase in daily attendance at the qualifying competition in Roehampton.
