Wimbledon will follow the American and Aussie Opens in employing replay technology.
Video review systems will be launched at Wimbledon in the upcoming tournament.
Athletes are granted the ability to contest certain rulings made by the official, echoing the protocol currently in place at each of the US Open and the Aussie major.
The new system will be operational on the main stadium and Court One throughout the Championships and on the other four featured courts when they are hosting singles contests.
This move follows just a season following the All England Club introduced electronic line calling, which effectively ended the 147-year tradition of line judges.
Scope of Challenges
Players cannot to dispute the accuracy of the ELC system, but they can ask for the official to re-examine specific situations, such as:
- Whether a tennis ball has bounced twice.
- Whether a ball made contact with an opponent's racquet or person during play.
- Potential interference at the conclusion of a point.
Notably, there is no cap on the number of reviews a competitor can initiate.
A Recent Example
A recent case took place in a recent tournament last week, where a top player initiated the video challenge against his opponent.
Draper admitted it was a difficult call for the official, but thought his rival had "played the rules effectively."
Official Aurelie Tourte viewed a replay and ruled Draper was guilty of interference, granting the rally to Medvedev.
Broader Adoption
Video reviews are not new for Grand Slams. The system was adopted at the US Open for two years 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 every one of its events.
Further Updates
Another change at Wimbledon this year will be the addition of visual indicators on scoreboards to complement the audio calls from the ELC system.
This addresses situations where spectators have occasionally been unsure if a shot was out or in.
Finally, with exactly 100 days remaining until the beginning of the Championships, organizers have also revealed an expansion in daily capacity at the qualifying competition in the qualifying venue.
