Wimbledon will follow the American and Australian Opens in employing video review systems.
Video review technology will make its debut at Wimbledon this year.
Competitors will gain the right to contest particular calls made by the chair umpire, mirroring the protocol already in operation at each of the American Grand Slam and the Aussie major.
This technology will be operational on the main stadium and Court One throughout the Championships and on the other four featured courts when they are staging singles matches.
This step comes just a year after the All England Club implemented electronic line calling, which effectively ended the longstanding tradition of line officials.
What Can Be Reviewed?
Competitors will not be permitted to dispute the accuracy of the ELC system, but they can ask for the official to review other situations, including:
- Whether a tennis ball has bounced twice.
- If a shot touched an opponent's racquet or body during play.
- Possible interference at the conclusion of a point.
Importantly, there will be no limit on the amount of challenges a player can request.
A Recent Example
An illustrative incident occurred in Indian Wells last week, where a top player initiated the video challenge against Jack Draper.
Draper conceded it was a tough situation for the umpire, but thought his opponent had "played the rules effectively."
Official Aurelie Tourte viewed a replay and determined the player was responsible for interference, granting the point to his opponent.
Wider Implementation
Video reviews aren't new for Grand Slams. It has been in use at the US Open since 2023 and the Australian Open this year.
Additionally, it is becoming more common on the women’s WTA Tour, and by the coming year the men's ATP Tour plans to have video reviews in place at every one of its events.
Further Updates
A further change at Wimbledon this year will be the introduction of visual indicators on scoreboards to support the audio calls from the electronic line calling system.
This addresses situations where the crowd have sometimes been unsure if a ball 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 revealed an expansion in daily capacity at the qualifying competition in the qualifying venue.
