Wimbledon will follow the US and Australian Opens in implementing replay technology.
Replay systems will make its debut at The Championships this year.
Players are granted the right to contest particular decisions from the official, echoing the practice already in operation at each of the American Grand Slam and the Aussie major.
This technology will be operational on the main stadium and the number one court for the duration of the tournament and on the remaining featured courts when they are hosting singles matches.
This development comes just a season following the AELTC implemented electronic line calling, which effectively ended the longstanding tradition of line officials.
Reviewable Decisions
Competitors will not be permitted to challenge the call of the electronic line calling, but they can request the umpire to re-examine other decisions, including:
- If a tennis ball has double-bounced.
- Whether a shot made contact with an opponent's racquet or person on the way past.
- Potential hindrance end of a rally.
Importantly, there will be no cap on the amount of challenges a competitor can ask for.
A Recent Example
An illustrative incident took place in a recent tournament last week, where a top player initiated the video challenge against his opponent.
Draper conceded it was a difficult situation for the umpire, but thought his opponent had "used the regulations quite well."
The umpire viewed a video and determined the player was guilty of interference, awarding the point to his opponent.
Wider Implementation
Video reviews are not new for major tournaments. It has been in use at the American major 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 ATP circuit will have the system implemented at all of its events.
Further Updates
A further innovation at Wimbledon this year will be the addition of graphical cues on scoreboards to support the audio calls from the electronic line calling system.
This solves situations where fans have sometimes been unsure if a ball was in or out.
In other news, with exactly a century of days remaining until the beginning of the tournament, the AELTC have also revealed an expansion in daily capacity at the qualifying competition in Roehampton.
