Wimbledon will follow the American and Aussie Opens in employing video review technology.
Replay technology will make its debut at The Championships this year.
Athletes are granted the option to contest specific decisions from the official, echoing the protocol already in use at each of the American Grand Slam and the Australian Open.
This technology will be accessible on Centre Court and Court One for the duration of the Championships and on the remaining featured courts when they are staging singles matches.
This step arrives only a season following the AELTC introduced ELC, which terminated the longstanding role of line judges.
Reviewable Decisions
Players will not be permitted to challenge the call of the ELC system, but they can request the official to review specific situations, including:
- Whether a ball has bounced twice.
- If a ball made contact with an opponent's racquet or body during play.
- Potential interference end of a point.
Notably, there will be no cap on the number of challenges a player can ask for.
A Recent Example
An illustrative example occurred in a recent tournament last week, where a top player used the video challenge against Jack Draper.
The British player admitted it was a difficult call for the official, but believed his rival had "played the rules quite well."
The umpire watched a replay and determined the player was responsible for interference, granting the rally to his opponent.
Wider Implementation
Video reviews aren't new for major tournaments. The system was adopted at the American major for two years and the Aussie Open this year.
Furthermore, 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 implemented at all of its events.
Additional Innovations
Another innovation at Wimbledon this year will be the addition of graphical cues on displays to support the verbal announcements from the ELC system.
This addresses instances where spectators have occasionally been uncertain whether a ball was in or out.
In other news, with exactly a century of days to go until the beginning of the Championships, the AELTC have further announced an increase in daily attendance at the qualifying competition in Roehampton.
