Wimbledon Embraces Video Challenge Technology for the First Time.
Wimbledon will follow the American and Australian Opens in employing replay systems.
Replay technology are set to arrive at The Championships this year.
Competitors are granted the right to contest certain rulings made by the official, following the system already in use at both the American Grand Slam and the Australian Open.
This innovation will be operational on Centre Court and the number one court for the duration of the Championships and on the other four featured courts when they are staging singles contests.
This step arrives only a year after the All England Club rolled out ELC, which effectively ended the longstanding role of line judges.
Scope of Challenges
Competitors cannot to dispute the call of the electronic line calling, but are allowed to request the official to re-examine specific decisions, such as:
- Whether a tennis ball has bounced twice.
- If a shot touched an rival's racket or person on the way past.
- Potential interference at the conclusion of a rally.
Importantly, there will be no limit on the number of challenges a competitor can initiate.
A Recent Example
An illustrative case occurred in a recent tournament recently, where a top player used the review system against Jack Draper.
The British player admitted it was a difficult call for the official, but thought his opponent had "played the rules quite well."
The umpire watched a replay and ruled the player was responsible for interference, awarding the rally to his opponent.
Wider Implementation
Video reviews aren't exclusive to Grand Slams. It was adopted at the US Open for two years and the Australian Open since 2025.
Additionally, it is becoming more common on the women’s WTA Tour, and by next season the men's ATP Tour will have video reviews implemented at every one of its tournaments.
Further Updates
Another innovation at Wimbledon this year will be the addition of graphical cues on displays to complement the audio calls from the electronic line calling system.
This solves instances where the crowd have sometimes been unsure whether a ball was out or in.
Finally, with exactly 100 days to go until the start of the Championships, the AELTC have also revealed an expansion in daily capacity at the qualifiers in Roehampton.
