The tournament joins the American and Aussie Opens in implementing replay systems.
Replay systems are set to arrive at The Championships this year.
Players will gain the option to question specific rulings made by the chair umpire, following 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 other four show courts when they are staging singles matches.
This step follows just a year after the AELTC introduced electronic line calling, which terminated the longstanding tradition of line officials.
Reviewable Decisions
Players cannot to dispute the call of the electronic line calling, but they can request the official to review other decisions, including:
- If a tennis ball has bounced twice.
- Whether a ball touched an rival's racket or person during play.
- Potential interference at the conclusion of a point.
Notably, there will be an unlimited number on the amount of challenges a competitor can ask for.
Practical Application
A recent incident occurred in a recent tournament recently, where a top player initiated the video challenge against Jack Draper.
Draper conceded it was a difficult situation for the umpire, but believed his opponent had "played the rules quite well."
The umpire viewed a video and determined Draper was responsible for interference, granting the rally to his opponent.
Growing Trend
This technology are not new for Grand Slams. It was adopted at the US Open since 2023 and the Aussie Open this year.
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 in place at all of its tournaments.
Other Changes
Another innovation at Wimbledon this year will be the introduction of visual indicators on displays to support the audio calls from the ELC system.
This addresses situations where fans have sometimes been uncertain if a ball was out or in.
In other news, with exactly a century of days to go until the start of the Championships, the AELTC have further announced an increase in daily capacity at the qualifying competition in the qualifying venue.
