Wimbledon will follow the American and Aussie Opens in employing replay technology.
Video review systems are set to arrive at Wimbledon this year.
Athletes will gain the option to contest specific calls made by the official, following the system already in place at both the American Grand Slam and the Australian Open.
This innovation will be operational on the main stadium and Court One throughout the tournament and on the remaining featured courts when they are staging singles contests.
This move follows just a year after the All England Club introduced ELC, which brought an end to the 147-year tradition of line officials.
Scope of Challenges
Competitors will not be permitted to dispute the call of the electronic line calling, but they can ask for the umpire to review specific decisions, including:
- If a ball has double-bounced.
- Whether a ball touched an opponent's racquet or body during play.
- Possible interference end of a point.
Notably, there is no limit on the number of challenges a competitor can request.
Case in Point
An illustrative example occurred in a recent tournament last week, where a top player used the review system against Jack Draper.
Draper admitted it was a tough call for the official, but thought his rival had "played the rules quite well."
The umpire viewed a replay and ruled the player was guilty of hindrance, granting the rally to Medvedev.
Broader Adoption
Video reviews aren't exclusive to major tournaments. The system was adopted at the US Open 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 ATP circuit plans to have video reviews in place at all of its events.
Other Changes
A further change at Wimbledon this year involves the introduction of visual indicators on scoreboards to complement the verbal announcements from the ELC system.
This addresses situations where the crowd have occasionally been uncertain whether a ball was in or out.
Finally, with exactly a century of days to go until the beginning of the Championships, the AELTC have also announced an increase in daily capacity at the qualifiers in Roehampton.
