Wimbledon Embraces Video Replay Technology This Season.
Wimbledon will follow the American and Australian Opens in implementing video review technology.
Video review systems are set to arrive at Wimbledon in the upcoming tournament.
Players will gain the option to question specific decisions from the official, echoing the system already in use at both the US Open and the Aussie major.
The new system will be accessible on the main stadium and Court One for the duration of the tournament and on the other four show courts when they are hosting singles contests.
This development comes just a season following the All England Club introduced ELC, which effectively ended the centuries-old role 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 official to re-examine other situations, including:
- Whether a ball has bounced twice.
- If a ball made contact with an rival's racket or body during play.
- Possible hindrance end of a rally.
Notably, there will be an unlimited number on the number of challenges a player can request.
A Recent Example
An illustrative incident occurred in a recent tournament last week, where a top player initiated the video challenge against his opponent.
The British player admitted it was a difficult situation for the umpire, but thought his opponent had "played the rules effectively."
The umpire viewed a replay and ruled the player was responsible for interference, granting the rally to his opponent.
Growing Trend
This technology aren't new for Grand Slams. It has been in use at the American major since 2023 and the Aussie Open this year.
Additionally, it is becoming more common on the WTA circuit, and by next season the ATP circuit plans to have video reviews in place at every one of its events.
Further Updates
Another innovation at The Championships this year involves the addition of visual indicators on scoreboards to support the audio calls from the electronic line calling system.
This solves situations where spectators have sometimes been unsure if a shot was in or out.
In other news, with exactly 100 days to go until the start of the Championships, the AELTC have also revealed an increase in daily capacity at the qualifiers in Roehampton.
