Wimbledon will follow the American and Australian Opens in employing replay technology.
Replay systems are set to arrive at The Championships this year.
Players are granted the ability to question specific calls from the chair umpire, following the protocol already in place at both the American Grand Slam and the Australian Open.
This innovation is slated for use on the main stadium and Court One for the duration of the tournament and on the other four featured courts when they are hosting singles matches.
This development follows just a season following the All England Club introduced electronic line calling, which brought an end to the longstanding role of line officials.
Scope of Challenges
Competitors will not be permitted to challenge the accuracy of the electronic line calling, but are allowed to request the umpire to review other situations, including:
- Whether a ball has bounced twice.
- Whether a shot touched an rival's racket or person during play.
- Possible interference at the conclusion of a rally.
Importantly, there is an unlimited number on the number of challenges a competitor can ask for.
A Recent Example
A recent example occurred in a recent tournament last week, where Daniil Medvedev used the video challenge against his opponent.
The British player admitted it was a tough situation for the official, but thought his rival had "played the rules effectively."
The umpire watched a replay and ruled the player was guilty of hindrance, granting the point to Medvedev.
Growing Trend
This technology aren't exclusive to Grand Slams. It was adopted at the US Open since 2023 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 will have the system in place at all of its tournaments.
Further Updates
A further innovation at The Championships this year will be the addition of graphical cues on displays to complement the audio calls from the ELC system.
This solves instances where spectators have sometimes been uncertain whether a ball was in or out.
In other news, with exactly a century of days remaining until the start of the tournament, organizers have also announced an expansion in daily attendance at the qualifiers in Roehampton.
