Wimbledon will follow the American and Aussie Opens in implementing replay technology.
Replay systems will make its debut at The Championships this year.
Players will gain the ability to contest particular decisions made by the official, echoing the system currently in use at both the US Open and the Australian Open.
This technology will be accessible on Centre Court and the number one court for the duration of the Championships and on the other four show courts when they are staging singles matches.
This move arrives only a year after the AELTC introduced ELC, which brought an end to the longstanding tradition of line officials.
Scope of Challenges
Competitors will not be permitted to dispute the accuracy of the ELC system, but they can request the umpire to re-examine specific decisions, including:
- Whether a tennis ball has bounced twice.
- If a shot touched an rival's racket or person during play.
- Potential interference end of a point.
Importantly, there is an unlimited number on the number of reviews a player can initiate.
A Recent Example
An illustrative incident took place in a recent tournament recently, where Daniil Medvedev initiated the video challenge against his opponent.
Draper conceded it was a difficult call for the official, but thought his rival had "played the rules quite well."
The umpire watched a replay and ruled the player was responsible for hindrance, awarding the point to Medvedev.
Wider Implementation
Video reviews are not new for major tournaments. It has been in use at the US Open for two years and the Aussie Open this year.
Additionally, it is becoming more common on the women’s WTA Tour, and by the coming year the men's ATP Tour plans to have video reviews in place at all of its tournaments.
Additional Innovations
A further change at Wimbledon this year will be the addition of visual indicators on scoreboards to support the audio calls from the ELC system.
This addresses instances where spectators have occasionally been uncertain if a ball was in or out.
In other news, with precisely 100 days remaining until the start of the Championships, organizers have further revealed an increase in daily capacity at the qualifying competition in Roehampton.
