Wimbledon will follow the American and Australian Opens in employing video review technology.
Video review technology will make its debut at Wimbledon in the upcoming tournament.
Competitors will gain the right to challenge specific calls made by the chair umpire, mirroring the system already in place at each of the US Open and the Aussie major.
This technology will be operational on the main stadium and the number one court for the duration of the Championships and on the other four featured courts when they are hosting singles contests.
This development follows just a year after the AELTC rolled out ELC, which effectively ended the centuries-old tradition of line judges.
Reviewable Decisions
Players will not be permitted to challenge the call of the ELC system, but are allowed to ask for the umpire to review specific situations, such as:
- If a tennis ball has double-bounced.
- If a shot made contact with an opponent's racquet or body on the way past.
- Potential hindrance end of a point.
Notably, there is an unlimited number on the amount of challenges a competitor can initiate.
Practical Application
An illustrative example took place in a recent tournament last week, where Daniil Medvedev initiated the review system against Jack Draper.
The British player conceded it was a difficult situation for the official, but believed his rival had "played the rules quite well."
The umpire viewed a video and ruled Draper was guilty of interference, awarding the point to his opponent.
Wider Implementation
This technology aren't exclusive to major tournaments. It was adopted at the American major since 2023 and the Aussie Open this year.
Additionally, it is increasingly prevalent on the women’s WTA Tour, and by the coming year the men's ATP Tour plans to have the system implemented at all of its events.
Additional Innovations
A further innovation at Wimbledon this year will be the addition of graphical cues on scoreboards to complement the verbal announcements from the ELC system.
This solves instances where fans have sometimes been unsure whether a ball was in or out.
Finally, with precisely 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.
