Wimbledon will follow the US and Australian Opens in utilizing video review technology.
Replay systems are set to arrive at Wimbledon in the upcoming tournament.
Athletes will gain the option to contest particular rulings made by the official, echoing the system currently in operation at both the American Grand Slam and the Australian Open.
This technology will be operational on the main stadium and Court One for the duration of the Championships and on the other four show courts when they are hosting singles contests.
This step follows just a season following the All England Club introduced electronic line calling, which effectively ended the centuries-old tradition of line judges.
Scope of Challenges
Competitors will not be permitted to challenge the call of the electronic line calling, but are allowed to request the umpire to re-examine other decisions, including:
- Whether a tennis ball has double-bounced.
- If a shot touched an rival's racket or person on the way past.
- Possible interference end of a point.
Importantly, there will be no cap on the number of reviews a player can ask for.
Case in Point
A recent case occurred in Indian Wells recently, where Daniil Medvedev initiated the video challenge against his opponent.
Draper conceded it was a tough situation for the official, but thought his opponent had "played the rules quite well."
Official Aurelie Tourte watched a video and determined the player was guilty of interference, awarding the rally to Medvedev.
Wider Implementation
This technology 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 increasingly prevalent on the women’s WTA Tour, and by next season the men's ATP Tour plans to have the system implemented at all of its tournaments.
Further Updates
A further innovation at Wimbledon this year will be the addition of graphical cues on displays to support the audio calls from the ELC system.
This addresses instances where spectators have occasionally been uncertain whether a shot was in or out.
In other news, with precisely a century of days remaining until the beginning of the tournament, the AELTC have also revealed an expansion in daily capacity at the qualifiers in the qualifying venue.
