The tournament joins the American and Aussie Opens in employing replay technology.
Replay systems are set to arrive at The Championships in the upcoming tournament.
Players are granted the right to challenge specific decisions from the chair umpire, echoing the system already in operation at each of the US Open and the Australian Open.
The new system will be operational 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 contests.
This move follows just a year after the All England Club implemented electronic line calling, which terminated the centuries-old tradition of line officials.
Scope of Challenges
Players will not be permitted to challenge the call of the electronic line calling, but are allowed to request the official to review other decisions, such as:
- Whether a tennis ball has bounced twice.
- Whether a shot touched an rival's racket or body during play.
- Potential interference end of a point.
Importantly, there is no cap on the amount of reviews 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.
Draper admitted it was a difficult situation for the official, but thought his opponent had "used the regulations effectively."
Official Aurelie Tourte watched a replay and ruled Draper was responsible for hindrance, granting the point to his opponent.
Broader Adoption
Video reviews are not exclusive to major tournaments. The system was adopted at the American major since 2023 and the Australian Open this year.
Additionally, it is becoming more common on the women’s WTA Tour, and by the coming year the ATP circuit plans to have the system implemented at every one of its tournaments.
Additional Innovations
Another change at Wimbledon this year will be the addition of graphical cues on scoreboards to complement the verbal announcements from the electronic line calling system.
This solves situations where fans have occasionally been uncertain if a ball was in or out.
In other news, with exactly a century of days to go until the beginning of the tournament, organizers have also revealed an expansion in daily attendance at the qualifiers in Roehampton.
