Wimbledon will follow the American and Australian Opens in utilizing replay technology.
Replay systems are set to arrive at The Championships this year.
Players will gain the option to contest specific calls made by the chair umpire, following the system currently in use at each of the American Grand Slam and the Aussie major.
This technology is slated for use on Centre Court and the number one court throughout the tournament and on the other four show courts when they are staging singles contests.
This development comes just a season following the AELTC introduced electronic line calling, which terminated the longstanding tradition of line judges.
Scope of Challenges
Players cannot to dispute the accuracy of the electronic line calling, but they can request the umpire to re-examine specific decisions, such as:
- Whether a ball has bounced twice.
- Whether a ball made contact with an opponent's racquet or body during play.
- Possible hindrance end of a point.
Notably, there is no limit on the amount of challenges a player can request.
A Recent Example
A recent incident took place in Indian Wells recently, where a top player used the video challenge against his opponent.
Draper conceded it was a tough call for the umpire, but thought his rival had "played the rules quite well."
The umpire viewed a replay and ruled the player was guilty of hindrance, granting the rally to Medvedev.
Growing Trend
Video reviews are not new for major tournaments. It was adopted at the American major for two years and the Aussie Open since 2025.
Furthermore, it is becoming more common on the women’s WTA Tour, and by next season the ATP circuit will have the system implemented at every one of its events.
Additional Innovations
A further innovation at Wimbledon this year involves the introduction of graphical cues on scoreboards to complement the audio calls from the ELC system.
This addresses situations where fans have sometimes been uncertain whether a shot was out or in.
In other news, with exactly a century of days remaining until the start of the tournament, the AELTC have further revealed an increase in daily capacity at the qualifying competition in the qualifying venue.
