Wimbledon will follow the American and Australian Opens in employing replay systems.
Replay systems will make its debut at The Championships in the upcoming tournament.
Competitors will gain the ability to question certain decisions from the chair umpire, following the practice currently in use at both the American Grand Slam and the Aussie major.
This innovation will be operational on the main stadium and Court One throughout the Championships and on the remaining show courts when they are staging singles matches.
This development follows just a year after the AELTC introduced electronic line calling, which effectively ended the centuries-old role of line judges.
What Can Be Reviewed?
Competitors will not be permitted to dispute the call of the electronic line calling, but they can request the umpire to review other situations, including:
- Whether a tennis ball has double-bounced.
- Whether a ball touched an opponent's racquet or person during play.
- Potential interference end of a rally.
Importantly, there is no limit on the amount of reviews a competitor can ask for.
Practical Application
An illustrative case occurred in Indian Wells last week, where Daniil Medvedev initiated the review system against his opponent.
The British player admitted it was a difficult situation for the umpire, but thought his opponent had "used the regulations quite well."
Official Aurelie Tourte viewed a video and determined the player was responsible for interference, awarding the point to Medvedev.
Wider Implementation
This technology are not new for major tournaments. It was adopted at the American major for two years and the Aussie Open this year.
Furthermore, it is increasingly prevalent on the WTA circuit, and by the coming year the men's ATP Tour will have video reviews in place at every one of its events.
Other Changes
Another change at Wimbledon this year will be the addition of graphical cues on scoreboards to support the verbal announcements from the ELC system.
This solves situations where the crowd have occasionally been unsure if a ball was in or out.
Finally, with exactly 100 days remaining until the beginning of the Championships, the AELTC have also revealed an increase in daily capacity at the qualifying competition in Roehampton.
