The tournament joins the American and Australian Opens in utilizing video review technology.
Video review technology will make its debut at Wimbledon this year.
Athletes will gain the right to challenge particular decisions from the chair umpire, echoing the practice already in place at both the American Grand Slam and the Aussie major.
This technology will be operational on Centre Court and Court One throughout the Championships and on the remaining show courts when they are hosting singles contests.
This development follows just a season following the AELTC implemented electronic line calling, which brought an end to the 147-year role of line judges.
Scope of Challenges
Players will not be permitted to dispute the call of the ELC system, but they can ask for the umpire to review other situations, such as:
- Whether a tennis ball has bounced twice.
- Whether a shot touched an opponent's racquet or person on the way past.
- Possible interference at the conclusion of a rally.
Notably, there will be no cap on the number of challenges a competitor can ask for.
A Recent Example
An illustrative incident occurred in a recent tournament recently, where a top player initiated the video challenge against his opponent.
The British player conceded it was a difficult call for the official, but thought his opponent had "played the rules effectively."
Official Aurelie Tourte watched a video and determined Draper was guilty of hindrance, granting the rally to Medvedev.
Wider Implementation
This technology aren't new for major tournaments. The system was adopted at the US Open since 2023 and the Australian Open this year.
Furthermore, it is becoming more common on the WTA circuit, and by the coming year the ATP circuit plans to have video reviews implemented at all of its tournaments.
Additional Innovations
A further change at The Championships this year involves the introduction of graphical cues on displays to complement the verbal announcements from the ELC system.
This addresses situations where spectators have occasionally been uncertain whether a shot was in or out.
In other news, with exactly a century of days to go until the beginning of the tournament, organizers have further announced an expansion in daily capacity at the qualifying competition in the qualifying venue.
