Wimbledon will follow the American and Australian Opens in employing replay technology.
Replay systems will be launched at Wimbledon in the upcoming tournament.
Players are granted the option to challenge particular calls from the chair umpire, mirroring the practice currently in place at both the American Grand Slam and the Aussie major.
The new system is slated for use on Centre Court and Court One throughout the tournament and on the other four show courts when they are staging singles matches.
This move follows just a year after the All England Club introduced ELC, which brought an end to the 147-year role of line judges.
Scope of Challenges
Competitors cannot to challenge the call of the electronic line calling, but are allowed to ask for the umpire to re-examine other situations, such as:
- Whether a ball has bounced twice.
- Whether a shot touched an opponent's racquet or person on the way past.
- Potential hindrance end of a rally.
Notably, there is no cap on the amount of challenges a player can initiate.
Practical Application
A recent case occurred in Indian Wells recently, where a top player used the review system against Jack Draper.
Draper conceded it was a difficult situation for the umpire, but thought his rival had "used the regulations quite well."
The umpire viewed a replay and determined the player was guilty of hindrance, granting the rally to Medvedev.
Growing Trend
This technology aren't new for major tournaments. It was adopted at the US Open for two years and the Australian Open since 2025.
Furthermore, it is increasingly prevalent on the women’s WTA Tour, and by the coming year the men's ATP Tour will have video reviews in place at every one of its events.
Additional Innovations
Another innovation at Wimbledon this year will be the introduction of graphical cues on scoreboards to complement the verbal announcements from the ELC system.
This addresses situations where spectators have occasionally been uncertain if a ball was out or in.
In other news, with precisely 100 days remaining until the start of the Championships, the AELTC have further revealed an expansion in daily attendance at the qualifiers in the qualifying venue.
