Wimbledon will follow the US and Australian Opens in utilizing replay technology.
Replay technology are set to arrive at Wimbledon in the upcoming tournament.
Athletes are granted the ability to contest specific rulings made by the official, echoing the system currently in place at both the American Grand Slam and the Aussie major.
The new system will be operational on the main stadium and Court One for the duration of the tournament and on the remaining featured courts when they are staging singles contests.
This development follows just a season following the AELTC introduced ELC, which terminated the centuries-old role of line officials.
Scope of Challenges
Competitors will not be permitted to challenge the call of the ELC system, but they can ask for the official to review other decisions, including:
- If a ball has bounced twice.
- Whether a shot made contact with an opponent's racquet or person during play.
- Potential interference at the conclusion of a rally.
Notably, there will be no cap on the amount of reviews a player can ask for.
Practical Application
A recent example occurred in a recent tournament recently, where a top player initiated the video challenge against his opponent.
The British player admitted it was a difficult call for the umpire, but believed his opponent had "played the rules quite well."
Official Aurelie Tourte watched a video and ruled the player was responsible for interference, awarding the rally to Medvedev.
Growing Trend
This technology aren't exclusive to Grand Slams. It has been in use at the American major since 2023 and the Aussie Open this year.
Additionally, it is increasingly prevalent on the women’s WTA Tour, and by the coming year the men's ATP Tour plans to have the system in place at all of its events.
Additional Innovations
A further innovation at The Championships this year will be the introduction of graphical cues on scoreboards to complement the audio calls from the electronic line calling system.
This solves situations where spectators have occasionally been unsure whether a shot was out or in.
Finally, with precisely 100 days to go until the start of the tournament, the AELTC have further revealed an increase in daily attendance at the qualifying competition in Roehampton.
