Wimbledon will follow the American and Australian Opens in employing replay technology.
Replay systems are set to arrive at The Championships this year.
Athletes are granted the right to challenge certain decisions made by the chair umpire, echoing the protocol already in operation at each of the US Open and the Australian Open.
This technology is slated for use on the main stadium and Court One throughout the Championships and on the remaining show courts when they are staging singles matches.
This step comes just a season following the All England Club implemented electronic line calling, which terminated the centuries-old role of line officials.
Scope of Challenges
Competitors cannot to challenge the call of the ELC system, but they can request the official to review other situations, such as:
- If a tennis ball has bounced twice.
- Whether a shot touched an opponent's racquet or person during play.
- Possible interference end of a point.
Notably, there will be no cap on the number of reviews a competitor can initiate.
Case in Point
An illustrative case took place in a recent tournament recently, where a top player initiated the video challenge against his opponent.
Draper conceded it was a tough call for the official, but thought his rival had "played the rules effectively."
The umpire watched a video and determined Draper was guilty of interference, awarding the rally to Medvedev.
Broader Adoption
Video reviews aren't exclusive to Grand Slams. It has been in use at the American major for two years and the Aussie Open this year.
Additionally, it is becoming more common on the WTA circuit, and by next season the ATP circuit will have the system in place at all of its tournaments.
Additional Innovations
A further change at The Championships this year will be the introduction of visual indicators on displays to complement the audio calls from the electronic line calling system.
This addresses situations where spectators have sometimes been unsure whether a ball was in or out.
Finally, with exactly a century of days to go until the start of the Championships, the AELTC have further revealed an increase in daily capacity at the qualifying competition in Roehampton.
