The tournament joins the American and Aussie Opens in implementing video review technology.
Video review systems will make its debut at Wimbledon for the 2025 edition.
Athletes are granted the option to contest specific rulings made by the chair umpire, following the practice currently in use at both the US Open and the Australian Open.
The new system will be operational on Centre Court and Court One throughout the tournament and on the other four featured courts when they are hosting singles matches.
This move follows just a year after the All England Club implemented ELC, which effectively ended the longstanding role of line judges.
Scope of Challenges
Players will not be permitted to challenge the accuracy of the ELC system, but are allowed to request the official to review specific decisions, such as:
- Whether a tennis ball has bounced twice.
- If a shot touched an opponent's racquet or person on the way past.
- Possible interference at the conclusion of a rally.
Notably, there is no limit on the number of reviews a competitor can initiate.
Case in Point
An illustrative example took place in Indian Wells last week, where Daniil Medvedev initiated the video challenge against his opponent.
The British player admitted it was a difficult situation for the umpire, but thought his rival had "played the rules quite well."
The umpire watched a video and ruled Draper was guilty of hindrance, awarding the rally to Medvedev.
Growing Trend
Video reviews are not exclusive to Grand Slams. It was adopted 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 next season the men's ATP Tour plans to have video reviews implemented at all of its events.
Additional Innovations
Another innovation at The Championships this year involves the introduction of graphical cues on scoreboards to support the verbal announcements from the electronic line calling system.
This addresses instances where fans have sometimes been uncertain whether a shot was in or out.
Finally, with precisely a century of days remaining until the start of the tournament, the AELTC have further revealed an increase in daily capacity at the qualifiers in Roehampton.
