The tournament joins the American and Australian Opens in employing replay technology.
Replay technology will be launched at Wimbledon this year.
Competitors will gain the ability to challenge certain calls from the official, mirroring the practice currently in use at each of the American Grand Slam and the Australian Open.
This innovation is slated for use on the main stadium and the number one court for the duration of the tournament and on the other four featured courts when they are staging singles matches.
This development arrives only a year after the All England Club introduced electronic line calling, which terminated the longstanding role of line officials.
Scope of Challenges
Competitors cannot to challenge the call of the ELC system, but they can ask for the official to review other situations, such as:
- Whether a tennis ball has double-bounced.
- Whether a ball touched an rival's racket or body during play.
- Potential hindrance at the conclusion of a rally.
Importantly, there will be no limit on the amount of challenges a competitor can initiate.
Case in Point
A recent case took place in a recent tournament last week, where a top player used the review system against Jack Draper.
The British player conceded it was a tough situation for the umpire, but thought his opponent had "played the rules quite well."
The umpire watched a video and determined the player was guilty of hindrance, awarding the point to Medvedev.
Growing Trend
Video reviews are not exclusive to Grand Slams. It was adopted at the US Open since 2023 and the Aussie Open this year.
Furthermore, it is increasingly prevalent on the women’s WTA Tour, and by next season the men's ATP Tour plans to have video reviews in place at every one of its events.
Other Changes
Another innovation at The Championships this year involves the introduction of graphical cues on scoreboards to support the verbal announcements from the ELC system.
This solves situations where the crowd have occasionally been uncertain whether a ball was in or out.
In other news, with exactly 100 days remaining until the start of the Championships, the AELTC have further revealed an expansion in daily capacity at the qualifying competition in the qualifying venue.
