Wimbledon will follow the American and Australian Opens in implementing replay technology.
Replay systems will make its debut at Wimbledon this year.
Competitors are granted the ability to contest certain calls made by the chair umpire, following the system currently in operation at both the US Open and the Australian Open.
This technology will be operational on the main stadium and the number one court throughout the Championships and on the remaining featured courts when they are staging singles contests.
This step follows just a year after the All England Club rolled out electronic line calling, which terminated the longstanding role of line officials.
Reviewable Decisions
Competitors will not be permitted to dispute the accuracy of the electronic line calling, but are allowed to ask for the official to re-examine other decisions, including:
- If a tennis ball has double-bounced.
- Whether a ball touched an rival's racket or person during play.
- Possible interference end of a point.
Notably, there will be an unlimited number on the number of challenges a player can ask for.
Practical Application
A recent case took place in Indian Wells last week, where Daniil Medvedev initiated the review system against his opponent.
Draper conceded it was a difficult situation for the umpire, but thought his opponent had "played the rules quite well."
The umpire viewed a replay and ruled the player was responsible for hindrance, granting the point to Medvedev.
Wider Implementation
Video reviews aren't new for major tournaments. It was adopted at the American major for two years and the Australian Open this year.
Additionally, it is becoming more common on the women’s WTA Tour, and by the coming year the men's ATP Tour will have video reviews implemented at all of its tournaments.
Further Updates
Another innovation at The Championships this year involves the addition of graphical cues on scoreboards to support the audio calls from the electronic line calling system.
This solves situations where spectators have sometimes been uncertain if a shot was out or in.
Finally, with exactly a century of days remaining until the beginning of the tournament, the AELTC have further revealed an increase in daily attendance at the qualifying competition in the qualifying venue.
