Wimbledon will follow the American and Australian Opens in employing video review systems.
Video review technology will make its debut at Wimbledon this year.
Players will gain the ability to question certain rulings made by the chair umpire, mirroring the system currently in place at each of the American Grand Slam and the Australian Open.
The new system will be operational on Centre Court and the number one court for the duration of the Championships and on the other four show courts when they are hosting singles matches.
This move arrives only a season following the All England Club introduced electronic line calling, which effectively ended the 147-year tradition of line judges.
What Can Be Reviewed?
Players cannot to dispute the call of the electronic line calling, but are allowed to ask for the umpire to review other decisions, including:
- If a tennis ball has bounced twice.
- Whether a ball made contact with an rival's racket or person on the way past.
- Possible interference end of a point.
Importantly, there will be an unlimited number on the amount of challenges a player can initiate.
A Recent Example
A recent example took place in a recent tournament recently, where a top player used the video challenge against his opponent.
Draper conceded it was a difficult situation for the official, but thought his opponent had "played the rules quite well."
Official Aurelie Tourte viewed a replay and ruled the player was responsible for hindrance, granting the rally to his opponent.
Broader Adoption
Video reviews are not new for Grand Slams. It has been in use at the American major for two years and the Aussie Open this year.
Furthermore, it is becoming more common on the women’s WTA Tour, and by the coming year the men's ATP Tour will have the system implemented at all of its events.
Other Changes
A further innovation at The Championships this year involves the addition of visual indicators on displays to complement the verbal announcements from the ELC system.
This solves situations where spectators have sometimes been unsure if a ball was out or in.
In other news, with exactly a century of days to go until the beginning of the tournament, organizers have further revealed an increase in daily capacity at the qualifying competition in Roehampton.
