The tournament joins the US and Australian Opens in employing video review systems.
Video review systems will make its debut at Wimbledon in the upcoming tournament.
Athletes will gain the ability to challenge certain decisions made by the chair umpire, mirroring the system already in place at both the US Open and the Australian Open.
This innovation will be operational 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 hosting singles matches.
This step comes just a year after the All England Club introduced ELC, which effectively ended the 147-year role of line officials.
What Can Be Reviewed?
Competitors cannot to dispute the call of the electronic line calling, but are allowed to request the umpire to review specific decisions, including:
- Whether a tennis ball has bounced twice.
- If a shot made contact with an opponent's racquet or person during play.
- Potential hindrance end of a point.
Importantly, there will be no cap on the amount of challenges a player can initiate.
Practical Application
An illustrative case took place in a recent tournament recently, where a top player used the video challenge against Jack Draper.
The British player admitted it was a difficult situation for the official, but believed his opponent had "used the regulations effectively."
Official Aurelie Tourte watched a replay and determined the player was responsible for hindrance, granting the rally to Medvedev.
Wider Implementation
Video reviews are not new for Grand Slams. It was adopted at the American major since 2023 and the Aussie Open this year.
Additionally, it is becoming more common on the women’s WTA Tour, and by next season the men's ATP Tour plans to have video reviews in place at all of its tournaments.
Further Updates
A further innovation at The Championships this year involves the addition of visual indicators on scoreboards to support the audio calls from the ELC system.
This solves instances where spectators have occasionally been unsure if a ball was out or in.
In other news, with precisely 100 days to go until the beginning of the Championships, the AELTC have also announced an expansion in daily capacity at the qualifying competition in Roehampton.
