The tournament joins the American and Australian Opens in employing replay systems.
Replay systems will be launched at The Championships in the upcoming tournament.
Competitors will gain the option to question certain calls from the chair umpire, following the practice already in use at both the US Open and the Australian Open.
This technology will be accessible on the main stadium and Court One throughout the Championships and on the remaining show courts when they are staging singles contests.
This move comes just a year after the AELTC implemented ELC, which terminated the 147-year tradition of line judges.
What Can Be Reviewed?
Competitors will not be permitted to challenge the accuracy of the ELC system, but are allowed to request the umpire to re-examine other decisions, such as:
- Whether a ball has double-bounced.
- If a ball made contact with an opponent's racquet or body during play.
- Possible interference at the conclusion of a point.
Importantly, there is no cap on the amount of reviews a competitor can initiate.
Case in Point
A recent incident took place in Indian Wells recently, where a top player initiated the video challenge against Jack Draper.
Draper conceded it was a difficult situation for the umpire, but thought his rival had "played the rules quite well."
Official Aurelie Tourte watched a video and ruled the player was responsible for hindrance, awarding the point to his opponent.
Growing Trend
Video reviews are not new for Grand Slams. It has been in use at the US Open for two years and the Australian Open this year.
Additionally, it is becoming more common on the women’s WTA Tour, and by next season the men's ATP Tour will have the system in place at every one of its tournaments.
Other Changes
A further change at Wimbledon this year will be the addition of visual indicators on scoreboards to complement the audio calls from the electronic line calling system.
This solves situations where the crowd have sometimes been uncertain if a shot was in or out.
Finally, with precisely 100 days to go until the start of the tournament, the AELTC have also announced an expansion in daily capacity at the qualifying competition in the qualifying venue.
