Wimbledon Introduces Video Replay Technology This Season.
The tournament joins the US and Australian Opens in implementing video review systems.
Video review systems will be launched at Wimbledon for the 2025 edition.
Athletes will gain the ability to question specific calls made by the official, following the protocol currently in place at each of the American Grand Slam 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 comes just a year after the AELTC rolled out ELC, which effectively ended the longstanding tradition of line judges.
What Can Be Reviewed?
Competitors cannot to challenge the call of the ELC system, but are allowed to request the umpire to re-examine other decisions, including:
- Whether a tennis ball has bounced twice.
- If a shot made contact with an rival's racket or person during play.
- Possible interference at the conclusion of a point.
Importantly, there will be no limit on the amount of challenges a player can request.
A Recent Example
An illustrative incident occurred in Indian Wells last week, where a top player initiated the video challenge against his opponent.
The British player conceded it was a tough situation for the official, but thought his rival had "played the rules effectively."
The umpire viewed a video and determined Draper was guilty of hindrance, granting the point to Medvedev.
Growing Trend
Video reviews aren't exclusive to major tournaments. The system has been in use at the US Open for two years and the Aussie Open this year.
Additionally, it is increasingly prevalent on the WTA circuit, and by next season the ATP circuit will have the system implemented at all of its tournaments.
Other Changes
A further change at Wimbledon this year involves the addition of graphical cues on displays to support the audio calls from the electronic line calling system.
This addresses situations where spectators have occasionally been uncertain if a ball was in or out.
In other news, with exactly 100 days remaining until the start of the tournament, organizers have further revealed an expansion in daily attendance at the qualifying competition in the qualifying venue.