Wimbledon will follow the American and Australian Opens in employing video review systems.
Video review technology are set to arrive at The Championships for the 2025 edition.
Athletes will gain the ability to contest certain calls from the chair umpire, following the practice currently in place at both the US Open and the Aussie major.
The new system will be accessible on Centre Court and the number one court for the duration of the tournament and on the other four featured courts when they are staging singles matches.
This step comes just a year after the AELTC rolled out electronic line calling, which effectively ended the 147-year role of line judges.
Scope of Challenges
Players will not be permitted to dispute the call of the ELC system, but are allowed to request the official to re-examine other decisions, including:
- Whether a tennis ball has bounced twice.
- If a ball made contact with an opponent's racquet or person on the way past.
- Potential interference at the conclusion of a point.
Importantly, there is no limit on the number of challenges a competitor can request.
Case in Point
An illustrative case occurred in a recent tournament last week, where a top player initiated the review system against Jack Draper.
Draper admitted it was a difficult call for the official, but thought his opponent had "played the rules effectively."
Official Aurelie Tourte watched a video and ruled the player was guilty of hindrance, awarding the point to Medvedev.
Growing Trend
Video reviews are not new for major tournaments. It was adopted at the US Open since 2023 and the Australian Open this year.
Furthermore, it is becoming more common on the WTA circuit, and by next season the men's ATP Tour plans to have the system in place at all of its tournaments.
Further Updates
A further change at Wimbledon this year involves the introduction of graphical cues on displays to support the audio calls from the ELC system.
This solves instances where the crowd have sometimes been uncertain if a ball was out or in.
Finally, with exactly 100 days remaining until the beginning of the tournament, organizers have further revealed an expansion in daily capacity at the qualifying competition in Roehampton.
