Wimbledon will follow the US and Australian Opens in implementing replay systems.
Replay systems will be launched at The Championships this year.
Players are granted the right to challenge particular calls from the official, following the protocol already in use at both the US Open and the Australian Open.
The new system will be accessible on Centre Court and Court One throughout the Championships and on the remaining show courts when they are hosting singles matches.
This move comes just a year after the All England Club introduced electronic line calling, which effectively ended the centuries-old tradition of line officials.
Reviewable Decisions
Players cannot to dispute the call of the ELC system, but they can request the umpire to re-examine specific decisions, including:
- Whether a tennis ball has bounced twice.
- Whether a ball touched an opponent's racquet or person on the way past.
- Potential hindrance end of a rally.
Importantly, there is no limit on the amount of reviews a competitor can ask for.
Practical Application
An illustrative case took place in a recent tournament recently, where a top player initiated the review system against his opponent.
Draper admitted it was a tough situation for the umpire, but thought his opponent had "played the rules quite well."
The umpire viewed a video and ruled Draper was responsible for hindrance, awarding the point to Medvedev.
Broader Adoption
This technology aren't exclusive to major tournaments. It has been in use at the American major for two years and the Australian Open this year.
Furthermore, it is increasingly prevalent on the women’s WTA Tour, and by next season the men's ATP Tour plans to have video reviews implemented at all of its tournaments.
Further Updates
A further change at Wimbledon this year involves the introduction of visual indicators on displays to support the verbal announcements from the electronic line calling system.
This solves situations where fans have sometimes been uncertain if a shot was in or out.
Finally, with precisely 100 days to go until the start of the tournament, organizers have further revealed an increase in daily capacity at the qualifiers in the qualifying venue.
