The tournament joins the American and Australian Opens in implementing replay systems.
Video review systems are set to arrive at Wimbledon for the 2025 edition.
Athletes will gain the right to contest certain rulings made by the chair umpire, following the protocol currently in place at both the American Grand Slam and the Australian Open.
This innovation is slated for use on the main stadium and Court One for the duration of the Championships and on the remaining show courts when they are staging singles contests.
This development comes just a season following the AELTC rolled out electronic line calling, which terminated the centuries-old tradition of line judges.
Scope of Challenges
Competitors will not be permitted to dispute the call of the ELC system, but are allowed to ask for the umpire to review other decisions, including:
- If a tennis ball has double-bounced.
- If a ball made contact with an opponent's racquet or person on the way past.
- Potential hindrance at the conclusion of a rally.
Notably, there is no limit on the amount of reviews a competitor can initiate.
Practical Application
An illustrative case took place in Indian Wells last week, where a top player initiated the video challenge against Jack Draper.
Draper conceded it was a difficult call for the official, but believed his opponent had "played the rules effectively."
Official Aurelie Tourte watched a replay and determined the player was responsible for hindrance, granting the rally to Medvedev.
Growing Trend
Video reviews aren't exclusive to major tournaments. It was adopted at the American major for two years and the Australian Open this year.
Additionally, it is becoming more common on the WTA circuit, and by the coming year the ATP circuit plans to have the system implemented at all of its tournaments.
Additional Innovations
Another innovation at The Championships this year will be the introduction of visual indicators on scoreboards to complement the audio calls from the ELC system.
This solves instances where the crowd have occasionally been uncertain whether a shot was out or in.
In other news, with precisely a century of days remaining until the beginning of the Championships, the AELTC have also announced an increase in daily capacity at the qualifying competition in Roehampton.
