Wimbledon will follow the American and Australian Opens in implementing video review technology.
Replay technology will be launched at The Championships for the 2025 edition.
Athletes are granted the option to question specific calls made by the official, mirroring the system currently in operation at each of the American Grand Slam and the Aussie major.
This innovation will be operational on Centre Court and the number one court for the duration of the Championships and on the other four show courts when they are staging singles contests.
This move arrives only a season following the All England Club rolled out ELC, which brought an end to the 147-year tradition of line judges.
Scope of Challenges
Competitors cannot to challenge the accuracy of the ELC system, but are allowed to request the umpire to re-examine specific decisions, such as:
- Whether a ball has bounced twice.
- If a ball touched an opponent's racquet or person during play.
- Possible hindrance end of a point.
Notably, there is an unlimited number on the number of challenges a player can initiate.
Practical Application
An illustrative case occurred in Indian Wells recently, where a top player initiated the video challenge against his opponent.
The British player admitted it was a tough call for the umpire, but thought his opponent had "used the regulations quite well."
The umpire watched a replay and ruled Draper was responsible for hindrance, awarding the point to his opponent.
Wider Implementation
This technology are not new for Grand Slams. The system was adopted at the American major since 2023 and the Aussie Open this year.
Furthermore, it is increasingly prevalent on the women’s WTA Tour, and by the coming year the men's ATP Tour will have video reviews in place at all of its events.
Further Updates
A further change at The Championships this year will be the addition of graphical cues on scoreboards to complement the audio calls from the electronic line calling system.
This solves situations where the crowd have sometimes been uncertain whether a shot was out or in.
Finally, with exactly a century of days to go until the beginning of the Championships, organizers have further announced an expansion in daily capacity at the qualifiers in the qualifying venue.
