The tournament joins the US and Aussie Opens in implementing video review technology.
Replay technology will make its debut at The Championships this year.
Athletes are granted the ability to question certain decisions made by the chair umpire, echoing the system currently in place at both the US Open and the Aussie major.
This innovation is slated for use on Centre Court and Court One throughout the tournament and on the remaining show courts when they are staging singles matches.
This step arrives only a season following the AELTC introduced electronic line calling, which effectively ended the centuries-old tradition of line officials.
What Can Be Reviewed?
Players will not be permitted to dispute the accuracy of the ELC system, but are allowed to ask for the official to re-examine other situations, including:
- Whether a ball has bounced twice.
- Whether a shot made contact with an rival's racket or person on the way past.
- Potential hindrance at the conclusion of a rally.
Importantly, there will be no cap on the number of reviews a player can ask for.
Case in Point
An illustrative incident took place in Indian Wells recently, where a top player initiated the video challenge against his opponent.
The British player conceded it was a tough situation for the umpire, but believed his opponent had "played the rules quite well."
Official Aurelie Tourte viewed a video and ruled Draper was responsible for hindrance, granting the point to his opponent.
Growing Trend
Video reviews are not new for Grand Slams. The system has been in use at the US Open for two years and the Australian Open this year.
Additionally, it is becoming more common on the women’s WTA Tour, and by next season the ATP circuit plans to have video reviews in place at all of its tournaments.
Further Updates
A further innovation at Wimbledon this year will be the addition of graphical cues on displays to complement the audio calls from the ELC system.
This addresses instances where the crowd have sometimes been uncertain if a ball was out or in.
In other news, with precisely 100 days to go until the start of the Championships, the AELTC have further revealed an increase in daily capacity at the qualifying competition in Roehampton.
