Wimbledon will follow the American and Australian Opens in utilizing replay technology.
Replay technology are set to arrive at Wimbledon in the upcoming tournament.
Players are granted the ability to contest certain rulings from the chair umpire, mirroring the protocol currently in operation at both the American Grand Slam and the Aussie major.
This technology will be accessible on the main stadium and the number one court for the duration of the Championships and on the other four featured courts when they are staging singles contests.
This step arrives only a season following the AELTC introduced electronic line calling, which effectively ended the 147-year role of line judges.
Scope of Challenges
Players cannot to dispute the call of the ELC system, but are allowed to request the umpire to re-examine specific situations, including:
- Whether a ball has bounced twice.
- Whether a ball made contact with an rival's racket or body during play.
- Possible hindrance end of a rally.
Notably, there is no limit on the number of reviews a player can ask for.
A Recent Example
An illustrative example occurred in a recent tournament recently, where a top player initiated the review system against Jack Draper.
Draper admitted it was a difficult situation for the official, but thought his opponent had "used the regulations effectively."
The umpire watched a replay and ruled the player was guilty of hindrance, awarding the point to his opponent.
Wider Implementation
Video reviews aren't exclusive to Grand Slams. It has been in use at the US Open for two years and the Australian Open since 2025.
Furthermore, it is becoming more common on the women’s WTA Tour, and by the coming year the ATP circuit will have video reviews in place at every one of its events.
Further Updates
A further change at Wimbledon this year involves the addition of visual indicators on scoreboards to complement the audio calls from the ELC system.
This solves situations where spectators have occasionally been unsure whether a shot was out or in.
Finally, with exactly 100 days to go until the beginning of the tournament, organizers have also revealed an increase in daily capacity at the qualifying competition in the qualifying venue.
