The tournament joins the US and Australian Opens in utilizing video review technology.
Video review technology are set to arrive at Wimbledon this year.
Competitors are granted the right to challenge certain calls from the chair umpire, following the protocol already in place at each of the American Grand Slam and the Aussie major.
The new system will be operational on the main stadium and the number one court throughout the tournament and on the remaining featured courts when they are staging singles contests.
This step comes just a season following the All England Club introduced ELC, which brought an end to the centuries-old tradition of line officials.
What Can Be Reviewed?
Players cannot to challenge the call of the electronic line calling, but they can ask for the official to re-examine other decisions, such as:
- Whether a ball has bounced twice.
- If a ball touched an opponent's racquet or body during play.
- Potential interference end of a point.
Importantly, there will be no cap on the amount of reviews a player can request.
A Recent Example
An illustrative incident occurred in Indian Wells recently, where a top player used the video challenge against his opponent.
The British player conceded it was a difficult situation for the official, but believed his opponent had "used the regulations quite well."
The umpire viewed a video and determined the player was responsible for interference, awarding the rally to Medvedev.
Growing Trend
This technology aren't new for major tournaments. It has been in use at the American major since 2023 and the Australian Open this year.
Additionally, it is becoming more common on the women’s WTA Tour, and by the coming year the men's ATP Tour plans to have video reviews implemented at all of its events.
Additional Innovations
Another change at Wimbledon this year will be the introduction of graphical cues on scoreboards to complement the audio calls from the electronic line calling system.
This addresses instances where fans have occasionally been unsure whether a shot was in or out.
Finally, with exactly 100 days to go until the start of the Championships, organizers have also revealed an increase in daily attendance at the qualifiers in the qualifying venue.
