Wimbledon will follow the American and Australian Opens in employing replay technology.
Replay systems will make its debut at Wimbledon this year.
Players are granted the ability to question certain calls made by the official, mirroring the practice currently in place at both the US Open and the Australian Open.
The new system is slated for use on the main stadium and Court One throughout the Championships and on the other four show courts when they are hosting singles contests.
This move follows just a season following the All England Club implemented ELC, which terminated the centuries-old tradition of line officials.
Reviewable Decisions
Competitors will not be permitted to challenge the call of the electronic line calling, but they can ask for the umpire to re-examine other decisions, including:
- If a ball has bounced twice.
- If a shot touched an opponent's racquet or person on the way past.
- Possible interference end of a rally.
Notably, there will be no limit on the amount of challenges a competitor can initiate.
Practical Application
A recent case took place in Indian Wells last week, where a top player used the video challenge against his opponent.
The British player admitted it was a difficult situation for the umpire, but thought his opponent had "played the rules effectively."
Official Aurelie Tourte viewed a video and determined Draper was guilty of hindrance, awarding the rally to Medvedev.
Growing Trend
Video reviews are not exclusive to major tournaments. The system has been in use at the American major for two years and the Aussie Open this year.
Additionally, it is increasingly prevalent on the WTA circuit, and by the coming year the men's ATP Tour will have video reviews implemented at every one of its events.
Additional Innovations
A further change at The Championships this year will be the addition of graphical cues on scoreboards to complement the verbal announcements from the electronic line calling system.
This addresses instances where fans have sometimes been unsure if a ball was in or out.
Finally, with exactly a century of days to go until the start of the Championships, organizers have further announced an increase in daily capacity at the qualifiers in Roehampton.
