The tournament joins the American and Australian Opens in implementing replay technology.
Video review technology will make its debut at Wimbledon in the upcoming tournament.
Players are granted the ability to challenge specific decisions made by the official, following the practice currently in operation at each of the US Open and the Aussie major.
This innovation will be operational on the main stadium and Court One for the duration of the tournament and on the other four show courts when they are staging singles contests.
This development follows just a year after the All England Club introduced electronic line calling, which effectively ended the longstanding tradition of line judges.
Scope of Challenges
Players cannot to dispute the accuracy of the ELC system, but they can ask for the umpire to review other situations, such as:
- Whether a tennis ball has double-bounced.
- Whether a ball touched an rival's racket or person during play.
- Possible interference at the conclusion of a rally.
Notably, there will be no cap on the amount of reviews a player can request.
Case in Point
An illustrative case occurred in Indian Wells recently, where a top player used the review system against his opponent.
The British player conceded it was a difficult situation for the official, but thought his rival had "played the rules effectively."
The umpire watched a video and ruled the player was responsible for interference, awarding the rally to his opponent.
Wider Implementation
Video reviews aren't new for Grand Slams. The system has been in use at the American major for two years and the Australian Open this year.
Furthermore, it is increasingly prevalent on the women’s WTA Tour, and by next season the men's ATP Tour plans to have video reviews in place at all of its tournaments.
Additional Innovations
Another innovation at Wimbledon this year will be the introduction of visual indicators on displays to support the audio calls from the ELC system.
This addresses situations where fans have occasionally been uncertain if a shot was in or out.
Finally, with precisely a century of days remaining until the beginning of the Championships, organizers have further revealed an expansion in daily attendance at the qualifying competition in the qualifying venue.
