Wimbledon will follow the US and Australian Opens in implementing replay systems.
Video review technology will make its debut at The Championships in the upcoming tournament.
Athletes will gain the right to question specific decisions made by the official, echoing the practice already in place at both the American Grand Slam and the Aussie major.
The new system will be operational on the main stadium and Court One for the duration of the Championships and on the other four featured courts when they are staging singles matches.
This move follows just a season following the All England Club rolled out ELC, which effectively ended the longstanding tradition of line judges.
Reviewable Decisions
Players cannot to dispute the call of the ELC system, but are allowed to ask for the official to re-examine specific decisions, including:
- Whether a ball has double-bounced.
- Whether a shot touched an opponent's racquet or person during play.
- Possible interference at the conclusion of a point.
Importantly, there is no cap on the number of reviews a competitor can initiate.
Case in Point
A recent example took place in a recent tournament last week, where a top player initiated the video challenge against his opponent.
The British player conceded it was a difficult situation for the umpire, but believed his rival had "played the rules effectively."
The umpire viewed a video and determined Draper was guilty of hindrance, awarding the point to his opponent.
Growing Trend
Video reviews aren't new for major tournaments. It has been in use at the American major for two years and the Australian Open this year.
Additionally, it is becoming more common on the WTA circuit, and by the coming year the ATP circuit will have video reviews implemented at all of its events.
Further Updates
Another innovation at Wimbledon this year will be the addition of graphical cues on scoreboards to support the audio calls from the ELC system.
This addresses situations where spectators have sometimes been unsure whether a ball was in or out.
Finally, with precisely 100 days remaining until the beginning of the Championships, organizers have further announced an expansion in daily capacity at the qualifying competition in Roehampton.
