🔗 Share this article Wimbledon Adopts Video Challenge System for the First Time. The tournament joins the US and Aussie Opens in employing replay systems. Replay systems will be launched at The Championships in the upcoming tournament. Players are granted the right to contest particular decisions from the official, following the system already in operation at each of the American Grand Slam and the Australian Open. This innovation is slated for use on Centre Court and Court One throughout the Championships and on the other four featured courts when they are hosting singles matches. This development comes just a season following the AELTC introduced electronic line calling, which brought an end to the longstanding tradition of line judges. What Can Be Reviewed? Competitors will not be permitted to challenge the accuracy of the ELC system, but are allowed to request the umpire to re-examine specific decisions, including: If a tennis ball has double-bounced. If a ball made contact with an opponent's racquet or body during play. Possible interference end of a point. Notably, there will be no cap on the amount of challenges a player can ask for. A Recent Example A recent incident took place in Indian Wells last week, where Daniil Medvedev initiated the review system against Jack Draper. Draper conceded it was a difficult situation for the umpire, but believed his rival had "played the rules quite well." The umpire viewed a video and determined Draper was responsible for hindrance, awarding the rally to Medvedev. Wider Implementation Video reviews aren't new for major tournaments. It was adopted at the US Open since 2023 and the Aussie Open this year. Furthermore, it is becoming more common on the women’s WTA Tour, and by next season the men's ATP Tour plans to have video reviews implemented at all of its tournaments. Other Changes A further innovation at The Championships this year involves the introduction of graphical cues on displays to complement the audio calls from the ELC system. This solves situations where spectators have occasionally been unsure if a ball was in or out. Finally, with precisely a century of days to go until the beginning of the tournament, the AELTC have also announced an increase in daily capacity at the qualifiers in the qualifying venue.
The tournament joins the US and Aussie Opens in employing replay systems. Replay systems will be launched at The Championships in the upcoming tournament. Players are granted the right to contest particular decisions from the official, following the system already in operation at each of the American Grand Slam and the Australian Open. This innovation is slated for use on Centre Court and Court One throughout the Championships and on the other four featured courts when they are hosting singles matches. This development comes just a season following the AELTC introduced electronic line calling, which brought an end to the longstanding tradition of line judges. What Can Be Reviewed? Competitors will not be permitted to challenge the accuracy of the ELC system, but are allowed to request the umpire to re-examine specific decisions, including: If a tennis ball has double-bounced. If a ball made contact with an opponent's racquet or body during play. Possible interference end of a point. Notably, there will be no cap on the amount of challenges a player can ask for. A Recent Example A recent incident took place in Indian Wells last week, where Daniil Medvedev initiated the review system against Jack Draper. Draper conceded it was a difficult situation for the umpire, but believed his rival had "played the rules quite well." The umpire viewed a video and determined Draper was responsible for hindrance, awarding the rally to Medvedev. Wider Implementation Video reviews aren't new for major tournaments. It was adopted at the US Open since 2023 and the Aussie Open this year. Furthermore, it is becoming more common on the women’s WTA Tour, and by next season the men's ATP Tour plans to have video reviews implemented at all of its tournaments. Other Changes A further innovation at The Championships this year involves the introduction of graphical cues on displays to complement the audio calls from the ELC system. This solves situations where spectators have occasionally been unsure if a ball was in or out. Finally, with precisely a century of days to go until the beginning of the tournament, the AELTC have also announced an increase in daily capacity at the qualifiers in the qualifying venue.