Wimbledon will follow the American and Australian Opens in implementing video review systems.
Replay systems will make its debut at Wimbledon in the upcoming tournament.
Competitors will gain the ability to challenge certain calls from the chair umpire, mirroring the system currently in place at each of the American Grand Slam and the Aussie major.
This innovation is slated for use on Centre Court and Court One for the duration of the Championships and on the remaining featured courts when they are hosting singles contests.
This development arrives only a season following the All England Club rolled out electronic line calling, which effectively ended the 147-year tradition of line officials.
Scope of Challenges
Competitors will not be permitted to challenge the call of the electronic line calling, but are allowed to request the official to review other situations, such as:
- Whether a ball has bounced twice.
- Whether a shot made contact with an rival's racket or body on the way past.
- Potential interference end of a point.
Notably, there is no cap on the amount of challenges a player can initiate.
A Recent Example
An illustrative case took place in a recent tournament recently, where a top player initiated the video challenge against his opponent.
Draper admitted it was a tough situation for the official, but believed his rival had "played the rules effectively."
The umpire viewed a replay and ruled Draper was responsible for interference, granting the rally to his opponent.
Wider Implementation
Video reviews aren't new for Grand Slams. The system has been in use at the US Open for two years and the Australian Open this year.
Additionally, it is becoming more common on the WTA circuit, and by next season the ATP circuit will have the system in place at every one of its events.
Additional Innovations
Another change at Wimbledon 2025 involves the addition of visual indicators on displays to support the audio calls from the ELC system.
This solves situations where fans have occasionally been uncertain if a ball was out or in.
Finally, with precisely 100 days remaining until the start of the Championships, the AELTC have further revealed an increase in daily capacity at the qualifying competition in Roehampton.
