The tournament joins the US and Australian Opens in employing replay systems.
Video review systems are set to arrive at Wimbledon in the upcoming tournament.
Athletes will gain the right to question certain decisions made by the chair umpire, mirroring the system already in place at both the American Grand Slam and the Aussie major.
This innovation will be operational on the main stadium and Court One throughout the tournament and on the other four featured courts when they are staging singles matches.
This step arrives only a year after the AELTC introduced ELC, which effectively ended the 147-year tradition of line judges.
Scope of Challenges
Players cannot to dispute the call of the ELC system, but are allowed to request the official to review other situations, including:
- Whether a ball has bounced twice.
- Whether a shot touched an rival's racket or person on the way past.
- Potential hindrance at the conclusion of a point.
Importantly, there will be no cap on the amount of reviews a player can initiate.
Case in Point
A recent example occurred in a recent tournament recently, where Daniil Medvedev used the review system against his opponent.
The British player admitted it was a difficult situation for the official, but thought his opponent had "played the rules effectively."
The umpire watched a video and ruled the player was guilty of interference, awarding the point to his opponent.
Wider Implementation
This technology are not new for major tournaments. It has been in use at the US Open since 2023 and the Aussie Open this year.
Furthermore, it is increasingly prevalent on the WTA circuit, and by the coming year the men's ATP Tour plans to have the system in place at every one of its tournaments.
Other Changes
Another innovation at Wimbledon this year involves the introduction of visual indicators on scoreboards to complement the audio calls from the ELC system.
This addresses situations where spectators have occasionally been unsure whether a ball was in or out.
In other news, with precisely 100 days to go until the beginning of the Championships, organizers have also announced an expansion in daily capacity at the qualifying competition in Roehampton.
