The tournament joins the American and Australian Opens in implementing replay systems.
Video review technology are set to arrive at Wimbledon in the upcoming tournament.
Athletes are granted the ability to challenge specific calls made by the chair umpire, echoing the practice currently in operation at each of the American Grand Slam and the Australian Open.
This innovation will be operational on Centre Court and Court One for the duration of the tournament and on the other four show courts when they are hosting singles contests.
This development arrives only a year after the AELTC rolled out electronic line calling, which effectively ended the longstanding role of line officials.
Reviewable Decisions
Players cannot to challenge the call of the electronic line calling, but they can request the official to re-examine other decisions, including:
- If a tennis ball has double-bounced.
- If a ball made contact with an opponent's racquet or person during play.
- Potential hindrance end of a rally.
Importantly, there is no cap on the amount of challenges a competitor can request.
Practical Application
An illustrative incident occurred in Indian Wells recently, where a top player used the video challenge against his opponent.
Draper admitted it was a difficult call for the official, but thought his rival had "used the regulations quite well."
The umpire viewed a replay and ruled Draper was responsible for hindrance, granting the rally to his opponent.
Wider Implementation
Video reviews are not new for Grand Slams. It was adopted at the US Open for two years and the Aussie Open this year.
Furthermore, it is becoming more common on the women’s WTA Tour, and by the coming year the men's ATP Tour will have the system implemented at every one of its events.
Other Changes
A further innovation at The Championships this year involves the addition of visual indicators on displays to support the verbal announcements from the ELC system.
This addresses instances where fans have occasionally been unsure if a shot was out or in.
In other news, with precisely a century of days to go until the start of the tournament, the AELTC have further announced an increase in daily capacity at the qualifying competition in the qualifying venue.
