Wimbledon Adopts Video Challenge Technology This Season.
The tournament joins the US and Australian Opens in utilizing video review technology.
Replay systems are set to arrive at Wimbledon this year.
Athletes will gain the right to challenge specific decisions made by the chair umpire, mirroring the practice currently in place 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 Championships and on the remaining show courts when they are hosting singles matches.
This move follows just a season following the All England Club rolled out electronic line calling, which terminated the 147-year role of line judges.
Reviewable Decisions
Players cannot to dispute the call of the ELC system, but are allowed to request the umpire to review other decisions, such as:
- Whether a tennis ball has bounced twice.
- If a shot made contact with an opponent's racquet or person on the way past.
- Possible hindrance at the conclusion of a point.
Importantly, there will be an unlimited number on the number of reviews a competitor can initiate.
A Recent Example
An illustrative example occurred in Indian Wells recently, where a top player initiated the video challenge against Jack Draper.
The British player conceded it was a difficult call for the official, but believed his rival had "used the regulations effectively."
Official Aurelie Tourte watched a replay and determined Draper was guilty of interference, awarding the rally to Medvedev.
Wider Implementation
Video reviews aren't exclusive to Grand Slams. It has been in use at the US Open for two years and the Aussie Open this year.
Furthermore, it is becoming more common on the WTA circuit, and by the coming year the ATP circuit will have video reviews in place at all of its events.
Further Updates
A further change at Wimbledon this year will be the introduction of graphical cues on scoreboards to support the audio calls from the ELC system.
This solves situations where fans have sometimes been uncertain if a ball was in or out.
In other news, with precisely 100 days to go until the start of the tournament, organizers have also announced an expansion in daily capacity at the qualifiers in Roehampton.