Wimbledon will follow the American and Australian Opens in employing replay technology.
Video review systems will make its debut at The Championships this year.
Players will gain the option to question certain decisions made by the official, echoing the protocol already in place at both the US Open and the Aussie major.
The new system is slated for use on Centre Court and the number one court throughout the Championships and on the remaining featured courts when they are hosting singles matches.
This move arrives only a season following the All England Club rolled out electronic line calling, which effectively ended the centuries-old role of line officials.
What Can Be Reviewed?
Competitors cannot to dispute the call of the electronic line calling, but they can ask for the official to re-examine specific decisions, such as:
- Whether a tennis ball has bounced twice.
- Whether a shot touched an rival's racket or body on the way past.
- Potential interference at the conclusion of a rally.
Notably, there is no cap on the amount of challenges a competitor can initiate.
A Recent Example
A recent case took place in Indian Wells last week, where a top player initiated the review system against his opponent.
The British player conceded it was a difficult situation for the official, but believed his rival had "played the rules quite well."
The umpire watched a replay and determined Draper was guilty of interference, awarding the point to his opponent.
Wider Implementation
Video reviews aren't exclusive to major tournaments. The system was adopted at the US Open for two years and the Australian Open this year.
Additionally, it is increasingly prevalent on the WTA circuit, and by the coming year the men's ATP Tour will have the system in place at every one of its events.
Further Updates
Another innovation at Wimbledon this year will be the addition of graphical cues on scoreboards to support the audio calls from the electronic line calling system.
This solves instances where the crowd have occasionally been unsure whether a ball was in or out.
In other news, with exactly 100 days to go until the start of the Championships, the AELTC have further announced an increase in daily attendance at the qualifying competition in the qualifying venue.
