Wimbledon will follow the American and Australian Opens in implementing video review systems.
Video review systems are set to arrive at Wimbledon this year.
Competitors are granted the ability to question particular rulings made by the chair umpire, echoing the system already in place at both the American Grand Slam and the Aussie major.
This innovation will be operational on Centre Court and the number one court for the duration of the tournament and on the other four featured courts when they are staging singles matches.
This development arrives only a year after the All England Club introduced electronic line calling, which effectively ended the longstanding tradition of line officials.
What Can Be Reviewed?
Competitors cannot to challenge the accuracy of the electronic line calling, but they can ask for the umpire to re-examine other decisions, such as:
- Whether a tennis ball has bounced twice.
- If a ball made contact with an opponent's racquet or person during play.
- Possible interference at the conclusion of a point.
Notably, there will be no limit on the amount of challenges a competitor can request.
Practical Application
A recent example occurred in a recent tournament last week, where a top player initiated the review system against Jack Draper.
The British player conceded it was a difficult situation for the official, but believed his opponent had "played the rules quite well."
Official Aurelie Tourte viewed a replay and determined Draper was guilty of interference, granting the point to Medvedev.
Broader Adoption
This technology are not exclusive to major tournaments. The system has been in use at the US Open for two years and the Australian Open this year.
Furthermore, it is becoming more common on the WTA circuit, and by the coming year the men's ATP Tour plans to have video reviews implemented at all of its tournaments.
Other Changes
A further innovation at The Championships this year will be the introduction of visual indicators on displays to complement the audio calls from the ELC system.
This addresses situations where the crowd have occasionally been uncertain if a shot was in or out.
In other news, with exactly 100 days remaining until the beginning of the Championships, organizers have also announced an increase in daily capacity at the qualifying competition in the qualifying venue.
