Wimbledon Adopts Video Review System for the First Time.

Replay systems are set to arrive at Wimbledon this year.

Players are granted the option to challenge specific calls made by the chair umpire, mirroring the system currently in place at each of the American Grand Slam and the Aussie major.

This innovation will be operational on the main stadium and Court One throughout the Championships and on the remaining featured courts when they are staging singles matches.

This development arrives only a season following the All England Club introduced electronic line calling, which brought an end to the centuries-old role of line officials.

What Can Be Reviewed?

Players cannot to challenge the accuracy of the ELC system, but are allowed to request the umpire to review other decisions, such as:

• If a ball has double-bounced.
• Whether a ball touched an rival's racket or person on the way past.
• Potential interference end of a rally.

Importantly, there will be no cap on the number of reviews a player can initiate.

Practical Application

An illustrative example occurred in a recent tournament recently, where a top player initiated the review system against his opponent.

The British player conceded it was a tough situation for the official, but believed his opponent had "used the regulations quite well."

Official Aurelie Tourte viewed a video and determined the player was responsible for interference, granting the rally to his opponent.

Growing Trend

This technology aren't exclusive to major tournaments. It was adopted at the American major for two years and the Aussie Open this year.

Furthermore, it is increasingly prevalent on the women’s WTA Tour, and by the coming year the ATP circuit plans to have the system in place at every one of its events.

Other Changes

Another innovation at Wimbledon this year involves the addition of graphical cues on scoreboards to support the audio calls from the electronic line calling system.

This solves situations where the crowd have occasionally been unsure if a shot was out or in.

Finally, with precisely a century of days to go until the beginning of the tournament, the AELTC have also revealed an expansion in daily capacity at the qualifying competition in the qualifying venue.