Wimbledon will follow the American and Australian Opens in employing replay technology.
Replay technology will be launched at Wimbledon this year.
Athletes are granted the ability to challenge specific rulings made by the chair umpire, echoing the system already in place at both the US Open and the Aussie major.
The new system will be accessible on Centre Court and the number one court for the duration of the Championships and on the other four featured courts when they are staging singles matches.
This development arrives only a season following the AELTC rolled out electronic line calling, which effectively ended the 147-year role of line judges.
Scope of Challenges
Competitors cannot to challenge the accuracy of the electronic line calling, but they can ask for the official to re-examine other decisions, including:
- If a tennis ball has bounced twice.
- If a shot touched an opponent's racquet or body during play.
- Possible hindrance end of a rally.
Importantly, there is no limit on the amount of reviews a player can ask for.
Practical Application
A recent case occurred in Indian Wells recently, where Daniil Medvedev used the review system against his opponent.
Draper admitted it was a difficult call for the umpire, but thought his opponent had "played the rules effectively."
Official Aurelie Tourte viewed a video and determined Draper was guilty of hindrance, awarding the point to his opponent.
Growing Trend
Video reviews aren't new for major tournaments. It was adopted at the American major since 2023 and the Australian Open this year.
Additionally, it is increasingly prevalent on the women’s WTA Tour, and by the coming year the men's ATP Tour will have video reviews in place at all of its tournaments.
Additional Innovations
A further change at Wimbledon 2025 will be the introduction of graphical cues on scoreboards to complement the verbal announcements from the electronic line calling system.
This addresses situations where fans have sometimes been uncertain if a ball was in or out.
In other news, with exactly 100 days remaining until the beginning of the Championships, the AELTC have further announced an expansion in daily attendance at the qualifiers in Roehampton.
