The tournament joins the American and Aussie Opens in employing replay technology.
Replay technology are set to arrive at The Championships in the upcoming tournament.
Competitors are granted the option to challenge specific calls from the chair umpire, following the practice currently in use at each of the US Open and the Aussie major.
The new system will be accessible on the main stadium and the number one court throughout the Championships and on the remaining show courts when they are hosting singles matches.
This step comes just a year after the AELTC rolled out electronic line calling, which effectively ended the longstanding tradition of line officials.
What Can Be Reviewed?
Competitors cannot to dispute the call of the electronic line calling, but are allowed to ask for the umpire to review specific decisions, including:
- If a tennis ball has double-bounced.
- If a shot touched an rival's racket or person during play.
- Possible interference end of a point.
Notably, there is an unlimited number on the number of reviews a player can request.
Case in Point
An illustrative example took place in a recent tournament last week, where a top player initiated the video challenge against his opponent.
The British player admitted it was a difficult situation for the official, but thought his rival had "played the rules effectively."
Official Aurelie Tourte watched a replay and ruled the player was guilty of hindrance, granting the rally to Medvedev.
Wider Implementation
Video reviews aren't exclusive to Grand Slams. It has been in use at the US Open since 2023 and the Aussie Open this year.
Furthermore, it is increasingly prevalent on the women’s WTA Tour, and by next season the men's ATP Tour will have video reviews in place at every one of its events.
Further Updates
A further change at The Championships this year involves the addition of graphical cues on displays to complement the audio calls from the electronic line calling system.
This addresses instances where spectators have sometimes been uncertain if a ball was in or out.
Finally, with exactly a century of days to go until the beginning of the tournament, organizers have further revealed an increase in daily capacity at the qualifiers in Roehampton.
