Wimbledon Embraces Video Replay Technology for the First Time.

Replay systems will make its debut at The Championships this year.

Competitors are granted the option to question particular decisions made by the official, echoing the protocol currently in operation at each of the American Grand Slam and the Aussie major.

This technology will be operational on the main stadium and Court One for the duration of the Championships and on the remaining show courts when they are staging singles matches.

This step arrives only a season following the All England Club rolled out electronic line calling, which brought an end to the centuries-old tradition of line judges.

Scope of Challenges

Competitors will not be permitted to challenge the call of the electronic line calling, but are allowed to ask for the umpire to re-examine other situations, including:

• If a tennis ball has double-bounced.
• Whether a ball made contact with an opponent's racquet or body on the way past.
• Possible interference at the conclusion of a point.

Notably, there is no limit on the amount of challenges a player can ask for.

Case in Point

A recent incident took place in Indian Wells last week, where a top player initiated the video challenge against his opponent.

The British player conceded it was a tough situation for the official, but thought his opponent had "played the rules effectively."

Official Aurelie Tourte watched a video and determined Draper was guilty of hindrance, awarding the point to Medvedev.

Broader Adoption

Video reviews are not new for major tournaments. The system has been in use at the American major for two years and the Aussie Open this year.

Additionally, it is becoming more common on the women’s WTA Tour, and by the coming year the men's ATP Tour plans to have video reviews in place at every one of its events.

Additional Innovations

Another innovation at The Championships this year will be the addition of visual indicators on displays to support the verbal announcements from the ELC system.

This addresses instances where fans have sometimes been unsure if a shot was in or out.

Finally, with exactly 100 days remaining until the beginning of the tournament, the AELTC have also revealed an expansion in daily capacity at the qualifiers in the qualifying venue.