Wimbledon will follow the American and Australian Opens in employing replay technology.
Video review technology will make its debut at Wimbledon for the 2025 edition.
Players will gain the right to question specific calls made by the chair umpire, following the protocol currently in place at both the US Open and the Australian Open.
This innovation will be operational on the main stadium and the number one court throughout the tournament and on the remaining show courts when they are staging singles contests.
This move follows just a season following the AELTC introduced ELC, which effectively ended the 147-year role of line officials.
What Can Be Reviewed?
Players cannot to challenge the call of the electronic line calling, but are allowed to request the official to review specific situations, such as:
- If a ball has bounced twice.
- If a ball touched an rival's racket or body during play.
- Potential interference at the conclusion of a point.
Notably, there is an unlimited number on the amount of reviews a competitor can request.
Practical Application
An illustrative incident took place in a recent tournament last week, where a top player used the video challenge against Jack Draper.
The British player admitted it was a difficult situation for the umpire, but believed his rival had "played the rules effectively."
The umpire watched a replay and ruled the player was guilty of interference, awarding the point to Medvedev.
Growing Trend
Video reviews aren't exclusive to major tournaments. It has been in use 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 next season the ATP circuit will have the system in place at all of its tournaments.
Additional Innovations
Another change at Wimbledon 2025 involves the introduction of graphical cues on scoreboards to complement the audio calls from the ELC system.
This addresses situations where spectators have occasionally been unsure if a ball was out or in.
Finally, with exactly 100 days to go until the start of the Championships, the AELTC have further revealed an increase in daily attendance at the qualifying competition in Roehampton.
