Wimbledon Adopts Video Review Technology for the First Time.
Wimbledon will follow the American and Australian Opens in utilizing replay technology.
Video review technology will be launched at The Championships in the upcoming tournament.
Athletes will gain the option to challenge certain calls made by the official, mirroring the system already in use at each of the US Open and the Aussie major.
The new system 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 contests.
This move arrives only a year after the All England Club rolled out ELC, which effectively ended the centuries-old role of line officials.
Reviewable Decisions
Players will not be permitted to challenge the call of the electronic line calling, but are allowed to ask for the official to review other decisions, including:
- Whether a tennis ball has bounced twice.
- If a ball made contact with an rival's racket or body during play.
- Potential interference at the conclusion of a point.
Importantly, there will be no cap on the number of reviews a player can ask for.
A Recent Example
An illustrative case occurred in Indian Wells last week, where a top player used the video challenge against his opponent.
The British player admitted it was a difficult situation for the official, but believed his opponent had "played the rules effectively."
The umpire watched a video and determined the player was responsible for hindrance, granting the rally to his opponent.
Growing Trend
This technology are not new for Grand Slams. The system was adopted at the American major since 2023 and the Australian Open this year.
Furthermore, it is increasingly prevalent on the women’s WTA Tour, and by the coming year the men's ATP Tour plans to have the system in place at every one of its tournaments.
Other Changes
A further change at Wimbledon 2025 involves the introduction of graphical cues on displays to support the audio calls from the ELC system.
This solves instances where the crowd have sometimes been unsure if a ball was in or out.
In other news, with exactly 100 days remaining until the beginning of the tournament, the AELTC have further announced an increase in daily capacity at the qualifying competition in Roehampton.
