Wimbledon Embraces Video Review Technology in 2025.
The tournament joins the American and Australian Opens in employing video review systems.
Video review systems will make its debut at Wimbledon in the upcoming tournament.
Players will gain the ability to contest particular calls made by the official, echoing the system already in place at both the American Grand Slam and the Australian Open.
This innovation is slated for use on Centre Court and the number one court throughout the Championships and on the other four show courts when they are staging singles contests.
This step comes just a year after the AELTC rolled out ELC, which terminated the centuries-old role of line judges.
Scope of Challenges
Players will not be permitted to dispute the call of the electronic line calling, but they can request the umpire to re-examine specific decisions, such as:
- If a tennis ball has bounced twice.
- Whether a shot touched an opponent's racquet or person during play.
- Possible interference at the conclusion of a point.
Notably, there will be no limit on the amount of challenges a player can ask for.
Practical Application
An illustrative case took place in a recent tournament last week, where a top player used the review system against his opponent.
The British player conceded it was a tough call for the official, but thought his rival had "used the regulations quite well."
The umpire viewed a replay and ruled Draper was guilty of hindrance, granting the rally to Medvedev.
Broader Adoption
Video reviews aren't exclusive to major tournaments. It was adopted at the US Open since 2023 and the Aussie Open this year.
Furthermore, it is becoming more common on the WTA circuit, and by next season the ATP circuit plans to have the system implemented at all of its events.
Further Updates
Another change at The Championships this year will be the addition of graphical cues on scoreboards to support the audio calls from the ELC system.
This solves instances where spectators have sometimes been unsure if a ball was in or out.
In other news, with precisely 100 days to go until the start of the tournament, the AELTC have also revealed an expansion in daily capacity at the qualifiers in Roehampton.
