The tournament joins the American and Australian Opens in employing video review systems.
Replay systems will be launched at Wimbledon in the upcoming tournament.
Athletes will gain the ability to contest certain calls made by the official, mirroring the practice currently in operation at each of the American Grand Slam and the Aussie major.
This innovation is slated for use on the main stadium and the number one court throughout the tournament and on the remaining featured courts when they are staging singles matches.
This move follows just a year after the AELTC implemented ELC, which effectively ended the 147-year role of line officials.
What Can Be Reviewed?
Competitors 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:
- If a tennis ball has bounced twice.
- If a shot touched an rival's racket or person on the way past.
- Potential interference end of a point.
Notably, there is no limit on the amount of reviews a competitor can request.
Practical Application
An illustrative incident took place in Indian Wells recently, where Daniil Medvedev used the review system against his opponent.
Draper admitted it was a difficult situation for the official, but believed his rival had "used the regulations quite well."
Official Aurelie Tourte watched a replay and determined the player was responsible for interference, granting the point to Medvedev.
Wider Implementation
Video reviews are not exclusive to major tournaments. It has been in use at the US Open since 2023 and the Aussie Open this year.
Additionally, it is becoming more common on the WTA circuit, and by next season the ATP circuit plans to have video reviews in place at all of its events.
Additional Innovations
Another innovation at The Championships this year involves the addition of visual indicators on displays to support the audio calls from the ELC system.
This solves situations where the crowd have occasionally been uncertain if a ball was in or out.
In other news, with exactly a century of days to go until the beginning of the Championships, the AELTC have also revealed an expansion in daily capacity at the qualifying competition in the qualifying venue.
