Wimbledon Introduces Video Challenge Technology This Season.
The tournament joins the American and Aussie Opens in employing video review systems.
Replay technology will make its debut at The Championships in the upcoming tournament.
Athletes will gain the ability to challenge specific decisions made by the chair umpire, following the protocol currently in operation at both the US Open and the Australian Open.
This innovation will be operational on the main stadium and Court One throughout the Championships and on the remaining show courts when they are hosting singles contests.
This step arrives only a year after the AELTC rolled out ELC, which brought an end to the longstanding role of line officials.
Reviewable Decisions
Competitors cannot to challenge the call of the ELC system, but they can request the umpire to re-examine specific situations, such as:
- If a tennis ball has bounced twice.
- Whether a shot made contact with an rival's racket or body on the way past.
- Potential hindrance end of a point.
Importantly, there is an unlimited number on the number of challenges a competitor can request.
Practical Application
A recent case occurred in a recent tournament last week, where Daniil Medvedev used the video challenge against his opponent.
Draper admitted it was a tough situation for the official, but thought his rival had "played the rules quite well."
Official Aurelie Tourte viewed a video and determined the player was responsible for hindrance, granting the point to his opponent.
Wider Implementation
This technology are not exclusive to major tournaments. It was adopted at the US Open for two years and the Aussie Open since 2025.
Additionally, it is increasingly prevalent on the women’s WTA Tour, and by the coming year the ATP circuit plans to have video reviews in place at every one of its events.
Further Updates
A further innovation at Wimbledon 2025 will be the addition of visual indicators on scoreboards to complement the audio calls from the electronic line calling system.
This solves instances where fans have sometimes been unsure if a shot was out or in.
In other news, with precisely a century of days remaining until the start of the Championships, the AELTC have also announced an expansion in daily capacity at the qualifying competition in Roehampton.
