Wimbledon will follow the American and Australian Opens in employing replay technology.
Replay technology are set to arrive at Wimbledon for the 2025 edition.
Athletes will gain the ability to challenge specific calls made by the chair umpire, following the system currently in use at both the American Grand Slam and the Aussie major.
This innovation will be operational on Centre Court and the number one court for the duration of the tournament and on the remaining show courts when they are hosting singles matches.
This development comes just a year after the AELTC implemented ELC, which terminated the longstanding role of line officials.
Scope of Challenges
Competitors will not be permitted to challenge the call of the electronic line calling, but are allowed to ask for the official to re-examine other situations, such as:
- If a ball has double-bounced.
- If a shot made contact with an rival's racket or body on the way past.
- Potential hindrance at the conclusion of a point.
Importantly, there will be no cap on the number of reviews a competitor can request.
A Recent Example
A recent incident occurred in a recent tournament recently, where a top player used the video challenge against his opponent.
The British player admitted it was a tough call for the official, but thought his rival had "played the rules quite well."
The umpire viewed a video and determined Draper was guilty of hindrance, awarding the point to his opponent.
Broader Adoption
Video reviews aren't exclusive to major tournaments. The system was adopted at the US Open for two years and the Aussie Open this year.
Additionally, it is becoming more common on the women’s WTA Tour, and by next season the ATP circuit plans to have the system implemented at every one of its tournaments.
Other Changes
Another change at Wimbledon 2025 involves the addition of graphical cues on displays to complement the audio calls from the electronic line calling system.
This solves situations where the crowd have sometimes been unsure if a ball was in or out.
In other news, with exactly a century of days remaining until the beginning of the tournament, the AELTC have also announced an expansion in daily capacity at the qualifying competition in the qualifying venue.
