Wimbledon Adopts Video Review System for the First Time.
Wimbledon will follow the US and Australian Opens in employing video review systems.
Video review technology are set to arrive at Wimbledon this year.
Competitors will gain the ability to question specific calls from the chair umpire, echoing the practice already in use at each of the American Grand Slam and the Australian Open.
This technology will be accessible on the main stadium and the number one court throughout the tournament and on the remaining show courts when they are staging singles contests.
This step comes just a season following the All England Club introduced electronic line calling, which effectively ended the centuries-old tradition of line officials.
Reviewable Decisions
Competitors cannot to dispute the accuracy of the electronic line calling, but they can ask for the official to review specific decisions, such as:
- Whether a ball has bounced twice.
- If a ball touched an rival's racket or body on the way past.
- Possible interference end of a rally.
Notably, there will be an unlimited number on the amount of reviews a competitor can ask for.
A Recent Example
A recent case occurred in a recent tournament last week, where a top player initiated the review system against his opponent.
The British player admitted it was a difficult situation for the umpire, but believed his opponent had "played the rules quite well."
Official Aurelie Tourte watched a video and determined Draper was guilty of hindrance, awarding the point to his opponent.
Wider Implementation
This technology aren't exclusive to Grand Slams. It was adopted 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 men's ATP Tour plans to have the system in place at all of its tournaments.
Other Changes
Another innovation at Wimbledon 2025 involves the introduction of visual indicators on scoreboards to support the audio calls from the electronic line calling system.
This solves situations where the crowd have occasionally been uncertain if a ball was out or in.
In other news, with exactly a century of days to go until the start of the Championships, organizers have further revealed an expansion in daily capacity at the qualifiers in Roehampton.
