Wimbledon Embraces Video Review System for the First Time.
The tournament joins the American and Aussie Opens in employing video review systems.
Video review systems will make its debut at The Championships for the 2025 edition.
Competitors are granted the option to contest certain rulings from the official, following the protocol currently in place at both the American Grand Slam and the Aussie major.
This innovation will be operational on Centre Court and Court One throughout the Championships and on the remaining show courts when they are staging singles matches.
This development follows just a season following the AELTC implemented ELC, which effectively ended the longstanding tradition of line judges.
Scope of Challenges
Players will not be permitted to dispute the accuracy of the ELC system, but they can ask for the umpire to re-examine specific decisions, including:
- Whether a tennis ball has double-bounced.
- Whether a ball made contact with an opponent's racquet or person on the way past.
- Potential interference at the conclusion of a rally.
Importantly, there will be no limit on the number of reviews a competitor can request.
A Recent Example
An illustrative case occurred in Indian Wells last week, where a top player initiated the review system against Jack Draper.
The British player conceded it was a tough call for the official, but thought his opponent had "used the regulations quite well."
Official Aurelie Tourte watched a replay and determined the player was guilty of hindrance, awarding the rally to Medvedev.
Growing Trend
Video reviews are not new for Grand Slams. It has been in use at the US Open for two years and the Australian Open this year.
Additionally, it is increasingly prevalent on the women’s WTA Tour, and by the coming year the men's ATP Tour will have the system in place at all of its tournaments.
Additional Innovations
A further change at Wimbledon 2025 will be the addition of visual indicators on displays to complement the audio calls from the electronic line calling system.
This solves situations where the crowd have sometimes been unsure whether a ball was out or in.
In other news, with exactly a century of days remaining until the beginning of the tournament, organizers have also revealed an expansion in daily attendance at the qualifiers in the qualifying venue.
