The tournament joins the US and Australian Opens in utilizing replay technology.
Replay technology are set to arrive at Wimbledon this year.
Competitors are granted the option to question certain decisions made by the chair umpire, echoing the system currently in use at each of the US Open and the Aussie major.
This innovation will be accessible on Centre Court and the number one court throughout the Championships and on the remaining featured courts when they are staging singles contests.
This development comes just a year after the AELTC introduced ELC, which effectively ended the longstanding tradition of line officials.
Scope of Challenges
Competitors cannot to dispute the call of the electronic line calling, but are allowed to request the official to review specific decisions, such as:
- If a ball has double-bounced.
- Whether a ball touched an opponent's racquet or person during play.
- Potential interference at the conclusion of a rally.
Notably, there is no cap on the number of challenges a competitor can request.
Practical Application
An illustrative case occurred in Indian Wells recently, where Daniil Medvedev used the review system against Jack Draper.
The British player conceded it was a difficult call for the official, but believed his opponent had "used the regulations quite well."
Official Aurelie Tourte viewed a replay and ruled the player was responsible for hindrance, granting the rally to Medvedev.
Wider Implementation
Video reviews are not new for Grand Slams. It has been in use at the US Open for two years and the Aussie Open this year.
Additionally, it is becoming more common on the WTA circuit, and by next season the ATP circuit will have the system in place at every one of its events.
Further Updates
Another innovation at The Championships this year involves the introduction of graphical cues on displays to support the audio calls from the electronic line calling system.
This solves situations where the crowd have sometimes been uncertain if a shot was in or out.
Finally, with exactly a century of days remaining until the start of the Championships, the AELTC have further revealed an expansion in daily capacity at the qualifiers in the qualifying venue.
