Wimbledon Introduces Video Challenge Technology for the First Time.

Replay technology will make its debut at Wimbledon this year.

Athletes are granted the ability to contest certain rulings made by the chair umpire, following the system currently in use at each of the American Grand Slam and the Aussie major.

The new system will be accessible on Centre Court and Court One for the duration of the tournament and on the other four featured courts when they are hosting singles matches.

This step comes just a year after the All England Club implemented electronic line calling, which effectively ended the 147-year role of line officials.

What Can Be Reviewed?

Competitors will not be permitted to challenge the call of the electronic line calling, but they can request the umpire to review specific decisions, including:

• If a tennis ball has double-bounced.
• If a ball made contact with an rival's racket or body during play.
• Potential hindrance at the conclusion of a rally.

Importantly, there will be no cap on the number of challenges a player can initiate.

A Recent Example

An illustrative example took place in Indian Wells last week, where Daniil Medvedev initiated the review system against his opponent.

Draper admitted it was a tough situation for the official, but believed his opponent had "used the regulations quite well."

The umpire viewed a replay and determined Draper was responsible for interference, granting the point to his opponent.

Wider Implementation

This technology aren't exclusive to major tournaments. It was adopted at the American major for two years and the Aussie Open this year.

Furthermore, it is increasingly prevalent on the WTA circuit, and by next season the ATP circuit plans to have the system in place at all of its tournaments.

Other Changes

Another change at Wimbledon this year will be the introduction of graphical cues on scoreboards to support the audio calls from the ELC system.

This solves situations where the crowd have sometimes been unsure whether a ball was out or in.

In other news, with exactly 100 days to go until the start of the tournament, the AELTC have also announced an expansion in daily capacity at the qualifying competition in Roehampton.