The tournament joins the American and Aussie Opens in employing video review technology.
Replay systems will make its debut at Wimbledon this year.
Competitors will gain the ability to challenge particular decisions from the official, echoing the system currently in use at each of the US Open and the Aussie major.
This innovation will be operational on Centre Court and Court One for the duration of the Championships and on the remaining show courts when they are staging singles contests.
This move arrives only a year after the All England Club introduced ELC, which effectively ended the centuries-old tradition of line judges.
Scope of Challenges
Players will not be permitted to dispute the call of the ELC system, but are allowed to request the umpire to review other situations, including:
- Whether a ball has double-bounced.
- If a ball touched an rival's racket or person on the way past.
- Possible hindrance end of a rally.
Notably, there is no cap on the amount of reviews a competitor can ask for.
A Recent Example
An illustrative incident occurred in a recent tournament last week, where a top player used the review system against Jack Draper.
Draper admitted it was a difficult call for the umpire, but believed his rival had "played the rules effectively."
Official Aurelie Tourte viewed a video and determined the player was guilty of hindrance, awarding the point to his opponent.
Growing Trend
This technology aren't new for Grand Slams. It was adopted at the American major for two years and the Aussie Open this year.
Furthermore, it is increasingly prevalent on the women’s WTA Tour, and by next season the ATP circuit will have the system implemented at all of its tournaments.
Other Changes
A further innovation at The Championships this year involves the addition of graphical cues on scoreboards to support the verbal announcements from the electronic line calling system.
This addresses situations where spectators have sometimes been uncertain if a shot was out or in.
In other news, with exactly a century of days remaining until the start of the Championships, organizers have further revealed an increase in daily capacity at the qualifiers in the qualifying venue.
