The tournament joins the American and Australian Opens in employing replay technology.
Replay systems will make its debut at The Championships this year.
Athletes will gain the option to challenge specific decisions made by the official, mirroring the protocol currently in operation at each of the US Open and the Australian Open.
This innovation is slated for use on the main stadium and Court One throughout the Championships and on the other four show courts when they are staging singles contests.
This move comes just a year after the All England Club introduced electronic line calling, which effectively ended the 147-year tradition of line officials.
Scope of Challenges
Players will not be permitted to dispute the accuracy of the electronic line calling, but are allowed to request the umpire to review other situations, including:
- Whether a ball has bounced twice.
- Whether a ball touched an opponent's racquet or person during play.
- Potential hindrance at the conclusion of a rally.
Importantly, there is no cap on the number of challenges a competitor can ask for.
Case in Point
An illustrative incident occurred in a recent tournament last week, where a top player initiated the video challenge against his opponent.
The British player conceded it was a difficult situation for the umpire, but thought his rival had "used the regulations effectively."
Official Aurelie Tourte viewed a replay and determined the player was guilty of hindrance, awarding the rally to Medvedev.
Growing Trend
This technology are not exclusive to Grand Slams. The system was adopted at the US Open for two years and the Aussie Open this year.
Furthermore, it is increasingly prevalent on the WTA circuit, and by the coming year the ATP circuit will have the system implemented at all of its tournaments.
Additional Innovations
Another innovation at The Championships this year will be the introduction of graphical cues on scoreboards to complement the verbal announcements from the electronic line calling system.
This solves situations where the crowd have sometimes been uncertain whether a ball was out or in.
In other news, with precisely 100 days remaining until the start of the Championships, the AELTC have also announced an increase in daily capacity at the qualifying competition in the qualifying venue.
