The tournament joins the American and Aussie Opens in employing replay systems.
Replay systems will be launched at Wimbledon this year.
Athletes will gain the ability to contest certain rulings made by the official, mirroring the protocol already in use at both the US Open and the Australian Open.
This innovation is slated for use on Centre Court and Court One for the duration of the Championships and on the remaining featured courts when they are hosting singles contests.
This development comes just a season following the AELTC rolled out electronic line calling, which terminated the longstanding tradition of line judges.
Reviewable Decisions
Competitors cannot to dispute the accuracy of the ELC system, but are allowed to request the official to review specific decisions, such as:
- Whether a ball has double-bounced.
- Whether a shot touched an rival's racket or body during play.
- Potential interference at the conclusion of a rally.
Notably, there is no cap on the number of challenges a player can request.
Practical Application
A recent incident took place in Indian Wells recently, where Daniil Medvedev initiated the review system against his opponent.
The British player conceded it was a tough call for the official, but thought his rival had "played the rules quite well."
Official Aurelie Tourte watched a replay and ruled the player was guilty of hindrance, granting the rally to his opponent.
Broader Adoption
Video reviews aren't new for major tournaments. The system has been in use at the US Open for two years and the Australian Open this year.
Furthermore, it is increasingly prevalent on the WTA circuit, and by next season the men's ATP Tour plans to have video reviews implemented at all of its events.
Other Changes
A further change at The Championships this year will be the addition of graphical cues on scoreboards to complement the audio calls from the electronic line calling system.
This solves instances where spectators have occasionally been unsure whether a ball was in or out.
In other news, with precisely a century of days to go until the start of the tournament, the AELTC have further revealed an expansion in daily capacity at the qualifiers in Roehampton.
