Wimbledon will follow the American and Australian Opens in implementing replay systems.
Replay systems are set to arrive at The Championships for the 2025 edition.
Athletes will gain the right to question particular calls from the official, following the practice already in place at both the American Grand Slam and the Australian Open.
This innovation will be operational on Centre Court and Court One throughout the tournament and on the other four show courts when they are hosting singles contests.
This development follows just a year after the All England Club introduced electronic line calling, which brought an end to the centuries-old tradition of line officials.
What Can Be Reviewed?
Players will not be permitted to dispute the call of the electronic line calling, but are allowed to request the umpire to re-examine specific decisions, such as:
- If a ball has bounced twice.
- Whether a shot touched an opponent's racquet or person during play.
- Possible interference end of a rally.
Notably, there is an unlimited number on the amount of challenges a competitor can initiate.
A Recent Example
A recent case occurred in a recent tournament last week, where a top player initiated the review system against his opponent.
The British player conceded it was a tough situation for the umpire, but thought his rival had "played the rules quite well."
The umpire viewed a replay and ruled the player was responsible for hindrance, awarding the point to his opponent.
Growing Trend
This technology are not exclusive to major tournaments. The system has been in use at the US Open since 2023 and the Australian Open this year.
Furthermore, it is increasingly prevalent on the women’s WTA Tour, and by the coming year the men's ATP Tour plans to have video reviews implemented at every one of its events.
Further Updates
A further innovation at Wimbledon 2025 will be the introduction of visual indicators on displays to complement the audio calls from the electronic line calling system.
This solves instances where the crowd have occasionally been uncertain if a ball was in or out.
In other news, with precisely 100 days to go until the beginning of the Championships, the AELTC have also revealed an expansion in daily capacity at the qualifying competition in the qualifying venue.
