Wimbledon Adopts Video Replay System in 2025.
The tournament joins the US and Aussie Opens in utilizing video review systems.
Replay systems will make its debut at The Championships this year.
Players are granted the option to challenge certain calls from the chair umpire, following the practice already in operation at both the American Grand Slam and the Aussie major.
This innovation will be operational on the main stadium and Court One for the duration of the Championships and on the other four featured courts when they are staging singles contests.
This step comes just a season following the All England Club introduced ELC, which terminated the 147-year role of line officials.
Scope of Challenges
Competitors cannot to dispute the call of the ELC system, but are allowed to ask for the official to re-examine other decisions, including:
- Whether a ball has bounced twice.
- If a ball touched an rival's racket or person on the way past.
- Potential interference end of a rally.
Notably, there is an unlimited number on the amount of challenges a competitor can request.
Practical Application
An illustrative case took place in Indian Wells last week, where Daniil Medvedev used the video challenge against his opponent.
The British player admitted it was a tough call for the official, but thought his opponent had "played the rules effectively."
The umpire watched a replay and ruled Draper was guilty of interference, awarding the point to his opponent.
Wider Implementation
Video reviews are not exclusive to major tournaments. The system has been in use at the American major for two years and the Australian Open since 2025.
Furthermore, it is increasingly prevalent on the women’s WTA Tour, and by next season the men's ATP Tour plans to have video reviews implemented at every one of its events.
Further Updates
A further change at Wimbledon this year will be the addition of visual indicators on scoreboards to complement the audio calls from the ELC system.
This solves situations where fans have sometimes been unsure if a shot was in or out.
Finally, with precisely 100 days to go until the start of the Championships, organizers have also announced an increase in daily attendance at the qualifiers in Roehampton.
