The tournament joins the American and Australian Opens in implementing replay systems.
Video review technology will make its debut at The Championships in the upcoming tournament.
Players are granted the ability to question specific decisions made by the official, following the system currently in place at both the US Open and the Australian Open.
This innovation will be accessible on the main stadium and Court One throughout the tournament and on the other four show courts when they are staging singles contests.
This step arrives only a season following the AELTC rolled out ELC, which terminated the centuries-old role of line judges.
Scope of Challenges
Competitors will not be permitted to challenge the accuracy of the electronic line calling, but they can ask for the official to review other decisions, including:
- Whether a tennis ball has bounced twice.
- If a ball made contact with an opponent's racquet or body during play.
- Potential interference end of a point.
Notably, there is no cap on the number of challenges a player can ask for.
Practical Application
An illustrative case took place in a recent tournament recently, where Daniil Medvedev used the video challenge against Jack Draper.
Draper admitted it was a tough call for the official, but believed his opponent had "used the regulations quite well."
Official Aurelie Tourte watched a replay and ruled Draper was responsible for hindrance, granting the rally to Medvedev.
Growing Trend
This technology aren't exclusive to major tournaments. It was adopted at the US Open for two years and the Australian Open this year.
Furthermore, it is increasingly prevalent on the women’s WTA Tour, and by the coming year the ATP circuit plans to have the system in place at all of its events.
Further Updates
A further change at The Championships this year involves the addition of graphical cues on displays to support the audio calls from the ELC system.
This solves situations where spectators have occasionally been unsure whether a shot was in or out.
In other news, with exactly a century of days to go until the beginning of the Championships, the AELTC have also revealed an expansion in daily capacity at the qualifiers in the qualifying venue.
