The tournament joins the American and Australian Opens in employing video review systems.
Replay systems will be launched at Wimbledon this year.
Players will gain the ability to contest certain rulings made by the official, mirroring the protocol currently in operation at each of the US Open and the Aussie major.
The new system will be accessible on Centre Court and the number one court throughout the Championships and on the other four featured courts when they are hosting singles matches.
This move comes just a year after the AELTC introduced electronic line calling, which terminated the 147-year tradition of line officials.
Reviewable Decisions
Competitors cannot to dispute the call of the electronic line calling, but are allowed to request the umpire to review other situations, such as:
- Whether a ball has double-bounced.
- Whether a shot made contact with an opponent's racquet or person on the way past.
- Potential interference end of a point.
Importantly, there will be no cap on the number of reviews a player can ask for.
A Recent Example
A recent incident occurred in Indian Wells recently, where a top player initiated the video challenge against Jack Draper.
Draper conceded it was a tough situation for the umpire, but believed 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 Medvedev.
Broader Adoption
This technology aren't new for major tournaments. It has been in use at the American major for two years and the Australian Open this year.
Additionally, it is increasingly prevalent on the women’s WTA Tour, and by the coming year the men's ATP Tour will have video reviews in place at all of its events.
Other Changes
A further innovation at The Championships this year involves the addition of graphical cues on scoreboards to support the verbal announcements from the electronic line calling system.
This solves situations where the crowd have occasionally been uncertain if a shot was out or in.
Finally, with exactly a century of days to go until the start of the Championships, organizers have further announced an increase in daily attendance at the qualifying competition in the qualifying venue.
