The tournament joins the American and Australian Opens in employing replay systems.
Video review technology will be launched at The Championships in the upcoming tournament.
Competitors will gain the right to question certain calls made by the chair umpire, echoing the practice currently in place at each of the US Open and the Aussie major.
This technology will be operational on Centre Court and Court One for the duration of the tournament and on the other four featured courts when they are staging singles matches.
This move arrives only a year after the AELTC rolled out electronic line calling, which terminated the 147-year role of line judges.
Scope of Challenges
Players will not be permitted to dispute the call of the ELC system, but are allowed to ask for the umpire to review specific situations, such as:
- Whether a tennis ball has bounced twice.
- Whether a ball made contact with an opponent's racquet or body on the way past.
- Potential hindrance end of a point.
Notably, there is no cap on the amount of challenges a competitor can request.
Practical Application
A recent case occurred in a recent tournament last week, where a top player initiated the video challenge against his opponent.
Draper admitted it was a tough situation for the umpire, but believed his opponent had "used the regulations effectively."
Official Aurelie Tourte watched a replay and determined the player was responsible for interference, granting the point to his opponent.
Broader Adoption
This technology aren't exclusive to major tournaments. The system was adopted 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 ATP circuit plans to have the system in place at all of its tournaments.
Further Updates
Another innovation at The Championships this year will be the introduction of visual indicators on scoreboards to support the audio calls from the ELC system.
This addresses situations where fans have occasionally been unsure whether a shot was in or out.
In other news, with precisely 100 days to go until the start of the Championships, the AELTC have further revealed an expansion in daily capacity at the qualifiers in Roehampton.
