Wimbledon joins US Open, Australian Open in introducing VAR-like technology
Wimbledon joins US Open, Australian Open in introducing VAR-like technology
Publish Date: 2026-03-22 13:40:00
Source Domain: indianexpress.com
Wimbledon announced on Saturday that from the 2026 edition onwards, they will introduce the Video Review Technology (VRT) for the first time ever. The announcement was made with 100 days to go before the Championship begins on June 29. Wimbledon now joins the US Open and the Australian Open in allowing players to challenge certain calls made by the chair umpire.
Past troubles with tech
Last year, Wimbledon removed line judges after 176 years and introduced the Electronic Line Calling (ELC) system. But that change immediately came with teething troubles. Emma Radacanu, playing in a home Grand Slam against the World No 1 Aryna Sabalenka, suffered a loss in straight sets and blamed the ELC for getting crucial calls wrong.
‘It’s kind of disappointing, the tournament here, that the calls can be so wrong, but for the most part they’ve been OK. I’ve had a few in my other matches, too, that have been very wrong. Hopefully they can fix that,” Radacanu had said last year. Jack Draper, another home favourite, also complained about the decisions made by the ELC.
But the biggest incident happened during Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova’s match against Britain’s Sonay Kartal. The Russian believed that a volley from her opponent had flown well past the baseline, but no call came from the ELC and there was no way of contesting the call with the chair umpire. The point was replayed as the umpire learned that the ELC system was not in use at the time. Pavlyuchenkova complained that the ‘game was stolen from her’, but eventually ended up winning the match.
Onset of Video review technology
VRT is already in use at two of the four Slams and various ATP/WTA 1000 events. At Wimbledon, the technology will be available on six courts and will allow players to contest certain calls made by the chair umpire.
Players can take as many reviews as they want. Centre Court and the No. 1 Court will be able to use the technology for the whole tournament and the other four courts…
