Wimbledon is famed for its tradition – white clothing, strawberries and cream, and the honours boards, to name a few – but it cannot be accused of standing still.
Updates are regularly made to keep the grass court Grand Slam modern, such as the replacement of line judges with the electronic line calling system (ELC) last year, and 2026 is no different.
Among the rule changes implemented ahead of this year’s Championship are a 10-minute heat break in singles matches when temperatures move above 30 degrees and the introduction of video reviews.
The latter may sound alarm bells for any fans aware of the controversy caused by the introduction of VAR in football, but it works a little differently.
Radio Times explains how video reviews work at Wimbledon 2026.
What are video reviews at Wimbledon 2026?
Players will be able to request a challenge to specific decisions made by umpires at Wimbledon this year.
Line calls made by the ELC cannot be reviewed but players can request to challenge other decisions, including whether a ball has bounced twice, touched an opponent’s body or their racket, and hindrance, which is when a player distracts their opponent.
In a statement, the All England Club confirmed: “Players will be allowed to review specific judgement calls made by the Chair Umpire (such as, for example, ‘not-up’, ‘foul shot’, ‘touch’) either on a point-ending call, when a player immediately stops play, or immediately after the completion of a point (in the case of hindrance).
“Reviews will either uphold or overturn the original call. Players will not be limited in the number of reviews they can request.”
Reviews will be available on Centre Court and No. 1 Court throughout the tournament as well as on four other courts – No. 2 Court, No. 3 Court, Court 12, and Court 18 – during singles matches.
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Authors
Ned is a sports writer at RadioTimes.com. He has covered a host of sports from EFL football, international cricket and golf all the way through to bike polo and triathlon.
