Wimbledon set for controversial change ahead of 2026 tournament for first time ever

A major change is set to be introduced at Wimbledon from the start of the 2026 tournament - and there has been a mixed response from tennis fans.

The Grand Slam event, which is held at the All England Club, is the oldest tennis tournament and is known for its iconic traditions.

Thousands of fans eat strawberries and cream on each day of the event each year, while every player must adhere to a strict all-white dress code.

There is also an exclusive box for members of the royal family and their guests.

In recent years, Wimbledon has updated several of its rules and regulations to match up with other Grand Slams, and brought in an electronic line calling system (ELC) to replace human line judges from 2025 onwards.

This year, they have gone a step further, introducing video review technology for the first time in the history of Wimbledon.

BBC Sport report that, while players cannot challenge decisions made by the ELC, they can request a video review by the umpire on other contentious decisions, such as whether the ball has bounced twice.

There is also no limit on the amount of reviews that a player can make per match. That is in contrast to the previous Hawk-Eye system for line calls, where players could make three unsuccessful challenges per set, and a fourth in the event of a tie-break.

While many tennis fans have praised the addition as a further technological advancement, there has been some criticism of the video technology when it has been used in other Grand Slams.

Although he was in favour of technology improving the game as a whole, Andy Murray described it as a 'farce' when it malfunctioned during the 2023 US Open.

And during Jack Draper's defeat to Daniil Medvedev at Indian Wells last week, the Brit raised his arms to dispute a line call while the two players were playing a point - only to be penalised for distracting Medvedev and losing the point as a result.

Medvedev said he felt 'a bit tough' about what had happened.

When it comes to the electronic line calling, meanwhile, Emma Raducanu replied 'no' when asked if she trusted all of the decisions during last year's Wimbledon.

And fans have voiced concern about both the time that video reviews could take out of the game, given they are unlimited, in comparison to sports such as football.

"It should be limited to, say, twice each player per set," one wrote.

"Just like VAR in football it still won't stop mistakes even using all the tech," another said.

"Don't do it," a third simply wrote.

While another claimed: "I can see certain players abusing this to throw off their opponent's momentum."