Wimbledon Broadcast Services (WBS) has a tradition of broadcasting firsts, but a hard rule about the field of play. The All England Lawn Tennis Club’s (AELTC) Paul Davies, associate director, Broadcast, Production & Media Rights, and Georgina Green, head of broadcast and production, explain how live match coverage was sharpened for 2026 – and how new and existing cameras, with a growing role for software, are getting fans closer to the action.
There are few places at the All England Club that Wimbledon Broadcast Services (WBS) has not, at some point, tried to put a camera. What separates its approach from the other Grand Slams is not ambition, but restraint.
“Whether it was the first colour television broadcast, the first 3D coverage, or the first global sports event to embrace multi-stream production ahead of the London 2012 Olympic Games, Wimbledon has always been at the forefront of broadcast innovation,” says Paul Davies, Associate Director, Broadcast, Production & Media Rights at the All England Club. “We’re constantly looking at what’s next, but every innovation has to respect the field of play.”
That philosophy places clear limits on how technology is deployed around the courts.
“For example, you’ll never see a spider-cam flying over Centre Court. We don’t believe a player should ever be able to say, “I’m being distracted by that camera”, and we would never place fixed cameras in player boxes; the coaches hate them and often cover them up,” says Davies.
The same principle extends across the host broadcast operation. To preserve the integrity of competition, the only time a camera operator is permitted on the grass is for the Steadicam shot accompanying the finalists as they walk onto Centre Court.
Indeed, the most visible addition for 2026 is officiating driven. Working with Hawk-Eye, WBS integrated video review technology into the coverage for the first time, aided by additional cameras including a new one on the umpire’s chair, looking straight across the net to check non-line calls, such as net touches, double bounces, and body hits.
Speaking to SVG Europe towards the end of The Championships, Davies says it has been used for five reviews so far.
“It’s available on Centre Court, No.1, 2, 3, and Courts 12 and 18, essentially our six principal Show Courts. In practice, it’s used more frequently in doubles than singles; at other Grand Slams there have only been around a dozen instances across entire tournaments. But it could just as easily be needed on Championship point in a final, so it’s essential that it’s available when required.”
“Just as important is how seamlessly it’s integrated into the broadcast. We’ve invested a great deal of time in ensuring the officiating technology works seamlessly in to our coverage, working closely with the Championships Referee and our professional tennis team to align the officiating systems with the broadcast operation so that the experience is as clear and intuitive for viewers as it is for those reviewing on court,” says Davies.
Longer term, the prize is software, not hardware, explains Green:
“We already have access to 29 cameras on Centre Court, so the question isn’t necessarily whether we need more cameras, but whether we’re capturing everything we need in the smartest possible way. Which angles are we missing, and how do we unlock them?
“The most exciting area of innovation, and something we’re hoping to explore with NEP, is how advances in software could transform production. Rather than relying on multiple specialist cameras, super slow-motion systems and dedicated lens configurations, we may reach a point where a single camera source can capture significantly more information, with software creating many of the outputs currently generated by separate camera chains. If we can get to that point, it has the potential to make production far more streamlined.”
The robotic courts, meanwhile, remain a pragmatic compromise, which Davies is candid about. “There is simply not the space to locate manually operated cameras on some of our outside courts, so robotics allow us to deliver coverage where traditional camera positions aren’t feasible. While they don’t yet offer the same flexibility and editorial responsiveness as manned cameras, the technology continues to improve. Looking ahead, if we are able to expand the site, we’ll review the wider broadcast operation and consider where further enhancements can be made.” says Davies.
