Advantage tennis fans with new Wimbledon scoreboard

It could spell the end of a familiar sight at Wimbledon.

Organisers of the tennis tournament have announced that this year spectators will have giant videos in place of the dot matrix scoreboards on Centre and Number One Courts.

As well as keeping score, the hi-tech screens will show replays of contentious points using Hawk-eye, the computer simulation that determines where a ball has bounced. Between points and sets, they will flash up statistics and video clips.

Bill Jinks of IBM, which has supplied the technology to Wimbledon and will run the screens, said: "When play is in progress, we have gone to great lengths to make the displays look identical to the old displays.

"But when play is not happening we can show a whole range of information.

"For instance, before matches we can show player pictures and biographies and if - God forbid - it should rain, we could even show videos to spectators while they wait for the weather to change.

"On the opposite side of the court will be a smaller screen used to show service speed during play, but again it can show other stats and video between games and sets."

The organisers are looking to install similar screens around the grounds, including the grassy knoll near Court One, once known as Henman Hill.

Construction work at the All England Club continues. Centre Court will get another 1,200 seats, taking capacity to 15,000 for the tournament, which runs from 23 June to 6 July.

A retractable roof over Centre Court should be ready in time for next year.