The 2021 Wimbledon Championships is the 134th edition of the prestigious grass-court Grand Slam. The latest instalment of the tournament will run from June 28 to July 11.
The Wimbledon, which happens at the All-England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in London, was cancelled last year due to the coronavirus pandemic. Novak Djokovic and Simona Halep are the defending men's singles and women's singles champions, respectively, from 2019.
The Colombian duo of Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah had won the men's doubles title back then, while Hsieh Su-wei and Barbora Strycova claimed the women's doubles crown. Ivan Dodig and Latisha Chan were the mixed doubles champs.
The Seedings:
Men's Singles - Djokovic is the men's singles top seed this year as well. Daniil Medvedev, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Dominic Thiem, Alexander Zverev, Andrey Rublev, Roger Federer and Matteo Berrettini complete the top-eight seeding.
If Medvedev wins the 2021 Wimbledon title and if Djokovic is unable to make the final, the Russian will displace the 19-time Serbian Grand Slam winner as the new World No.1.
Women's Singles - Ashleigh Barty continues to hold the top seeding in the women's division. The top-eight also includes Simona Halep, Aryna Sabalenka, Elina Svitolina, Sofia Kenin, Bianca Andreescu, Serena Williams and Iga Swiatek.
Except for Svitolina, all the others have won at least one Grand Slam title, in singles or doubles. Former World No.1 Naomi Osaka had withdrawn from the tournament, and she was replaced by multiple-time Grand Slam winner Venus Williams in the draw.
The Prize Money:
The Wimbledon Championships have been annually awarding equal prize money for both the women's and men's sections since the 2008 edition.
The total prize money for the tournament this year will be £35 million, with the men's and women's singles champions each receiving £1.7m. The cut in prize funds represents a 5.2% decrease from 2019 when the men's and women's champions won £2.35m.
The Ranking Points:
The Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), established in September 1972, and the Women's Tennis Association (WTA), formed in June 1973, have changed the point allocation for players at the Wimbledon over the years.
However, the singles and doubles players under both organisations receive the following points for respective progressions in the tournament, as approved by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) at present.
Most titles in Wimbledon history:
- Roger Federer of Switzerland (Men's Singles) - 8 Championships.
- Martina Navratilova of the Czech Republic and United States (Women's Singles) - 9.
- Todd Woodbridge of Australia (Men's Doubles) - 9 [6 titles with Australia's Mark Woodforde and 3 with Sweden's Jonas Bjorkman].
- Elizabeth Ryan of the United States and United Kingdom (Women's Doubles) - 12 [1 title with Agatha Morton, 6 with Suzanne Lenglen, 1 with Mary Browne, 2 with Helen Wills and 2 with Simonne Mathieu].
- Ken Fletcher of Australia, Vic Seixas of United States, Owen Davidson of Australia and Leander Paes of India (Mixed Doubles Male) - 4 titles each.
- Elizabeth Ryan (Mixed Doubles Female) - 7.
- Laurence Doherty of United Kingdom (Most combined titles Male) - 13 [5 singles and 8 doubles].
- Navratilova and Billie Jean King of United States (Most combined titles Female) - 20 titles each [9 singles, 7 doubles, 4 mixed and 6 singles, 10 doubles, 4 mixed].
Other major Wimbledon records:
- Most wins in men’s singles – Roger Federer (101).
- Most wins in women’s singles – Martina Navratilova (120).
- Youngest men’s singles winner – Boris Becker (17 years and 227 days).
- Youngest women’s singles winner – Lottie Dod (15 years and 285 days).
- Longest men’s match – John Isner vs Nicolas Mahut (2010: 11 hours, 5 minutes).
- Longest women’s match – Chanda Rubin vs Patricia Hy-Boulais (1995: 3 hours, 45 minutes).
- Winners of both junior boys’ and senior men’s singles titles – Bjorn Borg, Pat Cash, Stefan Edberg and Federer.
- Winners of both junior girls’ and senior women’s singles titles – Karen Hantze, Ann Haydon, Martina Hingis and Amelie Mauresmo.
Where to watch Wimbledon 2021 live:
In India, viewers can watch the live television broadcast of the Wimbledon matches on the Star Sports Select 1 and 2 SD and HD channels. Meanwhile, Disney+ Hotstar will provide live streaming online for this year's tournament in the subcontinent.
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