The 2024 edition of Wimbledon, the third Grand Slam of the year, is scheduled to be held from July 1 to 14 at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club (AELTC) in London, England.
Here’s all you need to know about the this year’s tournament:
STORYLINES TO FOLLOW
Murray bids adieu
Two-time Wimbledon champion Andy Murray is set to compete at the AELTC for one last time. The 37-year-old Scot owns a total of three major championships: the US Open in 2012, and Wimbledon in 2013 and 2016. His 2013 title made him the first British man to win the singles trophy at the All England Club in 77 years.
He has been dealing with a series of injuries in 2024, and had a surgical procedure on his back recently after stopping during a match at a tuneup event.
Murray is set to face Czechia’s Tomas Machac in the opening round.
Eyes on Alcaraz and Sinner while Djokovic returns from injury
For the first time in more than two decades, the men’s field at Wimbledon seems to be quite open. Seven-time champion Novak Djokovic has not played a match since injuring his knee during the fourth round of the French Open. The first two Majors of the year have been won by Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz. The latter is also the defending champion at Wimbledon.
However, both Sinner and Alcaraz, seeded first and third, are projected to meet in the semifinals and there is a possibility of a surprise finalist from the other side of the draw if Djokovic is not at his best.
Swiatek, Gauff favourite in women’s singles
In the last six editions, there has always been a new women’s singles champion. The trend, which started with Garbine Muguruza in 2017, continued last year as the unseeded Marketa Vondrousova won the title out of nowhere.
While World No. 1 Iga Swiatek and World No. 2 Coco Gauff are favourites, both of them are yet to taste real success on grass.
Indian interest
Sumit Nagal is set to become the first Indian man since Prajnesh Gunneswaran in 2019 to feature in the main draw of men’s singles at Wimbledon.
Nagal has had a breakout season so far. He is ranked 72 and has also qualified for Paris Olympics. The Indian faces Serbia’s Miomir Kecmanovic in his debut main-draw match at The Championships.
Nagal (with Serbia’s Dusan Lajovic) will also be competing in men’s doubles. Rohan Bopanna (with Australia’s Matthew Ebden), N. Sriram Balaji (with Britain’s Luke Johnson) and Yuki Bhambri (with Frenchman Albano Olivetti) are the other Indians in the men’s doubles category.
HOW LAST YEAR’S EDITION WENT
On the men’s side, Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz shocked Novak Djokovic to win his maiden Wimbledon and overall, second Grand Slam title. Djokovic was looking to equal Roger Federer’s all-time men’s record of eight singles titles at the Grass Major. However, Alcaraz outlasted the Serbian 1-6, 7-6(6), 6-1, 3-6, 6-4 in four hours and 42 minutes on the Centre Court to become Wimbledon’s third youngest men’s champion.
On the women’s side, Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur suffered defeat in the final for the second year in a row. Jabeur went down 6-4, 6-4 to Marketa Vondrousova in the summit clash. Vondrousova became the fourth Czech-born player to win the title in the professional era after Martina Navratilova, Jana Novotna and Petra Kvitova and the first-ever unseeded champion.
DRAW
PRIZE MONEY
The total prize money for this year’s Wimbledon is a record 50 million pounds (Rs 533. 65 crore), up 11.9 per cent or 5.3 million pounds compared to last year.
The men’s and women’s singles winners will each receive 2.70 million pounds.
WHERE TO WATCH
In India, viewers will be able to watch the live telecast of the matches on the Star Sports Network and stream the matches live on the Disney+Hotstar app/website.
TROPHIES
FILE PHOTO (From left to right): The Gentlemen’s Singles Trophy and the Ladies’ Singles Trophy (Venus Rosewater Dish). | Photo Credit: GETTY IMAGES
The Ladies’ singles winner is presented with the Venus Rosewater Dish, a circular dish with mythological designs. The Gentlemen’s singles winner is awarded a silver gilt cup which has the inscription “All England Lawn Tennis Club Single Handed Championship of the World”. The actual trophies remain with the club while three-inch smaller replicas are given to the winners to take with them. All the doubles trophies are silver cups.
Most successful players at Wimbledon (Open Era)
Ladies’ Singles: Martina Navratilova - 9 titles
Gentlemen’s Singles: Roger Federer- 8 titles
Ladies’ Doubles: Martina Navratilova- 7 titles ( One each with Chris Evert and Billie Jean King and five with Pam Shriver)
Gentlemen’s Doubles: Todd Woodbridge - 9 titles (Six with Mark Woodforde and three with Jonas Björkman)
Mixed Doubles: Leander Paes - 4 titles (with Lisa Raymond, Martina Navratilova, Cara Black and Martina Hingis)
Martina Navratilova - 4 titles (with Paul McNamee, Mark Woodforde, Jonathan Stark and Leander Paes)
Notable Absentees
Men - Rafael Nadal, Jiri Lehecka
Women - Petra Kvitova, Belinda Bencic
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