Schedule, tickets, prize money: 10 questions about 2021 Wimbledon
Everything you could possibly need to know about Wimbledon – scheduled to take place in June 2021
Wimbledon’s Centre Court (Panoramic)
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When will Wimbledon take place?
The Championships will run from June 28 to July 11, with the qualifying events, which will be held at the nearby Roehampton Club, due to take place the week before.
Where does Wimbledon take place?
Wimbledon takes place in south-west London at the All England Lawn Tennis Club. The venue is in the middle of a pleasant residential area, so there is not a great deal of parking – spectators are advised to get the London Underground, train, or a tram to Wimbledon station, and then take a bus or walk.
The venue has 18 championship courts, including the show courts – Centre Court, No 1 Court and No 2 Court.
Will Wimbledon have fans in 2021?
The All England Club, which stages the event, is planning to allow crowds, but expects to have a significantly reduced number of fans, to comply with UK government guidance. On April 27, officials said they plan to have a minimum of 25 percent capacity (around 10,500) per day, though on May 19, they said they are confident they will be able to increase that figure, though they remain flexible, depending on the success of the easing of Coronavirus restrictions in the UK. “We very much hope 25 percent is a minimum position from which we can build – it is our absolute desire to enable as many people as possible to safely attend The Championships this year,” Wimbledon CEO Sally Bolton said.
Current government guidance indicates that Centre Court will be full on finals weekend as Wimbledon is a test event for major public gatherings.
How do I get tickets for Wimbledon?
The famous ballot is the most common way to get tickets for Wimbledon, but it will not be happening in 2021. Everyone who got tickets in 2020 and thus couldn’t attend will be able to transfer their tickets over to 2022 instead. For 2021, “tickets for the public will be sold exclusively online and all tickets will be distributed via the official Wimbledon mobile app”.
An initial sale of tickets to the public – registered users only – will go live on the Wimbledon website at 1pm on Thursday 17 June.
The traditional Wimbledon queue – where people line up, sometimes from the night before, to buy tickets on the gate – will not happen, due to social distancing protocols.
Why did the Championships not happen in 2020?
The organisers decided not to run the tournament due to the coronavirus pandemic, the first time Wimbledon has not taken place since the Second World War. But thanks to the foresight of having pandemic insurance, Wimbledon recouped £180 million.
What other protocols are in place for Wimbledon in 2021?
To minimise the risk of catching and spreading the Coronavirus, players, their support teams and officials will have to stay in official tournament hotels, travelling to and from the event each day. Even if the UK sticks to its plan to lift almost all restrictions by June 21, inside the All England Club grounds, the bubble will remain in place. Some form of social distancing is also likely, while officials said on April 27 (it’s too early to be sure if masks will need to be worn).
Who are the defending champions?
Novak Djokovic and Simona Halep are the 2019 champions in singles.
Here are all the champions from 2019:
- Novak Djokovic (men’s singles)
- Simona Halep (women’s singles)
- Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah (men’s doubles)
- Hsieh Su-wei and Barbora Strycova (women’s doubles)
- Latisha Chan and Ivan Dodig (mixed doubles)
- Shintaro Mochizuki (boys’ singles)
- Daria Snigur (girls’ singles)
- Jonas Forejtek and Kiri Lehecka (boys’ doubles)
- Savannah Broadus and Abigail Forbes (girls’ doubles)
- Gustavo Fernandez (wheelchair men’s singles)
- Aniek van Koot (wheelchair women’s singles)
- Dylan Alcott (wheelchair quad singles)
- Joachim Gerard and Stefan Olsson (wheelchair men’s doubles)
- Diede de Groot and Aniek van Koot (wheelchair women’s doubles)
- Dylan Alcott and Andrew Lapthorne (wheelchair quad doubles)
Who has won at Wimbledon in the past?
Martina Navratilova has won the most singles titles; picking up the title nine times, including six in a row between 1982 and 1987. Roger Federer has a record that is almost as impressive, with eight men’s singles titles, five of them consecutively between 2003 and 2007. Bjorn Borg also won five in a row, between 1976 and 1980.
The last British men’s singles champion at Wimbledon was Andy Murray, who won the title in 2013, beating Novak Djokovic and most recently in 2016, beating Milos Raonic. The last British women’s singles champion was Virginia Wade, who beat Betty Stove in the 1977 final.
How much prize money is there to be won?
In 2019, the singles champions each received £2.35 million – up from £2.25 million in 2018. The total for 2021 has not been announced, but it’s likely that the overall prize money fund will be reduced while money may be weighted towards the early rounds.
Despite the cancellation of the 2020 tournament, the organisers still made prize money payouts to players based on their world rankings, with those who would have competed in the main draw singles events each receiving £25,000. Those who would have played in qualifying, doubles or the wheelchair events received slightly less.
Which TV channels show Wimbledon?
The BBC broadcast Wimbledon in the UK, with ESPN and the Tennis Channel offering coverage in the USA. Eurosport has coverage across most of Europe, and beIN Sports in Asia and parts of Europe. Australian viewers can watch on Channel Seven.
Who is the Wimbledon tournament director?
Sally Bolton is the newly appointed chief executive officer of the All England Lawn Tennis Club, the club that hosts the Championships.
