Wimbledon: All you need to know

Wimbledon, the oldest tennis competition in the world gets underway from July 3rd – July 16th for the 136th time. Widely considered the most prestigious tennis event, Wimbledon is known for its quirky rules, indulgent snacks, and the creation of legends.

Below is everything you need to know about the biggest tennis tournament of the summer.

What is Wimbledon?

Wimbledon is the British variant of the four major tennis tournaments hosted every year by the ATP Professional Tennis Tour. Others, The Australian, US and French Open, are played on clay and hard courts, while Wimbledon is the only major still played on the traditional grass surface.

It is hosted at the All-England Lawn Tennis Club in Wimbledon, London, and has been played since 1877, every year attracting huge crowds that come to see the best tennis players in the world.

The oldest tennis tournament in existence, Wimbledon was also the birthplace of the modern game with rules that have remained largely unchanged since 1877.

Today, the tournament is made up of 128 men and 128 women, featuring men’s and women’s singles and doubles as well as mixed doubles tournaments. The men’s singles and women’s singles are by far the most watched of the tournament, the final of which is held at the famed Centre Court with a crowd of almost 15,000 in attendance.

Where and when is the Wimbledon Championship being played?

Wimbledon will begin on the 3rd of July and will last two weeks with the final on the 16th of July. The preliminary stages take place on the courts surrounding the stadium, with the later stages of the tournament and the final taking place on Centre Court.

The competition takes place at the All-England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, situated in the south-west of London, England.

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Who are the previous winners of the Wimbledon?

Every winner of Wimbledon will go down in history as one of the best tennis players of all time. Due to its prominence, it is a favourite of fans and players and affords more bragging rights to winners than any other major.

The victor of the Wimbledon men’s and women’s singles will take home a cheque for over a million pounds and, 2000 ATP ranking points, enhancing the players position in the table of best players.

Previous winners include the famous English victor, Fred Perry, who won the title between 1934-36. Andy Murray who was the next British player to win 77 years later in 2013, and most notably, recently retired Swiss maestro Roger Federer, who won the title eight times, making him the second most successful Wimbledon player ever and the most successful male player.

The most successful Wimbledon player of all time is Martina Navratilova, who won nine championships in her career. She is regarded as one of the best female tennis players of all time. The world no.1 for 332 weeks and the doubles no.1 for 237 weeks, she is the only player ever to hold both positions for over 200 weeks. Alongside her nine singles titles she also won seven doubles championships at Wimbledon.

Many other greats have graced the grass at Centre Court, including Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Serena Williams and Billie Jean King.

The pot for the 2022 tournament was £40.3 million with the men’s and women’s winners taking home £2 million each. This year the prize fund has increased to £44.7m, with the winners of both singles tournaments pocketing a cheque for £2.4m.

What are the odds for Wimbledon?

In the women’s singles, Iga Swiatek comes into Wimbledon on the back of victory at the French Open, as she did last year. That makes her the 7/2 favourite, despite her less than perfect record on the grass of SW19, where she is yet to make it beyond the fourth round.

Aryna Sabalenka, currently ranked number two in the world, is the joint-second favourite at 4/1, along with last year’s winner Elena Rybakina. Ons Jabeur, who Rybakina defeated in last year’s final, rounds out the top of the market at 10/1.

With Emma Raducanu missing out following her wrist surgery, current British number one, Katie Boulter heads the list of home contenders at 100/1.

After a seamless journey to winning the French Open, which saw him claim the record for most Grand Slams ever with 23, Novak Djokovic looks to be on course to win an eighth Wimbledon title. At 4/6, it looks hard to bet against the Serb equalling Roger Federer’s record of eight Wimbledon singles titles this year.

Next in the betting is Carlos Alcaraz at 3/1, who proved no match for Djokovic when they met in the semi-finals in Paris. Considering that came on Alcaraz’s favoured clay surface, he looks to have his work cut out to match Djokovic on grass.

Daniil Medvedev missed last year’s Wimbledon with Russian players suspended, but is expected to be back this year and enters the market at 7/1 third favourite, ahead of Alexander Zverev and Jannik Sinner at 12/1, while last year’s finalist Nick Kyrgios is a 14/1 chance.

Andy Murray has showed some good form on grass recently, winning the Surbiton Open a few weeks ago, and is the leading British contender at 33/1, ahead of Cameron Norrie at 40/1.

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