By Tony Fairbairn, Britwatch Sports at Wimbledon

• As another Wimbledon comes to an end what did we learn about the last two weeks?

LONDON, ENGLAND – Wimbledon has finished for another year, so here are three things that were learned about this year’s Wimbledon.

Another exhilarating year of Wimbledon is over with after a fortnight of surprises, high-quality tennis and drama. There was no sight of rain as two weeks of extraordinary weather produced some incredible tennis as the third Grand Slam of the year lived up to all the expectation.

On the women’s side we had an 11th different winner in 11 years after Linda Noskova won her first Grand Slam title with a dramatic three set win over Karolina Muchova. It was a women’s tournament full of drama with top seeds exiting, emotions running high while legends returned in the form of Serena Williams.

Meanwhile, on the men’s side Jannik Sinner defeated Alexander Zverev to successfully defend his title as the best two players in the world made it all the way to the final. There were late finishes, drama and big seeds exiting early but one thing stayed the same and that was Sinner’s dominance at Wimbledon.

Now, it’s time to find out what we learned from this year’s edition of Wimbledon.

 

Fery thrives while other Brits fall

The shining light of British tennis was Arthur Fery as the world number 114 went to his first Grand Slam semi-final. The Brit pulled off incredible performances and won two consecutive final set tiebreaks as well as pulling off a dazzling quarter-final performance. It will be a tournament Fery will never forget as he flied the flag for British tennis and will now become the new British number one on Monday.

There are concerns over other Brits though as in singles they recorded their worst opening day of a tournament for two decades. All ten Brits went out on the first Monday and only four of the Brits made it to the second round. There is no doubting the withdrawals of Emma Raducanu and Jack Draper were a huge blow before the tournament but that doesn’t excuse the poor performances.

On one hand concerns have to be raised about the state of British tennis as this is where all eyes are on the Brits to stand out. This was everyone else’s opportunity to stand out from the crowd and they couldn’t produce their best tennis when it really mattered.

On the other hand, there are 50 weeks of the year that also matter and that is more important than Wimbledon. The stability of British tennis and the players’ results also matter and that is heading in a more positive projection as a lot of players rankings continue to rise.

The initiative is now on the LTA to continue the investment into grassroots tennis. While the players will aim to continue stable and sustainable progress in order to continue their rise up the rankings. The question is will the development be significant enough to turn the tide in the Brits players’ favour?

 

 

Tennis more divided then ever on prize money and doubles

While everyone has enjoyed watching the tennis this week, everyone seems to be divided when it comes to off-court matters. The topic of prize money continues to divide the tour as the 15 minute media commitment continued on media day but didn’t last the full two weeks.

Part of the reason for this is the respect that players have for Wimbledon as a tournament. However, it is expected that debate in the external eye will continue for the players as they continue to put pressure on the Grand Slams to offer more prize money for the future generations. Wimbledon offered a significant increase to try and calm down the noise from the top players over prize money but the players feel more can be done to reach pre-COVID levels.

These can be measured off of revenue, sponsorships and total investment that the players receive. However, it’s clear that as of right now the players demands are unrealistic. One way for the ATP to try and fund more prize money is by reducing it from the doubles players. During Wimbledon, it was announced that from 2028 prize money and draw sizes would be reduced on the tour.

There was an angry response from the doubles players who now plan to hold meetings with the ATP. The crowd for doubles over the course of the fortnight would suggest there is a significant place for this part of the sport going forwards. However, the lack of marketing from the ATP on doubles remains completely damning.

The question is can organisations change their ways and put more effort into facilitating doubles as its clear the players deserve way better then they are getting? That may be a more complicated answer than is being suggested as the disconnect between organisers and fans have never been stronger.

 

Late Centre Court finishes raise severe concerns

Finally, it’s once again to talk about point that seems to get raised every year and that’s the late Centre Court finishes. It never seems to get any better and this year exposed that more than most. A perfect two weeks of weather meant that we could fully assess whether play can finish on time and it failed the test.

There were several late finishes with players rushing to finish matches on the main courts before the curfew. This year took it to a whole new level when organisers were calling for the roof to be shut before 8pm. The 13:30 start time on Centre Court is causing problems to the finish time of play.

However, debenture ticket holders would want their lunch and that is causing problems to the schedule. Is there a point where Wimbledon step in and change tradition? They are keen on changing tradition on the court now let’s see whether they will change tradition off the court.

 

 

How to Watch/Follow Wimbledon 2026