Wimbledon bosses face ratings disaster after plan to get more viewers for men's final threatens to backfire
Multiple Grand Slam champions
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Carlos Alacaraz and Jannik Sinner's Wimbledon final is facing a ratings disaster
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That is because Sinner's megamatch with Alcaraz could take place at the same time as the Club World Cup final
For the first time, the clash has been moved back by TWO HOURS from its normal slot of 2pm to 4pm.
Wimbledon bosses are desperate to have as many eyeballs as possible globally watching the action, particularly in the key US market.
They also argue this decision will give more prominence to the women's doubles final, which starts before that five-setter, though it is normally played late in the evening in front of sparse crowds.
Yet the Club World Cup Final in New Jersey between
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And at the same time the Lionesses will continue the defence of their European football title as they take on Wales in their final group match in Switzerland.
Sinner and
Should the Wimbledon final take several hours, and both men have shown supreme form this fortnight as they chase the £3million top prize, then punters may switch off before it finishes to catch the footie.
And, of course, the roof might need to be closed for bad light if the match is still going on past 8.30pm.
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This issue of a clash with other major sporting events will become a factor next year when the Fifa World Cup Finals take place in the US, Canada and Mexico.
The later start will also be a factor when the European Championships are staged in the UK in 2028.
Novak Djokovic waves goodbye to Wimbledon crowd
Wimbledon have defended the controversial decision, with CEO Sally Bolton saying: 'Adjusting the finals weekend to have the doubles starting at 1pm and singles at 4pm will provide a weekend of excitement.
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'Both days will culminate with the singles champions being crowned in front of the largest possible worldwide audience.
'The consideration of this change has taken us a long time to go. There has been a lot of thought and data analysis before altering the finals schedule.
'It's about ensuring we have an improved experience for all involved.
'We believe we can give an outstanding outcome for everyone from the change.'
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Asked if there would ever be flexibility with the timing in future years, Bolton added: 'We've been up against football and other sporting tournaments before.
'And whilst there's usually some impact, it's never caused us a significant amount of concern.
'As we were working through the range of factors in making this decision, clearly that was one of those.
'As with any change we make at the Championships, we are always reviewing the decisions we've made, whether they've worked, whether we can tweak them.
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'So, we're confident we've made the right decision, but as we always do, we will review that after this year's Championships.'
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WIMBLEDON 2025 LIVE -
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Sinner eliminated Novak Djokovic in the Wimbledon semi-finals
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And Carlos Alcaraz knocked Taylor Fritz out of Wimbledon
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