Princess Kate beams as she arrives at Centre Court to watch Anisimova and Swiatek clash in Wimbledon women's final
KATE Middleton dazzled at Wimbledon as she turned up for the women's tennis finals today.
The beaming Princess of Wales, who is patron of the All England Lawn Tennis Club, looked classy in a white belted blazer-style and cream pleated skirt.
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The Princess of Wales with AELTC chair Debbie Jevans as she arrives to attend the Ladies' Singles Final on day thirteen of the 2025 Wimbledon Championships
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Kate beams at crowds as she arrives for the finals
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Smiling Princess Kate wore a classy white belted blazer-style and cream pleated skirt, giving a big wave to adoring fans
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The Princess of Wales stunned in white as she arrived for the finals
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Amanda Anisimova reacts after the women's singles semifinal match with Aryna Sabalenka
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Iga Swiatek celebrates after the women's singles semifinal match against Belinda Bencic of Switzerland
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Kate also donned a Wimbledon purple and green bow on the left-hand side of her top.
The Princess first spoke with women's wheelchair tennis champion Wang Ziying – only moments after she won her final in straight sets.
Kate then had a lengthy chat with eight-year-old inspiration Lydia Lowe, who is representing the Dan Maskell Trust and was given the honour of doing the coin toss for the wheelchair final on Court No.1.
She also talked with Sophie Kneen, 12, who will do the coin toss for this afternoon's women's final, ball boys and girls, and honorary stewards.
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The Princess, 43, then crossed the bridge, where she flashed a smile and a wave to hundreds of fans who had gathered to catch a glimpse.
Kate was guided around the grounds by All England Club chairwoman Debbie Jevans, who is a former professional player.
Traditionally, the avid tennis fan watches a number of matches in the Royal Box and later present champions with their trophies at the end of the tournament.
Hundreds of spectators gathered in and around the grounds to try and catch a glimpse of the Princess as she entered Wimbledon.
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She will take part in a special ceremony before moving to the best seat in the house to watch the ladies' final, which is tipped to be an all-time classic.
Kate attended last year's men's final alongside daughter Charlotte but is expected to go solo today for her 26th trip as a royal to one of the most prestigious events of Britain's sporting calendar.
Novak Djokovic waves goodbye to Wimbledon crowd-
The Princess of Wales and 15,000 fans on Centre Court will have to battle scorching temperatures of up to 31 degrees as the third heatwave of the summer baked Britain.
Several fans have passed out in the stands during the tournament, though bosses have rejected calls to close the Centre Court roof and turn on the air conditioning during severe temperatures.
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The Women's Singles final this afternoon will see a showdown between American Amanda Anisimova, 23, and Pole Iga Swiatek, 24 — neither of whom have won in West London before.
Swiatek, one of the most successful players in recent years, has won five majors in the past and was previously the world number one.
However, this is her first Wimbledon final, having only ever made it as far as the quarter-finals in 2023.
Seeded eighth for this year's tournament, she arrived having made only one final since her French Open victory last year.
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She will face off against Anisimova. Once touted as a teenage prodigy, she was a junior US Open champion in 2017 at age 16.
Her first peak was marked by a semi-final run at the 2019 French Open, but her rapid rise was soon halted and she took a four-month health break before returning to the sport last year.
She arrived at the All England Tennis Club seeded 13th.
Anisimova waved and blew kisses to the crowd earlier in the championships after securing a remarkable 6-4 4-6 6-4 victory against world number one Aryna Sabalenka on Centre Court.
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The Men's doubles final on Centre Court earlier today saw Aussie Rinky Hijikata, 24, and Dutch David Pel, 34, face off against Brits Julian Cash, 28, and Lloyd Glasspool, who is 31.
The Brits won to resounding cheers from the home crowd - and took a selfie to mark the occasion as the first all-British pair to win the men's doubles since 1936.
Alongside the princess in the Royal Box will be Barbie mastermind Greta Gerwig, Mo Farrah, Stanley Tucci and Clive Myrie.
What finals are taking place and when?
Saturday Gentlemen's Doubles Final
Ladies' Singles Final (Not before 4:00pm)
Ladies' Wheelchair Singles Final
Gentlemen's & Quad Wheelchair Doubles Final
Girls' Singles Final (18&U)
Girls' Doubles Final (18&U)
Boys' Doubles Final (18&U)
Boys' and Girls' 14&U Singles Semi-finals
Invitation Doubles (Ladies' Doubles, Gentlemen's Doubles, Mixed Doubles)
Sunday Ladies' Doubles Final
Gentlemen's Singles Final (Not before 4:00pm)
Gentlemen's & Quad Wheelchair Singles Finals
Ladies' Wheelchair Doubles Final
Boys' Singles Final (18&U)
Boys' & Girls' 14&U Singles Finals
Invitation Doubles (Ladies' Doubles, Gentlemen's Doubles, Mixed Doubles)
Also present will be Tory leader Kemi Badenoch and Labour's Lisa Nandy.
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Adam Peaty and Holly Ramsay are also expected to be there.
Eyes will also be on the thermometers this weekend, as temperatures of up to 33 degrees could bake fans.
This afternoon's final starts at the later time of 4pm – the first time in 119 years that the match has been pushed back.
The climax to the men's and women's Championships has traditionally begun at 2pm on the finals weekend.
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This year, the matches have been pushed back by two hours to maximise the TV audience in the United States, where the clash will start at 11am in New York.
All England Club officials insisted the later start will result in better crowds for the doubles finals, which now start before the singles main event.
Kate's mother-in-law Queen Camilla was also back at Wimbledon on Wednesday to watch her favourite player Novak Djokovic in action.
Princess Kate has rarely missed attending Wimbledon since marrying Prince William.
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Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch was also in the Royal Box
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The Prince and Princess of Wales with Prince George and Princess Charlotte during th2 2023 championships
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Kate and Will smile as they watch the tennis in 2021
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Princess Kate during the men's final at the 2022 Wimbledon Championships
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She did skip the championships in 2013 - and missed Andy Murray's first Wimbledon victory - but this was due to her being heavily pregnant with Prince George at the time.
Princess Kate used to take tennis lessons at the elite Hurlingham Club in Fulham, and even set up training sessions for Prince George with tennis legend Roger Federer.
Last year, she handed champion Carlos Alcaraz his golden cup as he retained his Wimbledon title against rival Djokovic.
Djokovic looked emotional as he trundled off following a first Wimbledon semi-final defeat for 13 years yesterday.
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Physical problems had prevented him from taking this the full distance as he lost 6-3 6-3 6-4 to the outstanding Jannik Sinner.
Finals day is here - and it starts later
Traditionally, the final Saturday and Sunday of the tournament has seen the women's singles final and the men's singles final respectively open play on Centre Court.
Both matches would ordinarily begin on Wimbledon's most famous stage at 2pm.
But this year, on the Saturday, the men's doubles final will open play on Centre Court at 1pm before the women's singles final at 4pm.
While Sunday's opening match will be the women's doubles final at 1pm, with the men's singles final also following at 4pm.
All England Club chief executive Sally Bolton explained that the change in schedule will allow the men's and women's finals to attract the "largest possible worldwide audience" with both singles finals starting at 11am ET in New York.
Bolton said: "We have adjusted the provisional schedule for the final weekend of The Championships with the ambition of improving the experience for all involved.
"The doubles players competing in the finals will have increased certainty over their schedule and fans will enjoy each day's play as it builds towards the crescendo of the ladies' and gentlemen's singles finals, with our champions being crowned in front of the largest possible worldwide audience."
Djokovic, 22 years a pro, is still good enough to beat 98 per cent of the ATP Tour players yet against Sinner and two-time Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz he comes up short.
Next year, he will be 39-years-old and he accepts his body is breaking down after years of playing the sport.
Even when he is fully fit, thanks to months of hard work in training, he admits he cannot find a way past the top two.
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At one hour and 55 minutes, it was the shortest defeat he had experienced, aside from two mid-match SW19 retirements.
Djokovic, who slipped late on in the quarter-finals against Flavio Cobolli on Wednesday, had a medical time-out before set three.
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Aryna Sabalenka in action during her Semi final match against Amanda Anisimova (USA) in the 2025 Wimbledon Championships
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Queen Camilla was also back at Wimbledon on Wednesday to watch her favourite player Novak Djokovic in action
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Novak Djokovic of Serbia hits a backhand against Jannik Sinner of Italy during the Gentlemen's Singles semi-finals round match on day eleven of the championships
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The tennis has been plagued by blunder after blunder with its new AI this summer.
Automated calls replaced line judges at this year's tournament — with players casting doubt on the technology's accuracy.
Around 300 of the blazer- wearing officials who call 'Out' and 'Fault' have been axed in favour of an electronic gizmo.
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Replacing them is the Hawk-Eye Challenge System which uses high-speed cameras and algorithms to track ball trajectory with pinpoint accuracy.
Voices used by the tech are from people working behind the scenes at Wimbledon, including tour guides.
The decision to adopt AI was made after a pilot at last year's tournament.
It is understood the All England Club was reluctant, but the tech has been used in other events for years.
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The finals take place on a scorcher of a weekend.
Temperatures are expected to peak at 33 or even 34C today as the UK enjoys yet another spell of sunny weather.
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The Princess of Wales speaks to ball boys and girls during the 2023 Wimbledon Championships
Credit: PA
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The Princess of Wales and Princess Charlotte in the royal box during the 2024 Wimbledon Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club
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Kate and Meghan Duchess of Sussex in the Royal Box in 2018
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