Latest news with #WimbledonChampionships
Time of India
2 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Time of India
From cricket to Centre Court: How Wimbledon plans on wooing India
Carlos Alcaraz of Spain celebrates Wimbledon 2024 title (Photo by) New Delhi: Virat Kohli , Rohit Sharma, Dinesh Karthik and Sachin Tendulkar have been regular figures at the All Club Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC), which organises the Wimbledon Championships. Kohli and Tendulkar sat next to each other in 2015. 'Master Blaster' Tendulkar chatted with eight-time Wimbledon champion Roger Federer last year. Rohit Sharma's photo on Wimbledon's Instagram generated 4.5 million likes - their most engaged post EVER! The presence of Indian cricketers at SW19 is part of the iconic tournament's attempt at expanding its presence. As per AELTC Chief Executive Sally Bolton, India and US are two markets that they're targeting to further the historic brand. "Cricket is much loved and certainly king for Indian audiences. So rather than trying to compete with that, I think it's about trying to find interesting ways to collaborate. Both sports are rich in heritage. England and India Test matches are happening now. So I think there's interesting ways to be able to bring that to life for audiences, so that they might want to come and watch it as well," said Brendan Dinen, the Head of Marketing at Wimbledon, in a chat with Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW! "So we are working with an Indian social media influencer who will get the day of a lifetime. They will be taken to Lord's during the Test match on 10th July. And we'll then bring them into the grounds of the Championships in the afternoon to document and bring to life for their audience, what is clearly a day of a lifetime for any sports fan. "Similarly, we worked really closely with our broadcast partner, Star Sports who created a tennis-cricket crossover trailer for us that ran in the IPL. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Livguard Lithium-X: The Future of Power Backup Livguard Buy Now Undo So I think there's lots of ways to be able to collaborate as sports properties, and bring that to life for the audience." Wimbledon, despite being one of the most prestigious tennis tournaments, acknowledges there's potential to still do better and go bigger. The grass court major had 60-70 million engagements last year ranging from broadcast to social media. With over a billion potentially holding interest in the Championships, the scope for growth is huge, with significant "headroom" being identified in India and its young population. Carlos Alcaraz of Spain serves during a practice session prior to The Championships Wimbledon 2025 at All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club (Photo by) "Younger audiences and audiences of the future are crucial to us. It's clear in the activity that we focus on and our content strategy, whether that's for Instagram, YouTube and the sort of content we create," clarified Dinen. "So ensuring that we can have the content and different parts of the Championships, with tennis at the centre of that approach - whether that's through social media platforms or working with influencers and content creators - to be able to look to be able to engage those audiences. "India is a sport loving country. Obviously, cricket is king, but Wimbledon is also a broad mainstream event. So there's certainly an opportunity to engage wider audiences, not just younger audiences, but those are really integral and important to our plans." Poll Do you believe that collaborations between cricket and tennis can attract more audiences? Yes, definitely! No, it's unlikely. To build a deeper connection with the Indian audience, organisers wish to hold events in India, but the timing of the monsoon season doesn't help. To circumvent that, AELTC are working with PVR INOX to take the finals to large screen theaters. Another attempt at grabbing headlines and tapping on to the social media presence of some of Indian cricket 's giants like Kohli (274 million followers), Tendulkar (50.8 million), Rohit (44.1 million) comes by inviting them to the Royal Box which is littered with celebrities and royalty. So far, no concrete plans are in place as the Indian cricket team tours England for the five-match Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, but that could change very quickly. As Wimbledon abides by many of its traditions - the all whites, the strawberry and cream, the Pimm's - it tries to move into the new era by embracing technology where it can. Alongside the historic move of ditching line judges after 147 years, its social media team is lapping up Artificial Intelligence (AI), in coordination with IBM, on its app and website. 'Jay Shah Deserves Credit for How He Ran BCCI' | Arun Dhumal on BCCI's Commitment & Leadership During live matches, the 'Match Chat' assistant can answer fans' questions. It will allow the spectators to engage using either pre-written prompts or their own questions. The AI tool will provide immediate responses and match analysis. "We continue to embrace technology, and it sits at the heart of the balance between heritage and innovation. And in terms of things like Virtual Reality, we work on areas such as gaming. We've brought experiences to life in places like Roblox. So we absolutely want to make sure we bring the brand and the Championships to life in new and interesting ways," stated Dinen. Game On Season 1 continues with Mirabai Chanu's inspiring story. Watch Episode 2 here.
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First Post
3 hours ago
- Sport
- First Post
Wimbledon 2025: From absence of line judges to record prize money, everything that's different at SW19 this year
Ahead of the 138th edition of the grass-court Grand Slam, which takes place less than a month after the thrilling French Open men's singles final between Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, we take a look at what's different at Wimbledon this year. read more The grass court season is well and truly underway, and it's almost that time of the year when some of the world's top players show up at SW19 for the Wimbledon Championships – the 138th edition of which gets underway in a couple of days time in London. The grass-court Grand Slam takes place less than a month after Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner played out one of the most breathtaking matches in recent memory in the French Open final, in which the former prevailed from two sets down. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Also Read | Wimbledon's controversial expansion plan approved: What is planned and who opposed it? And before the tournament gets underway, we take a look at what's different in this year's edition: No line judges The biggest talking point ahead of this year's Wimbledon is the grass-court Major joining hard-court Grand Slams Australian Open and US Open in replacing on-court line judges with electronic line calling. And it's not just half of the Grand Slams that have implemented this technology – electronic line calling is the norm in a majority of ATP and WTA events. Wimbledon will have no line judges for the first time in 2025 tournament. Image: Reuters Which means that the 2025 edition will be the first in Wimbledon history that will not have its best-dressed officials on court. And while organisers insist the technology is almost fail-safe, they will have a team of reserve line judges, part of a team of 80 match assistants. Two reserve line judges will be present on each court to not only provide support to the umpire but to act as back-up should the electronic system fail. Start time The start time for the women and men's singles finals has been pushed by a couple of hours, and will start at 4 pm local time instead of 2 pm. Additionally, the marquee fixtures will be taking place after the doubles finals instead of preceding them. Record prize money Wimbledon will have a record prize money of £52 million ($71.3 million) on offer this year, witnessing a hike of 7.1 per cent. The men and women's singles champions are set to earn £3 million ($4.1 million) each, with £38.8 million ($53.2 million) available for players in the two draws. Players suffering a first-round defeat are guaranteed to walk away with £66,000 ($90,565) – a 10 per cent hike from last year. More expensive strawberry Strawberries, cream, and a slice of heritage!🍓✨@DineshKarthik soaks in the Wimbledon experience at Winfield Café! ❤️#Wimbledon2025 | Starts 30 JUN, MON, 3 PM on Star Sports Network & JioHotstar — Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) June 27, 2025 Costs have gone up at Wimbledon this year, and while players are being paid more handsomely, the iconic strawberry and cream that is synonymous with the grass-court Grand Slam is set to become more expensive – from £2.50 ($3.43), which had been the fixed price for the last 15 years, to £2.70 ($3.70). STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD
Daily Mirror
4 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
‘I'm a Wimbledon and BBC icon – I was told off after nearly burning down studio'
Wimbledon returns to action on Monday, but the Grand Slam was almost hit by disaster after one tennis legend started a fire in the BBC studio during a broadcast Wimbledon icon Sue Barker once had a close call that could have led to a fiery disaster at the BBC media centre. The former French Open winner, who became a staple of Wimbledon coverage for nearly three decades, almost caused a scary scene at the All England Club. In her 2024 book Wimbledon: A Personal History (via the Daily Express), Barker shared her experiences from her junior days at SW19 to retiring from commentary more than 50 years later, including the story of how she nearly 'burnt down' the BBC studio. As the 2025 Wimbledon Championships get underway on Monday, her former colleagues will be keen to avoid any repeats of that incident. Barker, 69, lauded tennis great Martina Navratilova for her contribution while recounting the near-catastrophic event. And she revealed she even had to play it cool mid-broadcast while part of the studio caught fire nearby. "I was always grateful that she, like Chrissie [Evert] and Tracy [Austin], would pop into the BBC studio as my guest," she wrote. "There's nothing she doesn't know about Wimbledon. She was my unfortunate guest one year when I nearly burned down the studio and possibly the whole media centre." Barker described how, during a particularly rainy day at Wimbledon, Navratilova joined her in the studio to assist with filling the airtime. However, things quickly went from bad to worse. The retired presenter went on to discuss her habit of keeping detailed research notes close at hand for reference. However, due to the management's preference for a neat desk, she tucked the pages out of sight underneath, which nearly resulted in catastrophe. "As Martina and I were chatting away I suddenly saw my floor manager Liz looking worried and talking in an animated fashion to the gallery," she continued. "The next minute I heard Martin Hopkins, the producer, say, 'There's a smell of smoke in the studio'. Everyone was looking concerned. "Martin told me to link to a VT, but the only one available was one that Martina and I had to talk over - but at least it would give Liz and the team a chance to do a sweep of the studio. Just as Martina and I started talking over the footage, I was aware of an intense burst of heat around my legs. "Flames started flickering up from under my desk. Stupidly, I had put my spare notes on top of the 'hot' lights instead of on the shelf next to them. "There was chaos as we fanned the flames and threw the remaining notes on the floor. I still carried on commentating over the footage, slightly breathlessly, as Martina and I wrestled the flames. Liz joined in, stamping on them. One of the crew rushed in with a fire extinguisher (which wasn't needed thankfully). "I'm pleased to say the flames were put out, but the smell of smoke lingered for some time. No one at home would have known of the drama, but we had a good laugh when finally we handed back to live coverage of Centre Court. "My laughter soon departed when the health and safety team told me in no uncertain terms how dangerous my inadvertent action had been. And I had no excuse as I was always given a safety briefing prior to The Championships and these lights were the number one priority. Needless to say my whole studio crew were relieved when LED lighting came in." Barker announced her decision to step down as host of the BBC's Wimbledon coverage in 2022 after that year's tournament. She was succeeded by Clare Balding, who has partnered with former cricketer Isa Guha to present the action from SW19 in recent years.
Yahoo
20 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Coco Gauff and Aryna Sabalenka dance at Centre Court and post about it on TikTok and Instagram
Coco Gauff of United States hits a return to Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus during a practice session ahead of the Wimbledon Championships in London, Friday, June 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Joanna Chan) Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus plays a return to Coco Gauff of United States during a practice session ahead of the Wimbledon Championships in London, Friday, June 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung) Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus, right, and Coco Gauff of United States during a practice session ahead of the Wimbledon Championships in London, Friday, June 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung) Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus, right, and Coco Gauff of United States dance during a practice session ahead of the Wimbledon Championships in London, Friday, June 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung) Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus, right, and Coco Gauff of United States dance during a practice session ahead of the Wimbledon Championships in London, Friday, June 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung) Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus, right, and Coco Gauff of United States dance during a practice session ahead of the Wimbledon Championships in London, Friday, June 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung) Coco Gauff of United States hits a return to Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus during a practice session ahead of the Wimbledon Championships in London, Friday, June 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Joanna Chan) Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus plays a return to Coco Gauff of United States during a practice session ahead of the Wimbledon Championships in London, Friday, June 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung) Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus, right, and Coco Gauff of United States during a practice session ahead of the Wimbledon Championships in London, Friday, June 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung) Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus, right, and Coco Gauff of United States dance during a practice session ahead of the Wimbledon Championships in London, Friday, June 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung) Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus, right, and Coco Gauff of United States dance during a practice session ahead of the Wimbledon Championships in London, Friday, June 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung) LONDON (AP) — Just in case anyone might have wondered whether there was any lingering animosity between Coco Gauff and Aryna Sabalenka after their French Open final, the two tennis stars offered proof that all is well by dancing together at Wimbledon on Friday and posting videos on social media. 'TikTok dances always had a way of bringing people together,' Sabalenka wrote on her Instagram feed below a clip of the duo showing off their moves on the Centre Court grass to the strains of the 1990 hit 'Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)' by C+C Music Factory. Advertisement Gauff, a frequent TikTok user, put up a video of the pair standing outside the main stadium at the All England Club and mouthing along to a track with the words: 'OK, guys, we're back. Did you miss us? 'Cause we missed you.' Gauff wrote: 'the olive branch was extended and accepted! we're good so you guys should be too.' The No. 1-ranked Sabalenka and the No. 2-ranked Gauff held a practice session together at Centre Court ahead of the year's third Grand Slam tournament, which begins on Monday. Three weeks ago, Gauff beat Sabalenka 6-7 (5), 6-2, 6-4 in the championship match at the last major, the French Open. Afterward, Sabalenka drew criticism from some for saying Gauff 'won the match not because she played incredible; just because I made all of those mistakes from ... easy balls.' Advertisement Later, Sabalenka called her comments 'unprofessional' and said she had written to Gauff to apologize. Sabalenka, a 27-year-old from Belarus, is a three-time Grand Slam champion and was the runner-up both times Gauff, a 21-year-old American, won a major trophy, including at the 2023 U.S. Open. At Wimbledon this year, they only could face each other in the July 12 final. ___ Howard Fendrich has been the AP's tennis writer since 2002. Find his stories here: More AP tennis:
United News of India
21 hours ago
- Sport
- United News of India
Olympic champion Zheng to face Siniakova first at Wimbledon
London, June 27 (UNI) China's Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen will start this year's Wimbledon Championships campaign with first-round opponent Katerina Siniakova of the Czech Republic as the main draw was revealed here on Friday. Zheng, 22, reached the third round in her first appearance at Wimbledon, but failed to pass the opening round in the last two years. As the fifth seed in the women's singles main draw, Zheng will meet Siniakova on Monday. Siniakova, with 10 women's doubles Grand Slam titles in her pocket, reached the third round in the women's singles event at Wimbledon three times. She entered the Berlin Open through qualifiers last week, but lost to former Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina in the round of last 16. Zheng reached her first career grass-court semifinal at the Queen's Club Championships earlier this month, but withdrew from the Berlin Open due to a neck injury. Zheng's compatriot Wang Xinyu, who reached the Berlin Open final by beating newly-crowned French Open champion Coco Gauff, will face 15th seeded Czech Karolina Muchova in the first round. The 23-year-old Wang stunned American ace Jessica Pegula in the second round at last year's Wimbledon before reaching the fourth round for the first time. Meanwhile, the world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka from Belarus will play against Canadian qualifier Carson Branstine. Defending champion Barbora Krejcikova will face Filipino rookie Alexandra Eala. In the men's singles main draw, the world No. 1 Jannik Sinner is going to lock horns with his Italian compatriot Luca Nardi, while defending champion Carlos Alcaraz will meet Italian veteran Fabio Fognini in the first round. UNI/XINHUA BM
