How does Wimbledon Work?
Wimbledon is the oldest and most prestigious tennis tournament in the world. It is held annually in London and is the only Grand Slam tournament played on grass courts. The tournament is split into several rounds and is a knockout format culminating in the wonderfully exciting weekend of finals.
The Humphreys team love being asked about Wimbledon because it’s our absolute favourite tennis tournament, closely followed by Queens and Boodles, and you can find out more about those in another article.
Concierge tip: If you love tennis try to be in the UK in the last 2 weeks of June and the first 2 of July, you will be in your element, there is so much professional tennis being played. It really is the place to be.
The tournament begins with the qualifying rounds, where players who are not already guaranteed a spot in the main draw compete for a chance to play in the tournament proper. These matches are held at the Bank of England Sports Ground in Roehampton, and typically last for three days.
After the qualifying rounds, the tournament moves to the main draw, where the top players in the world compete in singles and doubles events. The main draw is split into four rounds, all of which are played at the All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) in Wimbledon during the first week of the championships.
The quarter-finals, semi-finals and finals are the next rounds in the tournament, which are held on the last week of the tournament. These rounds feature the top players in the tournament, and are considered to be the most exciting and competitive matches, although, as with so much sport, some of the early round matches prove to be some of the best of the tournament.
In terms of the schedule, the tournament starts on a Monday and runs for two weeks. The first week is primarily used for the early rounds of the tournament, and the second week is used for the later rounds, including the quarter-finals, semi-finals, and finals. The women’s and men’s singles finals are held on the last Saturday and Sunday of the tournament, respectively.
The finals weekend is a real treat. In addition to the men and women’s singles, you can watch the men’s and women’s doubles, the mixed doubles, the invitations doubles (the masters), the boys and girls singles and doubles, and the men’s and women’s wheelchair singles and doubles – there’s a lot of fabulous tennis!
In terms of players, the tournament typically features the top players in the world, including current and former Grand Slam champions. These players are divided into two groups: the seeded players and the unseeded players. Seeded players are considered to be the top players in the tournament and are given preferential treatment in the draw, while unseeded players are considered to be lower-ranked players and are drawn against seeded players in the early rounds of the tournament.
The seeding ensures that the highest ranked players don’t knock each other out in the early rounds and can build towards a thrilling finale.