Wimbledon announces significant changes in the upcoming years

Tuesday, 27 April 2021 at 16:30

The All England Lawn Tennis Club shared important updates related to the world's most prestigious tournament that should bring it to an even higher level in the next five or six years.

The organizers plan to welcome the crowd of around 25% at this year's Wimbledon based on the current Sports Grounds Safety Authority guidance, although they are open for all the changes and in the next two months. Wimbledon will become a 14-day event from the following year, with the Middle Sunday rest heading towards tennis history. By 2028, Wimbledon will host the qualifying event instead of playing it at the famous Roehampton courts. Brand new Parkland Show Court is also planned.

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Chairman Ian Hewitt commented: "I would like to say how excited we are that Wimbledon will be back this summer, with the best tennis players in the world competing on our grass courts, in front of our passionate spectators. While it will, necessarily, be different from Wimbledon as we know it, we are full of enthusiasm and totally committed to our return following last year's cancellation.

Thanks to improved grass court technology and maintenance over the past five years or so and other measures, we are comfortable that we are able to look after the courts, most particularly Centre Court, without a full day of rest. This provides us with the opportunity, at an important time, to enhance the accessibility, reach and fanbase of Wimbledon, and tennis, both in the UK and globally.

It will also ensure greater resilience and fairness of the tournament programme for our competitors, and enable us to create a different kind of atmosphere on the Middle Sunday, with a strong focus on the local community in particular. To be able to launch this new tradition at the same time as celebrating the history of Centre Court in 2022 is something we look forward to immensely."

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Chief Executive Sally Bolton added: "We would like to thank all those with whom we continue to work across government, public health and other sporting bodies for their support to make this a reality, to bring back sporting events in the way that we all recognize. Our priority has and will always be to do this safely, with the support and trust of all our stakeholders.

We very much hope 25% is a minimum position from which we can build - it is our absolute desire to enable as many people as possible to safely attend The Championships this year. At the heart of our thinking is the intention to create the mix of spectators for which Wimbledon is known, while also working hard to protect the financial performance of The Championships, including the surplus that we deliver for the benefit of British tennis."

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The AELTC has today announced a series of updates for The Championships 2021 and beyond, including: - Our excitement for the return of #Wimbledon - Spectator capacity this summer - The addition of play on Middle Sunday from 2022 - Developments to the Wimbledon Park Project

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