Wimbledon 2022: Preview, schedule and stars to watch
The tennis grand slam begins Monday 27 June and, for the first time in three years, a capacity crowd will assemble for the iconic fortnight. Here is everything you need to know.
Tennis
The roar of the 15,000-strong crowd on Centre Court will again reverberate around this south-west corner of London while the gentle hum of chatter will emanate from tennis fans weaving through the outside courts searching for strawberries.
Wimbledon is back.
This year marks the first year that The Championships is set to take place over 14 days, with the introduction of play on the Middle Sunday added to the permanent schedule for the first time.
Sunday 3 July will also mark the Centre Court Centenary, celebrating 100 years of the iconic venue in its current location on Church Road. The previous location, Worple Road, originally hosted The Championships for 35 years.
The next crop of potential stars will have their chance to absorb the history with a 14&U Junior Championships taking place for the first time, which begins in the second week.
With so much going on, and to make sure you don’t miss a thing, we have collated everything you need to know about Wimbledon 2022.
Wimbledon 2022: Schedule and format
Dates
Monday 27 June – Sunday 10 July 2022
Events
Gentlemen’s and Ladies’ Singles
Gentlemen's, Ladies' and Mixed Doubles
Boys’ and Girls’ Singles and Doubles
Invitation Doubles (Ladies’ Doubles, Gentlemen’s Doubles, Mixed Doubles)
Gentlemen's, Ladies' and Quad Wheelchair Singles
Boys' and Girls’ 14&U Singles
Gentlemen's & Ladies' Wheelchair Singles
How do I find out who’s playing the next day?
A full Order of Play will be available the night before the next day’s play.
What time does play start? (all times BST)
Outside courts: 11am
No. 1 Court: 1pm
Centre Court: 1.30pm except finals weekend, with matches starting at 2pm
What’s the new rule on final set tie breaks? All four Grand Slams – the Australian Open, Roland-Garros, Wimbledon and the US Open – have jointly agreed to play a 10-point tie-break when the score reaches six games all in the final set.
The ruling commenced at Roland-Garros last month.
Wimbledon 2022: Stars to watch
Ten little words on social media stopped the tennis world in its tracks on Tuesday 14 June.
‘SW at SW19. It’s a date. 2022 See you there.’
Twenty-three-time Grand Slam singles winner Serena Williams was back.
The 40-year-old stated her intention to return to the circuit having been away for a year after injuring her leg in the first round of Wimbledon 2021.
The American’s first step back into the competitive arena is playing doubles with Tunisian Ons Jabeur at the Eastbourne International, a traditional pre-Wimbledon warm-up event on the UK’s south coast, which started Monday 20 June.
Jabeur is a headline-maker herself.
The 27-year-old world number three is the highest-ranked Arab and African tennis player in rankings history, winning her biggest title at the 2022 Madrid Open in May
The characterful Pole and Rafael Nadal super-fan Iga Swiatek is the on-form player in the women’s event, however.
The 21-year-old matched her hero’s result at Roland-Garros last month – even emulating some of the Spaniard’s on-court mannerisms – to win her second Grand Slam title.
The current women’s world number one also idolises Williams and was chuffed to bits when she beat a tally set by Serena by winning 35 consecutive matches, which matches Venus Williams’ record.
"Having that 35th win and kind of doing something more than Serena did, it's something special," said Swiatek after the French Open final.
Nevertheless, eyes will be on Williams and whether she can win a record-equalling 24th Grand Slam title at SW19, matching the number set by Australia’s Margaret Court, which has stood for nearly half a century.
Also hot on the heels of that record is one Rafael Nadal, who after last month’s astonishing 14th Roland-Garros win, is just one behind Williams, with 22 singles Grand Slam titles to his name.
The soon-to-be first-time father who has only recently acknowledged historic debilitating foot pain that needs ongoing pain management, not only has injury to contend with but also Novak Djokovic who is in the hunt for another Grand Slam singles titles as well, to add to his 20.
The Serb will be looking to win his fourth consecutive Wimbledon singles title – seventh in total – to gain one Slam back on the Spaniard after having a rollercoaster 2022 season impacted by off-court issues.
Both will need to watch out for 2021 beaten finalist Italy’s Matteo Berrettini who looks in fine form after winning last week’s prestigious Queen’s Club Championships.
Home favourite, Andy Murray, was in superb shape, reaching the semi-finals at two grass-court warm-up events in the past two weeks, but is struggling to recover from an abdominal injury that forced him to pull out of Queen’s, where he’s been a five-time winner.
Olympic men's singles champion Alexander Zverev is out with injury following a devastating on-court incident in which he tore three ligaments in his right ankle while playing against Nadal in the semi-finals of Roland-Garros last month, and crowd favourite Roger Federer is still recovering from knee surgery.
Naomi Osaka is also a no-show, due to injury, in the women’s draw.
Nadal and Djokovic won’t have it all their own way, though.
They will be up against some sensational emerging next-generation players such as Nadal’s countryman Carlos Alcaraz (19), French Open finalist Casper Ruud (23) – Norway’s highest ranked tennis player ever and who has trained at Nadal's academy in Majorca since he was a teenager – and fiery Dane Holger Rune (19).
Additional big moments to watch out for include Belgium’s Kirsten Flipkens (36) competing at her last ever pro tournament, and Spain’s Feliciano Lopez (40) is set to become the first-ever player with a minimum of 20 appearances at all four Grand Slam events.
Basically, you can’t keep your eyes off Wimbledon 2022 so be prepared to be glued to the tennis for two weeks as you watch the drama unfold.
Wimbledon: How to watch the All England tennis Championships
Wimbledon takes place from Monday 27 June – Sunday 10 July 2022 at The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in south west London.
You can find all the latest information, including a list of broadcasters by territory, on the Wimbledon website.