Wimbledon Keeps Tennis Front And Center Before Euros And World Cups

When Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced that the United Kingdom general election would be on July 4, one of the Telegraph opinion writers penned their immediate thoughts. “A July Election? Thanks a lot Rishi, you’ve ruined Wimbledon,” read the headline in the British broadsheet. Standing in the rain to announce the election date was a quintessentially English scene that could have been from Wimbledon itself. This time, Novak Djokovic wasn’t there to clear up the damp.

Day three of Wimbledon started wet too although it was nothing like the deluge that ruined the current incumbent’s suit outside No. 10 Downing Street. General elections are held on Thursdays in the U.K. through tradition more than anything else. The Championships doesn’t move its schedule for anyone or anything unless there’s a global pandemic. Like Andy Murray, Wimbledon has earned the right to call the shots.

Competing interests are part of the broadcasting complexity of sport, especially when there’s a summer like 2024 where events are crossing continents and over each other. Copa America, the European Championship, Wimbledon and Test match cricket are all competing for attention. It emerged on Wednesday that the AELTC had held talks with the BBC to agree on the timing of Murray’s doubles match after the Scot pulled out of the singles.

It is understood that the BBC wanted the Murray brothers’ game with the Australian Rinky Hijikata and John Peers to take place on Thursday to avoid a clash with its live coverage of the Euro 2024 last eight game between Portugal and France on Friday evening, However, the All England Cub preferred to give the 37-year-old extra time to recuperate from his spinal cyst operation. When the Order of Play was confirmed for Thursday, the Murray match was listed as the third game on Centre Court.

The BBC and Wimbledon have worked together for 87 years, so it is unsurprising that they came together to solve the issue. It is the longest sports broadcasting partnership in history and will extend to at least 2027, meaning that the only grass slam will continue to be free-to-air for another three years.

There is no wriggle room for other sports shifting the timing of the fortnight at SW19. In 2019, the most captivating ODI Cricket World Cup ever at Lord’s between England and New Zealand was about to start a sudden death Super Over just as Novak Djokovic claimed the Wimbledon title in an epic fifth set battle with Roger Federer.

Two huge global events in London pinned together rather diluted the dramatic denouement. “We are a tennis tournament. We will not be showing coverage of other sports on our screens,” said a spokesperson for the tournament. There are no screens showing any England games in Euro 2024 on the grounds at Church Road.

In 2018, there was a real possibility that England could reach the FIFA World Cup final, which was scheduled to start two hours after the gentlemen’s singles final began. Suggestions that prized Centre Court seats might be empty in favor of soccer were dismissed. “”We are a sold-out event and there’s massive interest. There are absolutely no plans to change anything,” the then Chief Executive Richard Lewis added at the time.

England ended up losing to Croatia in the semi-final which might have been a relief for the AELTC who expressed surprise that FIFA made the decision to start the final so close to their showpiece.

Unless there’s a repeat of the 2008 thriller between Federer and Rafael Nadal, when pre-roof rain breaks contributed to a 9.15 British Summer Time finish, there will be no clash this time with the Euro 2024 finale in Berlin on July 14. Whether England make it or not is a non-tennis matter.

The British election date will have no effect on the Championships either .“We have had a look through all of our operations and we do not believe there will be any operational impact of the election taking place,” said CEO Sally Bolton. Tradition is what counts at Wimbledon and a combination of a general election, other sports and Independence Day will not change that.