WIMBLEDON 2026: Schedule, Where to Watch, Key Info – Everything You Need to Know

Tennis returns to the lawns of southwest London as Wimbledon — the third Grand Slam of the 2026 season — gets underway later this month. World No. 1 Jannik Sinner arrives in SW19 defending his maiden title, seven-time champion Novak Djokovic chases another deep run, and Alexander Zverev leads the chasing pack in a field reshaped by a high-profile absence at the top of the draw.

Below is a complete breakdown of the 2026 Wimbledon dates, draw, schedule, prize money, ranking points, TV and streaming info, and tournament records — plus the storylines actually shaping this year’s Championships.

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When is Wimbledon 2026?

The 2026 Championships run from Monday, 29 June through Sunday, 12 July, staged as always on the grass courts of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, London. First held in 1877, this year’s edition is the 139th playing of the world’s oldest tennis tournament. Jamie Baker serves as tournament director.

One notable change for 2026: for the first time in the event’s history, electronic video review is being introduced for chair-umpire line calls, initially limited to matches on Centre Court, No. 1 Court, and four other show courts when hosting singles. Organizers and players are also bracing for an unusually warm fortnight, with London temperatures forecast to push toward record highs during the qualifying rounds — a factor that’s already loomed large over the build-up.

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Who is playing at Wimbledon 2026?

Defending champion Sinner headlines the men’s field alongside Djokovic, Zverev, Felix Auger-Aliassime, Ben Shelton, Alex de Minaur and the rest of the world’s top players.

The biggest absence from the draw is Carlos Alcaraz. The two-time champion (2023, 2024) and 2025 runner-up withdrew after a wrist injury — tenosynovitis, an inflammation of the tendon sheath, picked up at the Barcelona Open in April — that had already forced him out of the French Open. It’s the first time since 2020 that Alcaraz has missed two majors in the same season, and it removes Sinner’s most recent Wimbledon final opponent from the equation entirely.

Sinner himself heads to London with a question mark of his own. After a frightening mid-match collapse at the French Open — where he led Juan Manuel Cerundolo by two sets and 5-1 before losing 18 of the next 20 games amid severe dizziness and cramping — the world No. 1 underwent cardiac and metabolic testing in Milan. Doctors have since cleared him to compete, and he skipped the Halle and Queen’s Club warm-ups entirely in favor of extra preparation time directly on Wimbledon’s grass. With Alcaraz out, Sinner enters as the heavy favorite to become the first Italian man to win back-to-back Wimbledon titles.

On the women’s side, defending champion Iga Swiatek begins her title defense after last year’s stunning 6-0, 6-0 final win, while world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka, French Open champion Mirra Andreeva, and former champion Elena Rybakina headline a wide-open field. The standout storyline, though, is Serena Williams, who returns to Grand Slam singles for the first time since 2022 on a wild card at age 44, and is also entered in doubles alongside sister Venus.

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When is the Wimbledon 2026 draw?

The singles draw was made on Friday, 26 June at 10 a.m. local time, setting the first-round matchups across both the men’s and women’s fields.

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Wimbledon 2026 men’s draw: key first-round matchups

Sinner and Djokovic landed in the same half of the draw, meaning the earliest they could meet is the semi-finals, while Zverev anchors the bottom half. Standout first-round ties include:

– Jannik Sinner (1) vs. Miomir Kecmanović — Sinner leads their head-to-head 4-0 and has won all four meetings, including at the 2024 Championships, in his first match since the Roland Garros collapse
– Novak Djokovic (7) vs. Wu Yibing — a workable opener, but the seven-time champion’s projected path runs through Stefanos Tsitsipas in round two and a potential quarter-final against third seed Felix Auger-Aliassime
– Alexander Zverev (2) vs. Alexander Blockx — the French Open champion begins his “Channel Slam” bid against the Belgian
– Taylor Fritz (6) vs. Jack Draper — arguably the standout first-round clash, pitting last year’s semi-finalist against the returning British No. 1; Fritz has won their last seven meetings
– Ben Shelton (4) vs. Otto Virtanen — the big-serving American is seen as one of grass’s most dangerous attackers
– Casper Ruud (11) vs. Hubert Hurkacz — another heavyweight first-round pairing

Projected quarter-final matchups, based on seedings, point toward Sinner vs. Medvedev (8), Auger-Aliassime (3) vs. Djokovic (7), de Minaur (5) vs. Shelton (4), and Fritz (6) vs. Zverev (2).

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Wimbledon 2026 women’s draw: key first-round matchups

Sabalenka, Rybakina, Swiatek and Pegula lead the four quarters of the draw. Notable openers include:

– Aryna Sabalenka (1) vs. Teodora Kostović — a projected quarter-final against fifth seed Mirra Andreeva looms, with a possible third-round meeting against British No. 1 Emma Raducanu
– Emma Raducanu (30) vs. Antonia Ružić — Raducanu and Sabalenka could meet in round three in a repeat of their epic 2025 encounter, though there are fitness concerns after Raducanu missed practice the day before the draw
– Serena Williams vs. Maya Joint — Williams’ Grand Slam singles return; a win sets up a likely second-round match with No. 29 seed Alexandra Eala and a possible third-round meeting with defending champion Swiatek
– Iga Swiatek (3) vs. Taylor Townsend — the defending champion’s title defense begins, with Karolina Pliskova a possible second-round threat
– Elena Rybakina (2) vs. Lois Boisson — the 2022 champion opens her campaign

Projected quarter-finals point toward Sabalenka (1) vs. Andreeva (5), Pegula (4) vs. Gauff (7), Swiatek (3) vs. Svitolina (8), and Anisimova (6) vs. Rybakina (2).

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What is the schedule for Wimbledon 2026?

– Qualifying: Monday, 22 June – Thursday, 26 June, starting at 11 a.m.
– Main Draw: Monday, 29 June – Sunday, 12 July
– Centre Court play begins at 1:30 p.m. (except the final two days)
– Outside-court play begins at 11 a.m. throughout
– Doubles Final: Saturday, 11 July (time TBA)
– Singles Final: Sunday, 12 July, not before 4 p.m.

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How much prize money is on offer at Wimbledon 2026?

Total prize money for 2026 sits at £64.2 million — a 20% jump on 2025 and the largest single-year increase in the tournament’s history.

Singles

Round: Winner — Prize Money: £3,600,000 — Ranking Points: 2,000

Round: Finalist — Prize Money: £1,800,000 — Ranking Points: 1,300

Round: Semi-finalist — Prize Money: £900,000 — Ranking Points: 800

Round: Quarter-finalist — Prize Money: £480,000 — Ranking Points: 400

Round: Round of 16 — Prize Money: £300,000 — Ranking Points: 200

Round: Round of 32 — Prize Money: £185,000 — Ranking Points: 100

Round: Round of 64 — Prize Money: £126,000 — Ranking Points: 50

Round: Round of 128 — Prize Money: £80,000 — Ranking Points: 10

Doubles (per team)

Round: Winner — Prize Money: £760,000 — Ranking Points: 2,000

Round: Finalist — Prize Money: £380,000 — Ranking Points: 1,200

Round: Semi-finalist — Prize Money: £190,000 — Ranking Points: 720

Round: Quarter-finalist — Prize Money: £95,000 — Ranking Points: 360

Round: Round of 16 — Prize Money: £18,000 — Ranking Points: 180

Round: Round of 32 — Prize Money: £29,000 — Ranking Points: 90

Round: Round of 64 — Prize Money: £18,000 — Ranking Points: 0

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How can I watch Wimbledon 2026?

UK fans can watch every match completely free. The whole tournament lives on the BBC, switching between BBC One and BBC Two throughout each day depending on which courts are in play.

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Who won Wimbledon in 2025?

Jannik Sinner claimed his first Wimbledon crown with a 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 win over Carlos Alcaraz in the 2025 final. Iga Swiatek won the women’s title with a 6-0, 6-0 demolition of Amanda Anisimova, completing the career Grand Slam and becoming the first Polish player in the Open Era to win a major. In doubles, Julian Cash and Lloyd Glasspool beat Rinky Hijikata and David Pel 6-2, 7-6(3), becoming the first all-British pair to win a major men’s doubles title since 1936.

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Wimbledon records: most titles, oldest and youngest champions

– Most Titles (Singles): Roger Federer (8)
– Most Titles (Doubles): Todd Woodbridge (9)
– Oldest Champion: Roger Federer, age 35, in 2017
– Youngest Champion: Boris Becker, age 17, in 1985
– Highest-Ranked Champions (No. 1): Bjorn Borg (1980), John McEnroe (1984), Pete Sampras (1993-94, 1997-99), Lleyton Hewitt (2002), Roger Federer (2004-07), Rafael Nadal (2010), Novak Djokovic (2015, 2019, 2021), Carlos Alcaraz (2023), Jannik Sinner (2025)
– Lowest-Ranked Champion: No. 125 Goran Ivanisevic, in 2001
– Last British Men’s Singles Champion: Andy Murray, in 2016
– Most Match Wins: Roger Federer (105)

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