Wimbledon preview, 1-14 July

Arguably the premier Grand Slam tournament of the year, tennis fans will be treated to the 136^th edition of the Wimbledon Championships in London, England, which will run from Monday 1 to Sunday 14 July 2024.

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Women’s Singles defending champion Marketa Vondrousova is looking to shrug off some personal heartache to reclaim the title she won in surprising fashion last year – and has insisted that the Wimbledon triumph didn’t change much for her.

“Not that much has changed really,” explained the Czech. “I still train the same, I still play the same and, of course, I still want more. After winning, more people wanted to get to know me, so there’s more responsibilities like communicating with the media, but it’s nothing that I can’t handle.”

Iga Swiatek, who once again dominated at the French Open, will be looking to translate that success to grass as she chases her first Wimbledon championship.

“But I think the biggest progress I can make on grass right now is using my serves that was better, but also I don’t expect a lot. The balls are different. Overall tennis is different on grass. I’ll just see and I’ll work hard to play better there,” said the Polish star, who has already won five Grand Slam titles aged just 23.

On the Men’s Singles side, Andy Murray has noted that he may end his career at this Wimbledon, or possibly at the upcoming 2024 Paris Olympic Games. The 37-year-old Scot, a three-time Grand Slam champion and double Olympic gold medallist, said that he was unlikely to continue playing after the European summer.

“Probably if I was going to finish my career I would rather finish at Wimbledon or an Olympic Games – to me that would probably be more fitting,” explained Murray. “Ive had amazing experiences and memories from Wimbledon, but also being part of British Olympics teams. To get a chance to compete at a fifth one is a reason to stay motivated and continue playing.”

Murray is not amongst the favourites for the title this year, and the same can possibly be said for Novak Djokovic. The Serbian star may have won seven singles titles at SW19, but he is in a race to be fit for the 2024 tournament after suffering a knee injury at the French Open in May.

French Open winner Carlos Alcaraz, who is also the defending Wimbledon champion, is looking forward to the fight of retaining his title and then going back to clay for the Olympics: “Right now my focus is on the grass season, the two tournaments and after that my mind will be to be ready on clay again and playing my best tennis at the Olympic Games.”

In addition, The All England Club has announced a record £50 million in total prize money for Wimbledon in 2024. The men’s and women’s singles champions will each receive £2.7 million, while runners-up will earn £1.4 million. First-round prize money for singles competitors is set at £60,000.

The doubles prize money will increase by 11.9 per cent from 2023, while qualifying payouts will rise by 14.9 per cent. Wimbledon’s total prize money has doubled over the past 10 years, from £25 million in 2014.

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Wimbledon broadcast details

All times CAT

Monday 1 July