Wimbledon begins on Monday as players complete the transition from the clay courts of Paris to the green lawns of London.
Australian No. 1 Alex de Minaur advanced as far as the quarter-finals last year – the best Wimbledon run of his career – but had to withdraw with a hip injury before he had the chance to go up against seven-time singles champion and eventual-finalist Novak Djokovic.
Alex de Minaur at Wimbledon in 2024.Credit: Getty Images
Australia hasn’t had a men’s singles champion at the tournament since Lleyton Hewitt took out the title in 2002, however Ash Barty broke the Australian drought with her women’s singles title in 2021 – becoming the first Aussie woman to lift the Venus Rosewater Dish since Evonne Goolagong Cawley in 1980.
Russian-born tennis star Daria Kasatkina will play her second grand slam tournament for Australia since switching allegiances earlier this year, making her the highest-ranked Australian woman since the era of Ash Barty.
So, when is the tournament? How can you watch it in Australia? And which Australian players should you watch out for?
Ash Barty after winning Wimbledon in 2021.Credit: Getty
When does it start?
Main draw matches begin on June 30, following the qualifying rounds which wrapped up on Friday morning (Australia time).
The Wimbledon draw will be decided on June 27, where 32 seeded (highest ranked) players will be distributed throughout the draw. The world No.1 and No. 2 are put at opposite ends of the draw to prevent them playing each other until the final.
Early round matches start from 8pm AEST, with the women’s singles final to be played on July 12, and men’s singles final on the following day, July 13.
If you want to watch matches when the tournament starts to get to the pointy end, you’ll have to set your alarm, with start times pushed back to the later hours of the Australian evening or early morning.
Carlos Alcaraz with the spoils of his Wimbledon victory over Novak Djokovic last year.Credit: Getty Images
The full order of play times won’t be released until the night before each day.
As for the juniors finals, the girls match will fall on the same day as the women’s singles final, and the boys on the men’s. Men’s doubles final will fall on July 12, and the women’s on July 11.
Who are the Australians to look out for?
De Minaur – currently ranked world No. 11 – was knocked out in the first round at the Queen’s Club tournament last week, his first grass court tournament of the season.
The loss followed an underwhelming performance at the French Open, where de Minaur lost to Kazakhstan’s Alexander Bublik in the second round – his earliest grand slam exit in two years.
De Minaur was ranked world No. 6 during last year’s Wimbledon, but that was during a career-best run where he advanced to four-consecutive grand slam quarter-finals.
Alexei Popyrin, world No. 22, will enter Wimbledon fresh off an impressive run at the French Open, where he advanced through to the fourth round before losing out to American Tommy Paul in straight sets.
On the women’s side, world No.12 Kasatkina will play her second grand slam tournament for Australia after a solid display at the French Open.
Kasatkina progressed to the fourth round in Paris, Australia’s best performing women’s player, before she was defeated by world No. 6 Mirra Andreeva.
Defending champion of the Eastbourne Open, Kasatkina was knocked out in round one by New Zealand player Lulu Sun in a rocky lead up to Wimbledon.
Russian-born Australian Daria Kasatkina.Credit: Getty Images for LTA
Another Australian to watch is 19-year-old Maya Joint, who recently won the Morocco Open title in May but lost to fellow Australian Ajla Tomljanović in the first round of the French Open. Joint also defeated Brit and 2021 US Open champion Emma Raducanu at Eastbourne this week.
Australian doubles pairings Jordan Thompson and Matthew Ebden – a Wimbledon doubles champion – will enter the tournament hot after a win in the Libéma Open, meanwhile, Max Purcell, who reached the finals’ last year, won’t be able to compete after he was hit with an 18-month suspension for breaching tennis’ anti-doping rules.
Keep an eye on Cruz Hewitt (Lleyton’s son) and Emerson Jones too, who will be competing in the Wimbledon juniors tournament.
Defending champions
Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz is the men’s defending champion and will enter this year’s tournament with a fresh French Open and Queen’s Club title.
The 22-year-old has won four of his five grand slam titles on either clay or grass.
Carlos Alcaraz celebrates his 2025 French Open title with ball girls and boys.Credit: AP
Alcaraz defeated Wimbledon great Djokovic in the final at the past two Championships, with his 2024 victory a straight sets win.
Czech player Barbora Krejčíková claimed her second grand slam singles title last year in the women’s draw, after beating Italian Jasmine Paolini 6-2, 2-6, 6-4.
World No. 73 Markéta Vondroušová became the first unseeded women’s single players to take home the Wimbledon title in 2023 and returns in tremendous form having won the Berlin Open on grass this week.
What’s new in 2025?
This year’s tournament will abolish the traditional role of line judges in favour of an automated electronic line calling system technology which is already used at the US and Australian Open.
What is the prize money?
The Wimbledon champion will receive £3 million ($5,326,815 AUD), the second-highest paying of the Grand Slams behind the US Open, which pays $US3,600,000 ($5,604,595).
In total, there is a pool of £53.5 million ($95,791,482) in prize money – up seven per cent from last year, and double from 10 years ago.
Runner-up’s will receive £1.52 million ($2,698,927), and the semi-finalist £775,000 ($1,376,097).
Women and men are paid the same at every grand slam.
How can you watch Wimbledon in Australia?
Nine, the owner of this masthead, has exclusive rights to the 2025 Wimbledon Championship.
Matches can be streamed free on the Nine Network and 9now, or you can catch every match on Stan Sport.
