Wimbledon Eyes India: Tennis Giant Courts Cricket-Loving Nation for Growth

New Delhi: Wimbledon is actively seeking to expand its reach within the Indian market, leveraging the nation's passion for sports. Iconic Indian cricketers such as Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Dinesh Karthik, and Sachin Tendulkar have been frequent attendees at the All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC), underscoring the tournament's growing appeal in India.

Carlos Alcaraz of Spain serves during a practice session prior to The Championships Wimbledon 2025 at All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)

According to AELTC Chief Executive Sally Bolton, India and the United States are key markets for expanding the historic Wimbledon brand.

Brendan Dinen, Head of Marketing at Wimbledon, shared with TimesofIndia.com that the strategy involves collaboration rather than competition with cricket, India's dominant sport. “Cricket is much loved and certainly king for Indian audiences. So rather than trying to compete with that, I think it's about trying to find interesting ways to collaborate. Both sports are rich in heritage."

Wimbledon has initiated several creative collaborations to engage Indian audiences:

• Partnering with an Indian social media influencer for an exclusive experience at Lord's Cricket Ground and Wimbledon.
• Collaborating with Star Sports to create a tennis-cricket crossover trailer during the Indian Premier League (IPL).

Despite its prestige, Wimbledon recognizes the potential for further growth, particularly in India. Last year, the tournament garnered 60-70 million engagements across broadcast and social media platforms. With a potential audience of over a billion in India, the opportunities are substantial.

Dinen emphasized the importance of engaging younger audiences: "Younger audiences and audiences of the future are crucial to us. It's clear in the activity that we focus on and our content strategy, whether that's for Instagram, YouTube and the sort of content we create."

To overcome logistical challenges such as the monsoon season, the AELTC is partnering with PVR INOX to broadcast the finals in theaters across India.

Wimbledon also aims to leverage the social media presence of Indian cricket stars by inviting them to the Royal Box.

Alongside its traditions, Wimbledon embraces technology to enhance the fan experience. This includes utilizing Artificial Intelligence (AI) on its app and website, in coordination with IBM. The 'Match Chat' assistant provides real-time answers and match analysis to fans during live matches.

Dinen concluded, "We continue to embrace technology, and it sits at the heart of the balance between heritage and innovation... So we absolutely want to make sure we bring the brand and the Championships to life in new and interesting ways."