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

Wimbledon Courts India: A Strategic Play Beyond Cricket's Boundary

New Delhi: The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club (AELTC), organizers of the prestigious Wimbledon Championships, are strategically targeting India, leveraging the nation's passion for sports to broaden the tournament's global footprint.

Indian cricket icons such as Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Dinesh Karthik, and Sachin Tendulkar have graced the stands of Wimbledon, signaling a deliberate effort to connect with the Indian audience. Rohit Sharma's photograph on Wimbledon's Instagram became the platform's most engaging post ever, garnering a staggering 4.5 million likes.

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 brand. Brendan Dinen, Head of Marketing at Wimbledon, emphasized the importance of 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. England and India Test matches are happening now. So I think there's interesting ways to be able to bring that to life for audiences, so that they might want to come and watch it as well," Dinen told TimesofIndia.com.

Wimbledon is actively exploring innovative ways to engage Indian fans. This includes collaborating with Indian social media influencers to provide unique behind-the-scenes experiences and partnering with broadcast partner Star Sports to create tennis-cricket crossover trailers for events like the IPL.

Despite its prestige, Wimbledon recognizes the potential for further growth. With 60-70 million engagements last year across broadcast and social media, and a potential audience of over a billion, the tournament sees significant "headroom" in India, particularly among its young population.

"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," Dinen clarified.

The AELTC is also exploring options to host events in India, but the monsoon season presents a logistical challenge. As a workaround, they are partnering with PVR INOX to screen the finals in theaters, offering a big-screen experience for fans.

Carlos Alcaraz of Spain celebrates Wimbledon 2024 title (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)

Invitations to the Royal Box, a coveted spot frequented by celebrities and royalty, are also being considered for Indian cricket stars like Kohli, Tendulkar, and Rohit, further amplifying Wimbledon's reach through their massive social media followings.

Wimbledon is embracing technology to enhance the fan experience. While maintaining traditions such as the all-white dress code and the consumption of strawberries and cream, the tournament is also leveraging Artificial Intelligence (AI) through its partnership with IBM.

During live matches, the 'Match Chat' assistant provides fans with real-time answers to their questions and delivers match analysis, fostering deeper engagement.

"We continue to embrace technology, and it sits at the heart of the balance between heritage and innovation. And in terms of things like Virtual Reality, we work on areas such as gaming. We've brought experiences to life in places like Roblox. So we absolutely want to make sure we bring the brand and the Championships to life in new and interesting ways," stated Dinen.