Tim Henman gives Wimbledon 2025 update after US Open announces Sunday start

Wimbledon is now the only Grand Slam which does not take place over 15 days

Tim Henman insists there is “zero appetite” for Wimbledon to start on a Sunday despite the other three Grand Slams all aligning on their start day.

The US Open announced this week that the final major of the year will start on a Sunday, extending the two-week tournament to 15 days. The Australian Open and French Open also start on a Sunday.

However, due to concerns over the condition of the grass courts in use throughout the fortnight at the All England Club, AELTC board member Henman confirmed that Wimbledon will not follow suit.

Wimbledon only recently, in 2022, moved to a 14-day tournament after opting to remove the traditional ‘Middle Sunday’ rest day.

“It’s to do with the courts,” Henman, a four-time semi-finalist at Wimbledon, said on Thursday. “The middle Sunday was about watering the courts to make sure they were still alive for the latter part of the tournament.

“All the data and research shows 80 hours of tennis on Centre Court. It was a big decision to go to 14 days. That has worked well – the appetite to go to 15 days is zero.

“It’s safe to say that 14 days for the Championships is enough.”

In October, Wimbledon announced that line judges will disappear from the tournament after 147 years, with the All England Club adopting electronic line calling.

On the decision, Henman said: “The cornerstones of Wimbledon are history, tradition and innovation.

“Every event on the ATP Tour is going to have electronic line calling this year so if Wimbledon was going to take the decision to stick with line judges, that would have looked very bizarre.

“I completely appreciate the ecosystem within line judges. Where do our umpires come from? Where do the referees of junior tournaments come from? We all have to be aware of that.

Wimbledon will stick to starting on a Monday (Getty Images)

“But when you look at the technology available, it’s absolutely the right decision.”

Henman, previously a vocal critic of legalising coaching, also detailed that Wimbledon will not incorporate courtside segments for players’ coaching teams this year, as seen at the Australian Open this month.

Off-court coaching has been approved by the ITF for all Grand Slams this year and while coaches will be able to advise players during matches, it will be done from the usual player boxes on the show courts.

“When the conversation was around on-court coaching, I thought that was awful,” Henman added.

AELTC board member Tim Henman is satisfied with new rules around off-court coaching (Getty Images)

“I couldn’t bear that. And to begin with, I was against off-court coaching because I’ve always felt it’s that individual combat, you’ve got to work it out yourself.

“But coaching has always taken place. Now, because it’s been legalised, it’s one less thing for the umpire to worry about. It can add to the audience and for television. I enjoyed it in Melbourne, but it will always be a little bit different from event to event.

“On the outside courts at Wimbledon, you can do the same thing. On the show courts, it won’t happen because you’ve got the player boxes. But personally, I’m very comfortable with it now.”

Wimbledon 2025 starts on Monday 30 June, with Carlos Alcaraz and Barbora Krejcikova the defending champions in the men’s and women’s singles respectively.

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