After Unexpected Prize Money Hike, Wimbledon Announces Yet Another Massive Change in 2025

The grass court season is here, and with that, another grand slam! Wimbledon, the world’s oldest Grand Slam—dating back to 1877—and still played on grass, its original surface. This lively court rewards serve-and-volley play, demanding quick reflexes and often delivering unpredictable matches. Legends like Roger Federer (eight men’s titles), Novak Djokovic (seven), and Martina Navratilova (nine women’s crowns) have ruled here. Starting on June 30th to July 13th— Carlos Alcaraz is chasing a third straight men’s singles crown at SW19, while Czech star Barbora Krejcikova returns as defending women’s champion. However, it seems like there’s a small change.

According to the Tennis Weekly Podcast, this year’s Grand Slam is shaking things up. The podcast posted on X on June 12: “Wimbledon has announced an update to Finals weekend schedule: The gentlemen’s and ladies’ doubles finals will commence at 1pm, followed by the ladies’ and gentlemen’s singles finals at 4pm, on the second Saturday and Sunday respectively.” What’s the big deal?

For the first time since 2022, the All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) has made a bold move. The men’s and women’s singles finals at Wimbledon now start at 4pm local time—not the traditional 2pm. This isn’t a whim. It’s the result of extensive data analysis and deep consultation with everyone involved. The goal? To create a bigger, better experience for fans, players, and broadcasters. The world’s biggest tennis stars will be crowned in front of a truly global audience.

Wimbledon has announced an update to Finals weekend schedule: The gentlemen’s and ladies’ doubles finals will commence at 1pm, followed by the ladies’ and gentlemen’s singles finals at 4pm, on the second Saturday and Sunday respectively.

What do you think of the change?

— Tennis Weekly Podcast (@tennisweeklypod) June 12, 2025

This timing change feels especially relevant after this year’s epic Roland Garros final between Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner. That match lasted a marathon five hours and 29 minutes. If Wimbledon sees a final of similar length, the later start means the roof will almost certainly be needed. Matches will finish under the lights. The atmosphere will be electric. “The consideration of the change has taken a lot of time, took a lot of thought and a lot of data analysis went into the decision,” AELTC chief executive Sally Bolton explained to the press.

“It’s about an improved experience for all involved. Whether it’s the doubles finals having greater certainty over their schedule, whether it’s the fans having the opportunity to experience a day which builds to the crescendo of the singles finals. Or ensuring we have our champions crowned in front of the widest possible audience. Those were the primary drivers. We spent a lot of time considering the data and information in front of us from history and the length of matches,” she added.

Fun fact: The longest match at Wimbledon was John Isner vs. Nicolas Mahut in 2010. It took 11 hours and 5 minutes of play over three days because Wimbledon’s rules at the time didn’t include a final-set tie-break, meaning players had to win by two games. Combined with the fading daylight on both the first and second evenings, this led to an almost endless fifth set, forcing suspensions until a winner finally emerged on the third day.

And the changes don’t stop there! The tournament just announced a record-breaking prize pot for 2025. Singles champions will take home £3 million (40,76,490 USD)—that’s a £300,000 (4,07,649.00 USD) bump from last year’s £2.7 million (36,68,287.50 USD) payouts. The total prize money has jumped to £53.5 million (7,26,86,437.50), up 7% from £50 million (6,79,26,476.50 USD) in 2024. Even first-round losers aren’t left out. They’ll pocket £66,000 (89,662.95 USD), a 10% increase.

For now, that’s all that’s changed. Will it change the excitement around the tournament? Certainly not! And if all these changes are a bit overwhelming, at least we know they won’t be moving past the 14-day schedule anytime soon!

Wimbledon organizers confirm the length of the tournament remains

In January 2025, Tim Henman—former World No. 4 and now a board member at the All England Club—confirmed Wimbledon would not follow the U.S. Open and Australian Open by extending to a 15-day schedule. The U.S. Open just announced a 15-day main draw, and the Aussie Open made the jump this year. The French Open, by the way, has started on Sundays since 2006. But Wimbledon? No way—Henman says organisers have “zero appetite” for a 15-day event.

Why? Henman explained that moving to a 14-day format by ditching the middle Sunday rest day in 2022 was already a massive call. “The big issue from when it was a 13-day event was that the middle Sunday was absolutely about watering the court to make sure that it was going to be still alive for the latter part of the tournament,” he said. Centre Court gets the most play, so keeping it in top shape for the final weekend was key.

Henman kept it real: “Centre Court is the one that gets played on the most because it’s used every day and to have it in the best possible condition for the final weekend, it was a big decision to go to 14 days. The research and data around that, you’re looking at 80 hours of tennis on Centre, that’s the sort of maximum.” He added, “I think the appetite to go to 15 days is zero, first and foremost because of the courts.”

Speaking at the launch of Sky Sports’ tennis coverage, Henman said the 14-day format is working well and the 11 p.m. curfew will likely stick. Late-night finishes? That’s for other Slams. Wimbledon’s early wrap-ups are a hit with players, media, and fans. Maybe that’s why they tweaked the start times, too. What do you think? Drop your thoughts below!

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