The 2016 Wimbledon tournament prepares for another memorable fortnight of tennis. Serena Williams has reached each of the first two Grand Slam finals this year, but a younger and less experienced player has knocked her off. Yet, those two players, Angelique Kerber and Garbine Muguruza, did not get past the first week in the other Grand Slam tournament they played this year. Serena is the most consistent player on tour, but she hasn’t yet won that 22nd major tournament championship. Can she do it in England? We’ll see.
The competition in the 128-player main draw begins on Monday, June 27, in suburban London.
Event Details
Event: Wimbledon
Category: ITF (International Tennis Federation) Grand Slam
Date: June 27 – July 10, 2016
Location: The All-England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club – Wimbledon Village, England
With a prize money allotment of roughly 28 million British pounds, Wimbledon not only pays the champions of both men’s and women’s singles equally; it offers the richest purse of any main-draw tennis tournament. The two end-of-season championship events – the WTA Finals and the ATP World Tour Finals – offer more money for each match won, but the prize at Wimbledon is the biggest prize of all. One thing worth noting for Wimbledon is that since it comes just a few weeks after the French Open, any player who did not do particularly well in Paris on clay gets a chance to immediately bounce back and collect a fat paycheck with a good run in suburban London. This tournament is important for any player who is not especially strong on clay, or for anyone who has struggled through the first half of the year. A big Wimbledon can be valuable on its own, but it’s also important as a catapult into the second half of the season, which in 2016 also includes the Olympic tennis tournament in Rio di Janeiro, Brazil.
The points structure under the ITF system is that for the women, the championship means 2,000 points. A runner-up finish is worth 1,300. A semifinal result is 780 points, and a quarterfinal appearance offers 430 points.
Former Champions and Results (5 Years)
Year Champion Runner-up Score
2015 – Serena Williams d. Garbine Muguruza – 6-4, 6-4
2014 – Petra Kvitova def. Eugenie Bouchard – 6-3. 6-0
2013 – Marion Bartoli def. Sabine Lisicki – 6-1, 6-4
2012 – Serena Williams def. Agnieszka Radwanska – 6-1, 5-7, 6-2
2011 – Petra Kvitova def. Maria Sharapova – 6-3, 6-4
Player Info:
Victoria Azarenka and Simona Halep are hurt, and will not be seen as favorites even if they do play in the tournament. Maria Sharapova is suspended. That takes a number of the big names out of the equation. Halep…who knows…but Azarenka had been having a very strong year during the hard court season before she was beset by injuries. Remember, she had made it to three straight grand slam quarter finals prior to the French Open.
The field should be wide open in terms of three of the four semifinal slots. Only Serena Williams seems like a sure bet to reach the final few rounds of this tournament, but even going beyond that isn’t a guarantee. Williams has had a chance to close out a number of events recently and failed. That includes the Australian Open where she shockingly lost in the final to Angelique Kerber. One woman to keep an eye on is Johanna Konta, who surprised by reaching the Australian Open semifinals. She’s from the United Kingdom, so you know she’s going to get a lot of love from the crowds.
Everyone will wait for the draw to see how much the odds will shift for various competitors at the world’s most famous tennis tournament.
The All-England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club
The All-England Club sits at the heart of the history of tennis. It is rooted in the development of the sport. It gave rise to the first champions of tennis. It is the cradle of tennis and the site of the most famous occasions witnessed throughout the past 140 years. The other three Grand Slam tournaments all have their place, but Wimbledon will always be the most famous tennis tournament in the world. This large complex with multiple stadium courts continues to be the home of The Championships, as they are called in Britain.
