Last year’s tennis coverage around the world was great for fans to enjoy, with some great drama along the way. Novak Djokovic won the Australian Open, there was a surprise winner in the U.S. Open and the French Open saw Rafael Nadal extend his incredible legacy at Roland Garros.
There was one thing missing, however, and that was the Wimbledon coverage we’ve grown to love and that goes hand in hand with the game just like the strawberries and cream consumed at the All-England Championships every year.
Well, nearly every year.
In 2020, of course, Wimbledon was cancelled due to the Coronavirus outbreak and ongoing COVID-19 restrictions. Wimbledon will be back in 2021, taking place between Monday 28th June and Sunday 11th July, but it looks likely to be take place behind closed doors at the All England Club as things stand.
The only Grand Slam to take place on grass, Wimbledon is a sporting institution and the coverage of the event in Great Britain is a huge part of it.
From 1969, Wimbledon has been presented exclusively on the BBC in the United Kingdom and it’s hard to imagine it being anywhere else half a century later.
The programme could hardly be any more British. Want an example? This is the genuine theme tune that is most associated with the coverage over the years.
Presented by a combination of British former players such as Sue Barker and Tim Henman, the coverage also features some of the tournaments former winners from foreign climes such as German former Wimbledon winner Boris Becker, Australian former champion Pat Cash and ‘The Brat’ himself, John McEnroe, who was a Wimbledon legend back in the 1980s in his battles with Bjorn Borg.
With the show now spread across terrestrial television channels BBC One and BBC Two and the ‘red button’ coverage that many sports shows add into their output, there’s no lack of courts to tune into. In fact, watching Wimbledon on the BBC is a bit like having a virtual roaming pass to attend any of the courts, from glamour locations like Centre Court or Court #1 to the legendarily perilous ‘graveyard of the greats’, Court #13.
Having previously been presented by some legends of the small screen such as Des Lynam, David Vine and John Inverdale, Wimbledon is an absolute institution and the return of the show to the BBC this summer is going to improve the mood of every locked-down sports fan.
Check out this fantastic compilation of funny moments that have taken place on the hallowed turf at SW19 over the years.
