Latest news with #SallyBolton
Time of India
18 hours ago
- Business
- Time of India
Wimbledon organisers want famous cricketers to help them grow in cricket-mad India
The All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC), which organises the Wimbledon Championships , is turning to India and its cricket icons to grow the tournament's global reach. With the 2025 edition of Wimbledon set to begin later this month, AELTC Chief Executive Sally Bolton confirmed that India, alongside the US, has become a primary focus for expanding the tournament's audience. To build deeper connections with Indian sports fans, the organisers are exploring options like hosting exhibition grass court matches in India that could feature well-known cricketers. 'India is the one where [we see] such an enormous opportunity sitting there,' Bolton told the Financial Times. 'We see the historical relationship between the UK and India and some of those cultural ties between the two nations as providing a foundation.' The strategy comes as Wimbledon seeks to gain visibility in a cricket-dominated market. Last year, Indian cricket legends Sachin Tendulkar and Rohit Sharma shared their Wimbledon visit with millions of followers on Instagram, creating major traction. Combined, they have a following of 95 million on the platform — far more than Wimbledon's 6 million. Bolton described their presence as having 'enormous cut-through'. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Play War Thunder now for free War Thunder Play Now Undo Wimbledon is currently aired in India on Star Sports and streamed on JioHotstar , the digital platform formed after a merger between Reliance's media arm and Disney's India business. The platform has 280 million subscribers, driven largely by its streaming of the Indian Premier League. The AELTC hopes to use this digital distribution and cricket crossover appeal to strengthen viewer engagement and commercial returns. 'If you're continuing to grow your audience and the quality and depth of your engagement with the audience, everything else flows from that in terms of value in the brand, scale of your organisation, commercial opportunities,' Bolton said. Live Events India is now on the radar of several international sports bodies. The English Premier League opened an office in Mumbai in April. WWE is preparing to host a large-scale event in the country. Cricket's addition to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics is another sign of growing interest in Indian viewers. Adam Kelly, president of sports marketing firm IMG, told the Financial Times that although India's sports space has traditionally been dominated by cricket, streaming has created new access points. 'The middle class in India is as big as the populations of other major territories,' he said. 'If you can engage that population to even a fraction of the degree to which they're engaged in cricket, then you've got something really meaningful.' Beyond India, Wimbledon is investing in international audience growth and merchandise sales. A viewing event for the finals is being planned on New York's East River, and overseas e-commerce sales of branded goods rose 15% last year. 'It's not just event merchandise. It's not even just really retail. It's that idea of a lifestyle brand and all the things that come with that,' Bolton added. Wimbledon awarded a record £3 million in prize money to each singles winner this year. Despite smaller stadium capacity compared to other Grand Slams, AELTC plans to add an 8,000-seat arena and more grass courts. These expansion plans, however, are facing local resistance.
Daily Mirror
a day ago
- Sport
- Daily Mirror
Wimbledon to beef up security after Emma Raducanu stalker hell in Dubai
Wimbledon boss Sally Bolton has spoken about the tournament's security in the wake of Emma Raducanu's stalker ordeal in February and the threat posed to players this summer Wimbledon will beef up its security following Emma Raducanu's stalking ordeal in Dubai earlier this year. Tournament chiefs have described the safety of players as an 'absolute top priority' and stated they recognise the concern generated by recent incidents. Raducanu revealed earlier this week that she is still wary when she goes out after she was targeted by a stalker during a match against Karolina Muchova in February. The incident saw the young Brit left in tears and hiding behind the umpire's chair when she received unwanted attention from a 'fixated' man. The ordeal occurred after the figure had already handed Raducanu a letter and taken photographs. Raducanu haso previously been forced to deal with a man visiting her house three times in the aftermath of her US Open win, aged just 18. Katie Boulter, who reached the quarter-finals of Queens with Raducanu in the doubles, has also revealed she was once followed in London. 'It's part of life when you're in the public eye a little bit," she said. "Obviously you don't feel comfortable." And All England Club chief executive Sally Bolton revealed that the security put in place will be reflective of the threat and that intelligence is gathered throughout the year to establish the risk present. Speaking at the Spring Conference, Bolton said: 'The safety and wellbeing of all of the players is our absolute top priority. I think the recent incidents coming to light certainly recognise the concern generated by that. But we have in place - and have had for many years - processes for ensuring the safety of our players. "And that is in liaison with law enforcement agencies, specialist security teams and we liaise with both tours. And that is year round not just in preparation for The Championships. And it is a bit like the broader security for the grounds. We are putting in place measures that are reflective of the threat and risk profile at the time. It is absolutely a top priority for us. 'We probably wouldn't at this point comment on any details in respect of any individual athlete but that intelligence is being gathered working with those other parties throughout the year to make sure we have got the right measures in place come The Championships.' Raducanu has detailed how she now feels after her ordeal earlier this year. "It was difficult,' she told BBC Sport. "It was emphasised by the fact I didn't necessarily feel certain or comfortable in my own set-up and team so it just added to the anxious feeling. "I'm obviously wary when I go out. I try not to be careless about it because you only realise how much of a problem it is when you're in that situation and I don't necessarily want to be in that situation again. "Off the court right now, I feel good, I feel pretty settled. I feel like I have good people around me and anything that was negative, I kind of brush it off as much as I can."
The Guardian
2 days ago
- Business
- The Guardian
Wimbledon lifts prize pot to £53.5m but tells players more money is no quick fix
The All England Club has insisted that it has listened to the complaints of leading tennis players regarding prize money compensation but it believes the solution to player issues lies in greater changes to the structure of the sport. The prize money fund for the 2025 Wimbledon Championships, which begins on 30 June, will rise to £53.5m, a 7% increase on last year's prize money and double the amount awarded in 2015. The men's and women's champions will receive £3m at this year's edition, while players who lose in the first round will earn £66,000. 'If you look back 10 years, you can see the increase over that period and 7% this year,' said Debbie Jevans, the Chair of the All England Club, speaking at Wimbledon's annual pre-event media briefing. We have listened to the players. We have engaged with the players.' Earlier this year, the vast majority of the top 20 men's and women's players sent a letter to the grand slam tournaments requesting an increase in prize money and arguing that they should be entitled to a greater share of the significant revenues generated by the slams. 'Sally [Bolton, the AELTC chief executive] had a meeting in Paris, as did I, with a number of them. What I think is important, which of course has been discussed with them, the focus on just the prize money at the four events, ie grand slams, does not get to the heart of what the challenge is for tennis,' said Jevans. 'The challenge with tennis is the fact that players don't have an off-season, which they want, they have increasing injuries that they are speaking about. We have always said that we as Wimbledon are willing to engage and talk with the tours to try and find solutions and that door remains open.' According to Jevans, the players left their meetings with an understanding of the perspective of the All England Club: 'I think as a player, having been one, I know you always look at what the prize money is,' said Jevans. 'But when you sit down and have the time to talk to them and explain, they do understand that the opportunities that will flow if we're able to change the whole structure of the calendar, there is a bigger picture out there.' The Wimbledon organisers also defended the decision to move the men's and women's singles finals one hour later to 4pm despite the potential for a late finish in the men's final. On Sunday, Carlos Alcaraz's sensational five-set win over Jannik Sinner in the French Open final on Sunday took five hours and 29 minutes. Sign up to The Recap The best of our sports journalism from the past seven days and a heads-up on the weekend's action after newsletter promotion 'As we thought about the reasons why we want to do it, it's about ensuring an improved experience for all involved,' said Bolton. 'Whether that's the doubles finalists 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 that we have our champions crowned in front of the widest possible audience.'
The Independent
2 days ago
- Business
- The Independent
The key changes made to this year's Wimbledon
Wimbledon singles champions in 2025 will receive £3 million, a £300,000 increase from the £2.7 million awarded to Carlos Alcaraz and Barbora Krejcikova in 2024. The total prize pot for Wimbledon 2025 has increased to £53.5 million, a 7 per cent rise from last year, with first-round losers receiving £66,000, a 10 per cent increase. The All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) has changed the start time of the singles finals from 2pm to 4pm to improve the experience for all involved, including ensuring champions are crowned before a wider audience. AELTC chief executive Sally Bolton stated the decision to change the start time involved extensive data analysis to enhance the experience for fans and ensure champions are seen by a larger audience. Wimbledon 2025 will eliminate line judges for the first time in its 147-year history, using automated electronic line calling (Hawk-Eye) on all 18 match courts, aligning with the ATP Tour 's standards.
New York Times
2 days ago
- Sport
- New York Times
Wimbledon line judges being replaced was ‘inevitable,' says All England Lawn Tennis Club
The phasing out of line judges at Wimbledon was an 'inevitable' development, All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) chief executive Sally Bolton said Thursday. This year's Wimbledon will be the first in the tournament's 148-year history not to use line judges, a recognizable part of the event with their smart uniforms and crouched poses. It will instead rely on electronic line calling (ELC), as is used at the Australian and U.S. Opens. The French Open, where shots leave marks on the clay that can be inspected by the umpires, is the only Grand Slam that still uses line judges. Advertisement The tournament's pool of 300 judges has been condensed to 80 'match assistants,' two of whom will be assigned to each court. They will support the umpires in managing what happens on the court and are there as a backstop should ELC go down. Bolton said that the line judges understood the inevitability of their being replaced. 'I think they — and I wouldn't speak for them individually — probably recognise that with the evolution of the technology and the consistent change across many of the other tournaments that this is probably inevitable,' she said at a media briefing ahead of Wimbledon 2025. 'So I think for many of them they had expected this change to come along and for those that will be joining us for the Championships in the match assistant role obviously they're delighted still to be part of delivering the Championships.' ELC is compulsory at all ATP and mixed tour-level events. Discreet testing was carried out during last year's Wimbledon, where the ball tracking and line technology has been in place for more than 15 years. In 2007, Wimbledon used Hawk-Eye technology for the first time, allowing players to challenge line calls. ELC removes the need for challenges by making the calls in real time; players can request a replay of the call. 'The time is right for us to move on,' Bolton said. 'We absolutely value the commitment that those line umpires have provided to the Championships over many years. And we do have a significant number of them coming back in a new role as match assistants, so we're really pleased to have many of them still involved with delivering the championships.' ELC has generally been popular with the players, though there were some issues at the clay events this year where the marks left on the court were sometimes in conflict with the images being displayed by the technology. This will not be an issue on grass courts. Wimbledon has also announced the prize money pool for this year's event, with an increase of seven percent on 2024 to £53.5 million ($72.7 million), which is double the pot of 10 years ago. The two singles champions will each receive £3 million ($4.1 million) — the most of any Grand Slam, though the U.S. Open is yet to confirm its prize pots for this year's event. It's an 11.1 percent increase from last year. At the lower end of the tournament, there have been similar increases, with first-round losers receiving £66,000 (89,691), a 10 percent increase from last year. Doubles and wheelchair events have seen smaller increases. The increase in prize money for the singles events follows meetings between executives from the Grand Slams and leading players from both tours. Some of those players met with the Grand Slam representatives, including Bolton and AELTC chair Deborah Jevans, in Paris during the French Open. They both said it was important to continue that dialogue, but Jevans stressed the importance of looking at the 'bigger picture' around scheduling and burnout, and not just prize money. Jevans added that — having been one herself, once reaching the Wimbledon fourth round — she knew that 'tennis players, they're always going to, I think, ask for more money.' Jevans added that Wimbledon has no plans to become a 15-day event like the other Grand Slams. The tournament's priority is resolving the legal battle over their plans to build 39 new grass courts on the old Wimbledon Park golf course, which would almost triple the size of the grounds at the Wimbledon Championships and allow the AELTC to host qualifying on site, as the other majors do. Advertisement The Greater London Authority (GLA) granted the AELTC planning permission at a hearing in September 2024, but after appeals led by the Save Wimbledon Park (SWP) group, a judicial review will take place July 8 and July 9 of 2025, in which the AELTC and SWP will outline their arguments. The AELTC expects the judge to make their decision a few weeks later. A separate issue is the question of whether a statutory trust exists on the golf course land. After appealing to the courts for the case to be expedited, a separate hearing will be held on this matter in January 2026. The AELTC is desperate to press on with its expansion plans as it continues to lose ground on the other three majors. Jevans said that the need for the transformation 'becomes ever more apparent as we see our fellow Grand Slams staging fully integrated three-week events by welcoming many more spectators and staging charity and community events during the qualifying week and, crucially, providing the players with a stage benefiting their sporting excellence.' The Wimbledon main draw starts Monday June 30.
