Delving into this year’s momentous Wimbledon championship – the matches, the players, and the historic ‘n’ fun moments.
By Stuti Kute
This year’s Wimbledon, held in London, UK, from July 1 to 14, enthralled! Is the world of tennis on the cusp of a major dynastic change? As fans around the world debate on this, here’s a look at the shining stars of the season, and the enchantment surrounding the world’s biggest and most popular tennis tournament.
Men’s Singles Title
The watershed moment in tennis history came with Carlos Alcaraz’s dazzling victory against Novak Djokovic. Alcaraz, only 21 years of age, faced the Serbian legend in an electrifying match.
Young Alcaraz’s Wimbledon victory has made him the sixth man ever to claim Roland Garros and the Wimbledon title in the same year, and the ninth to retain his title – putting him in league with other great players like Rod Laver, Bjorn Borg, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic.
After his win, he commented, “In an interview when I was 11 or 12, I said my dream was to win Wimbledon, so I’m replaying my dream. I want to keep going, but it’s a great feeling to play in this beautiful court and to lift this amazing trophy. This is the most beautiful tournament, most beautiful court, and most beautiful trophy.”
Women’s Singles Title
Czech ladies have been ruling the Wimbledon court in the last decade. Barbora Krejčiková became the third woman in the last 10 years to take the trophy and the title, facing the formidable Italian, Jasmine Paolini, a crowd favourite and a power-packed hitter.
It was a match to remember, proceeding like a thriller novel. Krejčiková played a flawless first set. But Paolini bounced back in the second set, smiting the ball with an Italian temper that sent the crowd into an uproar. The third set proceeded and stalled at 3-3, both players in spectacular form when the Czech champion took the match point and the victory.
Men’s Doubles Title
Henry Patten became the first and only British winner of the 2024 Wimbledon championships owing to his men’s doubles success with Finnish partner, Harri Heliövaara. The team who paired up only recently in April, went head-to-head against the Australian duo Max Purcell and Jordan Thompson.
The third set was halted due to an errant intruder, a ball girl immediately shooting to her feet to ‘take care of it’. The intruder was a butterfly, and with the ball girl’s quick militant actions — order was soon restored.
Women’s Doubles Title
Katerina Siniakova took the Women’s Doubles’ finale by pairing up with the United States’ Taylor Townsend. The duo took the court against Gabriela Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe, winning the match 7-6 (5), 7-6 (1).
Siniakova and Townsend failed to convert any of their seven break points in the second set but flew to victory with a 5-0 in the tiebreaker. A testimony to our time, Townsend has commented on how their partnership came to be. Siniakova reached out to Townsend on social media of all places. “I’m so glad Katerina slid into my DMs,” Townsend said.
Hall Of Fame
Other consequential moments from this year were the induction of Leander Paes and Vijay Amritraj into the International Tennis Hall of Fame. This is especially historic for us as a nation, making India only the 28th nation in the International Tennis Hall of Fame.
Courtside
As always, the stands were filled with celebrities across the spectrum. Representing the royal family were Queen Consort Camilla Parker Bowles, Princess of Wales Kate Middleton, and her daughter Princess Charlotte. As Kate walked into Center Court, the attendees gave her a standing ovation, applauding her strength and determination in light of her recent cancer diagnosis. Karwai Tang, the photographer who captured the sweet moment, told the media: “When [Kate] usually comes in, she walks down the steps and into her seat. She doesn’t normally stand and wave. But she stood for a while and took it all in. For her to acknowledge it and take in the applause was special.” Nine-year-old Princess Charlotte was seen being joyous in the stands, even taking pictures with all the winners.
Sports stars turned up to show their support. Key among them were Swiss tennis legend Roger Federer, English football legend David Beckham, English cricketer Ben Stokes, Indian cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar – who received a rousing welcome – and Indian cricket captain Rohit Sharma.
Movie fans were quick to spot Zendaya in the stands intently watching the game. She was the subject of several media posts in connection with her latest tennis-themed movie. Other star spectators included Julia Roberts, Tom Hiddleston, Courtney Cox, Andrew Garfield, Benedict Cumberbatch, Nicola Coughlan, and Joe Alwyn among many others – marking this as a star-studded event. From India, Parineeti Chopra and Raghav Chadha, Sidharth Malhotra and Kiara Advani, and Sonam Kapoor made their presence felt.
