Wimbledon has several major on-court storylines entering the quarterfinals—though the tournament’s off-court battle is just as exciting.
On the men’s side, Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner appear to be on a collision course to meet in the finals just a month after their historic battle at Roland-Garros. But worthy challengers remain entering the quarterfinals Tuesday, including Novak Djokovic, who is chasing a historic 25th Grand Slam, and Americans Taylor Fritz and Ben Shelton.
The women’s bracket saw a historic number of top-10 seeds fall in the first week, including every single former champion. The door is open for world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka to claim her fourth Grand Slam, and leave the French Open as the only major title she’s yet to win.
Only two other top-10 players remain: former world No. 1 Iga Świątek, who has notoriously struggled on grass, and 18-year-old Mirra Andreeva.
But as the quarterfinals begin Tuesday, so will the U.K. High Court’s review of the proposed Wimbledon expansion. All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) has been looking to expand for decades and, in September 2024, the Greater London Authority (GLA) granted it planning permission.
The proposal would add 39 courts by the early 2030s, more than doubling the number of courts to 71. That would be more than double the number of courts at the US Open and Australian Open and four times as many as Roland-Garros.
The AELTC believes the expansion will help it sell more tickets for the Grand Slam, which totaled 526,000 last year, more than 100,000 less than the French Open and about half of the US and Australian opens.
Several tennis stars have shown support for the expansion, including Djokovic and Alcaraz.
However, there has been opposition to AELTC’s plans, with the loudest voice being a group established in 2021 called Save Wimbledon Park (SWP). SWP told Front Office Sports that it is not against expansion, but it has several issues with the proposal—including how some areas used for the expansion should be left to the public.
The hearing in the coming days is not about the approval of expansion, but rather to review SWP’s claims and the planning permit granted by the GLA.
