Wimbledon Eyes India: Tennis Giant Serves Up Cricket-Centric Strategy for Growth

New Delhi: The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club (AELTC), organizers of the prestigious Wimbledon Championships, is strategically targeting the Indian market, leveraging the nation's love for cricket to expand its global footprint. The presence of Indian cricket icons like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Sachin Tendulkar, and Dinesh Karthik at Wimbledon underscores this ambition.

Carlos Alcaraz of Spain serves during a practice session prior to The Championships Wimbledon 2025 at All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)

AELTC Chief Executive Sally Bolton has identified India and the US as key markets for brand growth. Brendan Dinen, Head of Marketing at Wimbledon, explained to TimesofIndia.com the strategy of collaboration rather than competition with cricket. "Cricket is much loved and certainly king for Indian audiences. So rather than trying to compete with that, I think it's about trying to find interesting ways to collaborate."

Bridging the Gap: Cricket and Tennis Crossover

Wimbledon is actively exploring innovative ways to connect with Indian audiences by intertwining the worlds of cricket and tennis.

Initiatives include:

• Collaborating with Indian social media influencers to provide behind-the-scenes experiences at both Lord's Cricket Ground and Wimbledon.
• Partnering with Star Sports to create a tennis-cricket crossover trailer that aired during the Indian Premier League (IPL).

Carlos Alcaraz of Spain celebrates Wimbledon 2024 title (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)

Engaging a Billion: Growth Potential in India

Wimbledon recognizes the vast potential for growth in India, with its young population and over a billion potential enthusiasts. Despite achieving 60-70 million engagements last year, the tournament aims to increase its reach through targeted content and engagement strategies.

Dinen emphasized the importance of younger audiences, stating, "Younger audiences and audiences of the future are crucial to us... ensuring that we can have the content and different parts of the Championships, with tennis at the centre of that approach - whether that's through social media platforms or working with influencers and content creators - to be able to look to be able to engage those audiences."

Overcoming Challenges: Monsoon and Movie Theaters

Organizers are keen to host events in India to deepen the connection with the audience. However, the monsoon season presents a logistical challenge. To overcome this, AELTC is partnering with PVR INOX to broadcast the finals in movie theaters.

Royal Box Diplomacy: Celebrity and Social Media Influence

Another tactic involves inviting Indian cricket stars to the Royal Box, capitalizing on their massive social media followings to generate buzz and increase visibility. With Kohli boasting 274 million followers, Tendulkar 50.8 million, and Rohit 44.1 million, their presence at Wimbledon could significantly amplify the tournament's reach.

Embracing Technology: AI and Virtual Reality

While preserving its traditions, Wimbledon is embracing technology to enhance the fan experience. The tournament is using Artificial Intelligence (AI), in coordination with IBM, on its app and website. The 'Match Chat' assistant provides immediate responses and match analysis to fans' questions during live matches.

Dinen highlighted the balance between heritage and innovation, stating, "We continue to embrace technology, and it sits at the heart of the balance between heritage and innovation... We've brought experiences to life in places like Roblox. So we absolutely want to make sure we bring the brand and the Championships to life in new and interesting ways."