2019 Wimbledon Previews, Predictions & Betting Tips

The Championships, commonly known as Wimbledon, is the oldest tennis tournament in the world having been held at the All England Club in Wimbledon, London, since 1877. Wimbledon is played on outdoor grass courts and is widely regarded as the most prestigious tennis tournament in the world.

Wimbledon begins in early July each year and is the third of four Grand Slam tennis tournaments. The tournament is scheduled for 14 days with the men's and ladies' singles consisting of 128 players each. Wimbledon is organised by All England Lawn Tennis Club and International Tennis Federation.

Tradition is extremely important at Wimbledon which has a strict dress code for players who are required to wear all-white clothing. Unlike other tennis tournaments around the world, there is an absence of sponsor advertising around the courts. Eating strawberries and cream is a lasting legacy, with fans consuming 34,000kg of strawberries and 10,000 litres of cream in 2017. 

The 2019 Wimbledon tournament will be the 133rd edition of The Championships, the 126th staging of the Ladies’ Singles Championship event and the 52nd in the Open Era. The tournament is part of the ATP World Tour, the WTA Tour, the ITF Junior tour and the NEC Tour. 

The Championships has a history connected with the 1868 founding of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club at Nursery Road in Wimbledon, London. In 1877 the club was renamed The All England Croquet and Lawn Tennis Club which held the first Lawn Tennis Championship. 

A new code of laws was introduced which is similar to the rules used today except for the height of the net and posts and the distance of the service line from the net. The first Wimbledon Championship was held on 9 July 1877 with the Gentlemen's Singles taking place.

By 1882 the club became almost exclusively dedicated to lawn tennis and in 1884 the club added Ladies' Singles and Gentlemen's Doubles competitions. 1913 saw the introduction of the Ladies' Doubles and Mixed Doubles events. 

From 1912 to 1924 the tournament was known as the World Grass Court Championships. The Championship was first broadcast on television in 1937.

Wimbledon had the same rules as the other three Major or Grand Slam events (Australian Open, French Open & Us Open) which restricted entry to top-ranked amateur players. This changed in 1968 with the start of the open era when professional players were allowed to participate.

British players have struggled to win Wimbledon with no British man winning the singles event at Wimbledon between Fred Perry in 1936 and Andy Murray in 2013. No British woman has won Wimbledon since Virginia Wade in 1977. 

In 1993 a long-term plan was announced with the intention of improving Wimbledon. Stage one saw the No. 1 Court in Aorangi Park built which included a broadcast centre, two extra grass courts and a tunnel that linked Church Road and Somerset Road. 

Stage two saw the removal of the old No. 1 Court complex which was replaced by the Millennium Building. The Millennium Building provides a wide range of facilities for players, press, officials and members. Stage two also saw728 extra seats added to Centre Court’s West Stand.

Stage three saw a new 4000 capacity No. 2 Court built in time for the 2009 Championships. In 2011 an entrance building, club staff housing, museum, bank and ticket office was added to the facility. 

A retractable roof was built for the 2009 Wimbledon tournament to ensure that rain didn’t affect playing time on Centre Court. The first Wimbledon singles final to be played under the roof was the 2012 Men’s Singles Final between Roger Federer and Andy Murray. 

In 2018 it was announced that a tie-break will be played if the score reaches 12–12 in the final set of any match. The new rule was introduced largely because of the 2018 Wimbledon Semi-Final between Kevin Anderson and John Isner which went to five sets, Anderson winning the fifth set 26-24. 

The 2019 Wimbledon tennis tournament will be held at the All England Club in Wimbledon, London, England. 

The 2019 Championships, Wimbledon starts on 1 July 2019 and runs for two weeks with the match schedule featuring the men’s Final on 14 July 2019. Day 7 is traditionally a rest day which will occur on Sunday 7 July. 

Wimbledon is played on a grass surface and is the only Grand Slam played on grass. A combination of 70% ryegrass and 30% Creeping Red Fescue was used until 2001 when the courts at Wimbledon were sown with 100% perennial ryegrass to increase durability.

Switzerland’s Roger Federer has won the men’s Wimbledon title on a record eight occasions (2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012, 2017). Pete Sampras was dominant in the 1990s where he won seven titles (1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000), the same as William Renshaw who won seven titles in the amateur era.

Sweden’s Bjorn Borg won five straight Wimbledon titles (1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980), Rod Laver won six titles across the amateur and open eras and Novak Djokovic has won Wimbledon four times and is the defending champion (2011, 2014, 2015, 2018).

Martina Navratilova holds the women’s record with nine Wimbledon titles (1978, 1979, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1990). Helen Moody won eight titles and Dorothea Chambers won seven in the amateur era.

Germany’s Steffi Graf (1988, 1989, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1995, 1996) and Serena Williams (2002, 2003, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2015, 2016) have both won seven titles each in the open era.

The betting odds for the men's tournament is dominated by Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer with Rafael Nadal close behind. The women's draw is wide open with Serena Williams at 6.00 leading Angelique Kerber, Garbine Muguruza and Petra Kvitova.

Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer are the favourites to win at Wimbledon with clay court specialist Rafael Nadal a chance. Roughies include Andy Murray, Alexander Zverev, Juan Martin Del Potro, Milos Raonic and Marin Cilic.

Serena Williams is the favourite in the women's draw with Angelique Kerber, Garbine Muguruza, Petra Kvitova, Karolina Pliskova and Simona Halep all given a decent chance by bookmakers.

Serbia’s Novak Djokovic won the 2018 Wimbledon Championships Men's Singles title after defeating South Africa’s Kevin Anderson 6–2, 6–2, 7–6 (7–3) in the final. It was the fouth Wimbledon title for Djokovic after winning in 2011, 2014 and 2015.

Germany’s Angelique Kerber won her first Wimbledon title in 2018 after defeating United States’ Serena Williams 6–3, 6–3 in the final. It was Kerber’s third Grand Slam title.