New Delhi: Wimbledon is strategically targeting the Indian market by leveraging the country's deep-rooted passion for cricket. The All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC), organizers of the prestigious Wimbledon Championships, have noticed the presence of Indian cricket stars such as Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Sachin Tendulkar, and Dinesh Karthik at the event.
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)
Rohit Sharma's photograph on Wimbledon's Instagram garnered a record-breaking 4.5 million likes, highlighting the potential for engagement within the Indian audience.
Instead of competing with cricket's popularity, Wimbledon aims to collaborate with the sport. Brendan Dinen, Head of Marketing at Wimbledon, told TimesofIndia.com, "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. Both sports are rich in heritage."
Carlos Alcaraz of Spain celebrates Wimbledon 2024 title (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)
Wimbledon is implementing several initiatives to connect with Indian audiences:
Wimbledon recognizes the vast potential for growth, particularly in India, with its large and young population. The tournament aims to engage a wider audience by focusing on creating content tailored for platforms like Instagram and YouTube.
Dinen emphasized, "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."
One challenge is the timing of the monsoon season in India, which makes hosting events difficult. To address this, AELTC is partnering with PVR INOX to broadcast the finals in large screen theaters.
Another strategy involves inviting Indian cricket icons like Kohli and Tendulkar to the Royal Box, which would help boost Wimbledon's visibility on social media.
Furthermore, Wimbledon is embracing technology by integrating Artificial Intelligence (AI) into its app and website, in coordination with IBM, to enhance the fan experience. This includes a "Match Chat" assistant that answers fans' questions during live matches.
Dinen concluded, "We continue to embrace technology, and it sits at the heart of the balance between heritage and innovation… We absolutely want to make sure we bring the brand and the Championships to life in new and interesting ways."
Newer articles
Older articles