Wimbledon 2023 Sets Attendance Record

Wimbledon was a major winner this month.

The 2023 Championships celebrated maiden champions in Carlos Alcaraz and Marketa Vondrousova and record-setting attendance.

A record 532,651 guests passed through the gates, an increase of more than 17,000 from the 2022 Championships.

The grass-court Grand Slam reports “tens of thousands of guests purchasing tickets on the day, with prices held at £27 for a Grounds Pass across the first eight days of play.”

The BBC’s coverage of Wimbledon once again exceeded all digital records with 54.3 million streams on BBC iPlayer and BBC Sport online – up from 53.8 million in 2022.

A peak audience of 11.3 million tuned into BBC One on Sunday 16 July to watch world No.1 Carlos Alcaraz defeat defending champion Novak Djokovic in a five-set thriller. The match was streamed live 4.1 million times on BBC iPlayer and BBC Sport online – a 58 per cent increase from 2022.

ESPN’s coverage of the Gentlemen’s Singles Final their most-watched Wimbledon broadcast since 2019 with 3.2 million viewers, while the Ladies’ Singles Final attracted 1.3 million viewers – a 10 per cent increase from 2022.

Wimbledon’s official social media channels received 1.9 billion impressions across the Fortnight and grass court season – a 75 per cent increase from 2022. Our social media following increased by 1.43 million, up 34 per cent on last year, bringing Wimbledon’s total social media following to 17.5 million.

This year’s Wimbledon also saw a record number of retail transactions onsite, with more than 180,000 taking place at Wimbledon Shops and Kiosks around the Grounds.

The All England Club has donated £1 for every spectator attending The Championships to the British Red Cross’ Ukraine appeal, with a record-breaking attendance bringing the total to £532,651.

More than £248,000, a record-breaking amount, was raised from our Ticket Resale scheme, supported by Barclays. These funds will support a variety of causes through the Wimbledon Foundation, such as emergency services charities, local tennis clubs and a Roof for All Fund which supports homelessness charities.

Wimbledon issued its annual report of statistics for The Championships 2023 here:

Attendance
Following the established 14-day schedule in 2022, this year’s Championships set a new record for attendance, with 532,651 guests through the gates during the Fortnight.

Broadcast
Wimbledon Broadcast Services (WBS) televised all main draw matches of The Championships across all 18 courts including Centre Court and No.1 Court in 4K High Dynamic Range.

The BBC’s coverage of Wimbledon exceeded digital records once again, with 54.3 million streams on BBC iPlayer and BBC Sport online – up from 53.8 million in 2022.

On BBC One, there was a peak audience of 11.3 million on Sunday 16 July to watch Carlos Alcaraz defeat Novak Djokovic in five sets, the highest since Andy Murray won in 2016.

The match was also streamed live 4.1 million times on BBC iPlayer and BBC Sport online, an increase of 58 per cent from 2022.

During the Ladies’ Singles Final, where Marketa Vondrousova was victorious over Ons Jabeur, there was a peak audience of 4.5 million on BBC One – an increase from 3.1 million last year. The match was streamed 1.3 million times on BBC iPlayer, an 85 per cent increase from 2022.

An international line up of 27 commentators and 31 court directors delivered more than 700 matches to a global audience. WBS deployed more than 160 cameras across the Grounds, which included 115 match cameras and 45 others, including: beauties, behind-the-scenes, and roving cameras.

For court coverage, some 195 microphones were deployed, bringing alive the sound of The Championships. WBS services more than 85 media rights holders including TV broadcasters, audio channels and news agencies, covering over 200 territories worldwide. 

Community
In celebration of the 75th anniversary of the NHS on Wednesday 5 July, 75 Show Court tickets were distributed to St George’s Hospital staff; NHS representatives were invited to the Royal Box; and in partnership with the LTA, a special breakfast was held for those NHS guests in attendance.

The All England Club’s Learning programme returned to the Qualifying Competition for a second year, with 400 local school children invited to enjoy a day out at the tennis. The Learning team also hosted morning assemblies in nine local primary schools in Merton and Wandsworth, teaching more than 1,000 students about the history and magic of Wimbledon.

In another first, Wimbledon ran a Family Ballot, offering 100 discounted tickets on No.1 Court during Finals weekend to families from neighbouring schools who had never before attended The Championships.

Support for Ukraine
The All England Club continued to show its support for Ukraine across this year’s Championships in the following ways: Working with the British Red Cross, and local organisations and support groups, tickets, food and drink, and transport (if needed) was provided to 1,000 refugees who are currently settled and being supported in the UK, including people displaced by the conflict in Ukraine.

One pound for each spectator attending The Championships was donated to the British Red Cross’ humanitarian work in Ukraine.

A total of £532,651 was raised for the Ukraine response efforts. All Ukrainian Main Draw and Qualifying players had the accommodation costs of two rooms fully funded by the All England Club and the LTA for the entirety of the grass court season. These players were also able to prepare for The Championships at the All England Club’s courts and at the LTA’s Surbiton courts prior to Wimbledon Qualifying week and following exits from Roland-Garros.

Digital & Social Media
Wimbledon attracted 1.43 million new followers across social media, a 34 per cent increase from 2022, bringing our total social media following to 17.5m. 1.9 billion impressions across Wimbledon’s social media channels during the Fortnight and grass court season, up 75 per cent from 2022.

A combined 82.3 million engagements on Wimbledon’s social media channels, a 162 per cent increase from 2022. 918 million video views across social media, an increase of 60 per cent from last year. Finals weekend attracted 4.5 million unique visitors to wimbledon.com and the Wimbledon mobile apps – a 33 per cent increase on 2022.

In total, users spent more than 7.3 million hours across all Wimbledon digital products during The Championships. 2.6 million unique visitors to wimbledon.com and our mobile apps came from the United States – an increase of 13 per cent up from last year. 194,000 downloads of the Wimbledon Smash App, with 84 per cent of these coming from India.

Economic Impact of The Championships and Wimbledon Park Project
According to research by Sheffield Hallam University, the All England Club’s Wimbledon Park Project would add an extra £100 million to the current economic impact of The Championships, which in 2022 was over £300 million.

The Wimbledon Park Project is the most significant expansion plan in the All England Club’s history. The project, which awaits planning approval, will deliver 38 new grass tennis courts, as well as a new 8,000-seat Parkland Show Court., and bring the Qualifying Competition to the existing SW19 site. A range of significant community benefits are also planned, including a new 23-acre public park, giving access to green space which has been inaccessible to the public for over 100 years. There will be a significant biodiversity boost with 1,500 new trees and expanded community access to grass tennis courts following the conclusion of The Championships.

Match Stats
The Championships 2023 saw 589 individual players compete across all events, with 949 matches and a total of 89,928 minutes of tennis played.

7,287 aces were served during the event, and on the Show Courts alone, 98,019 strokes were hit.

In metres, the total distance run by players was 1,495,801.

Venus Williams participated in her 24th Championships – the highest number of appearances for any player in singles in the Open Era, having previously been tied with Martina Navratilova.

On Day 5, the match between Lesia Tsurenko and Ana Bogdan broke the record for the most tie-break points in a Ladies’ Singles match at Wimbledon since IBM records began.

With 38 tie-break points, this match surpasses the previous record of 26. Novak Djokovic surpassed 250 hours played in the Gentlemen’s Singles to become the highest ranked male for duration played.

Chris Eubanks broke the record for the most winners hit at Wimbledon in a given year with 321, surpassing Andre Agassi who hit 317 winners in 1992.

Aryna Sabalenka had an average shot speed of 77.87mph – higher than Matteo Berrettini and Novak Djokovic.

The fifth game in the third set in the Gentlemen’s Singles Final between Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic was the longest game in a Gentlemen’s Singles Final at Wimbledon by points played, with the game lasting 32 points. The previous record was 26 points from Roger Federer and Andy Murray’s 2012 final.

Official Partners
evian announced the renewal of its partnership with Wimbledon for a further five years as the Official Water Partner of The Championships. Lanson announced that it will renew its partnership with the All England Club for another five years as Official Champagne Partner to The Championships, Wimbledon. Stella Artois returned to Wimbledon as the Official Beer Partner, announcing a renewed multi-year sponsorship agreement.

Retail
During The Championships, more than 183,932 retail transactions were made in Wimbledon Shops and Kiosks, including: 558,375 items sold

54,039 towelling products

74,526 headwear products 13,371 umbrellas 23,691 used balls

Royal Attendance
Wimbledon welcome the following members of the Royal Family during The Championships:
Her Majesty The Queen attended The Championships on Wednesday 12 July.

HRH The Princess of Wales, Patron of The All England Lawn Tennis Club, attended The Championships on three occasions: Tuesday 4, Saturday 15 and Sunday 16 July.

The Princess was joined by TRH The Prince of Wales, Prince George and Princess Charlotte on Sunday 16 July. This was Princess Charlotte’s first time attending The Championships. His Majesty Felipe VI of Spain attended The Championships on Sunday 16 July.