Wimbledon Eyes Indian Market: Taps Cricket Fandom, Tech to Boost Appeal

Wimbledon Courts India: Blending Cricket Fandom with Centre Court Glamour

New Delhi: Wimbledon is strategically targeting the Indian market, capitalizing on the nation's fervent love for cricket to broaden its appeal. The All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC), organizers of the prestigious tournament, recognize the potential for growth within India's massive population.

The presence of prominent Indian cricketers such as Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Sachin Tendulkar, and Dinesh Karthik at Wimbledon highlights this strategic initiative. Rohit Sharma's photograph on Wimbledon's Instagram garnered unprecedented engagement, demonstrating the crossover appeal.

Carlos Alcaraz prepares for Wimbledon 2025 at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club.

Brendan Dinen, Head of Marketing at Wimbledon, explained the strategy: "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... so I think there's interesting ways to be able to bring that to life for audiences, so that they might want to come and watch it as well."

To that end, Wimbledon collaborated with Star Sports to create a tennis-cricket crossover trailer during the IPL season. They are also working with Indian social media influencers, offering them unique experiences at both Lord's Cricket Ground and Wimbledon.

Despite its prestige, Wimbledon acknowledges the potential for further expansion. Last year's tournament generated 60-70 million engagements across broadcast and social media platforms. Considering the potential reach to over a billion people in India, the opportunities for growth are substantial. The focus is particularly on engaging younger audiences.

Dinen clarified, "Younger audiences and audiences of the future are crucial to us. It's clear in the activity that we focus on and our content strategy, whether that's for Instagram, YouTube and the sort of content we create."

Carlos Alcaraz celebrates his Wimbledon 2024 victory.

Organizers are exploring options to host events in India, but the monsoon season presents a logistical challenge. As a workaround, AELTC is partnering with PVR INOX to screen the finals in theaters.

Another strategy involves inviting Indian cricket stars like Virat Kohli, Sachin Tendulkar, and Rohit Sharma to the Royal Box, leveraging their massive social media followings.

Wimbledon is also embracing technology to enhance the fan experience. While maintaining its traditions, the tournament is integrating AI into its app and website. The "Match Chat" assistant provides real-time answers and match analysis to fans' questions.

"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," Dinen stated.