Wimbledon announces first official esports tennis tournament
2 July 2024
Lately, the UK esports news has been dominated by announcements of agreements between big names from the industry and high-profile mainstream partners. Earlier this year, for example, Activision (the studio behind popular esports titles like Call of Duty and Overwatch) signed the UK Armed Forces Covenant, while not long after that, Motorsport UK launched its brand-new Rookie Sports Car Cup for aspiring esports racers.
It's this kind of partnerships and agreements that can take esports in the UK to the next level. Mainstream institutions showing interest in esports greatly encourages wider adoption, especially when the institute in question is as historic as the All England Lawn Tennis Club. The host club of the historic Wimbledon tennis tournament announced a few days ago their first-ever official esports tournament, called the Wimbledon eChamps.
Wimbledon eChamps presented by American Express
The upcoming Wimbledon eChamps represent a first in more than one sense. It is, as mentioned before, the first esports tournament endorsed by the All England Club, but that’s not all. The eChamps will also be the first esports tennis event to be played on TopSpin 2K25. The famous tennis game franchise released four instalments in the first years of this century, but fans of the series had to wait thirteen years for the most recent edition.
Precise dates for the actual Wimbledon eChamps tournament have not been announced yet, but the event will take place in September of this year. We do know that qualifiers for the main event will start on Saturday, July 6th, and that they will be held across Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States. The Wimbledon eChamps will be played live at the Media Theatre of the All England Club.
“Over the years Wimbledon has witnessed many historic firsts”, says Usama Al-Qassab, Marketing & Commercial Director for the All England Lawn Tennis Club, “We are excited that this year, alongside our partners American Express, we will be adding to this with the first ever Wimbledon eChamps. The arrival of TopSpin 2K25, provided the perfect opportunity for us to create this exciting esports tournament and we cannot wait to welcome the qualifiers to Wimbledon in September.”
Gold-plated PS5 and trip to Gentlemen’s Singles Final
The Wimbledon eChamps are presented by American Express, the Official Partner of the Championships since 2019, and organised by BLAST. You may have read about BLAST in relation to esports in the UK not too long ago as well, because the esports event and tournament organiser recently became a partner of British Esports.
The winner of the first Wimbledon eChamps, apart from the honour of being the first champion, also gets an all-expenses paid trip to the Gentlemen’s Singles Final of the historic Grand Slam tournament in 2025. And as if that is not enough, he or she will also receive a Playstation 5 personalised with a golden name plate made by Wimbledon’s official engraver. The runner-up gets £ 1.000 to spend on Wimbledon apparel plus a £ 500 PS5/Xbox/Steam voucher. The numbers three and four get £ 500 for Wimbledon apparel and a £ 250 PS5/Xbox/Steam voucher.