Why Wimbledon won't follow other Grand Slams in expansion

The U.S. Open will be a 15-day tournament in 2025, but even though other Grand Slams are expanding and earning more, Wimbledon can't follow them.

The Australian Open was the first major tournament to start on Sunday and last 15 days. It proved to be a great success for the organizers in Melbourne, who were able to break attendance records thanks to adding another day of main draw action to the schedule.

This not only helps the Grand Slams earn more money thanks to ticket sales, but it also helps players, as the scheduling is much easier when the first-round matches (64 in each singles draw) are spread across three days instead of two.

That's why the U.S. Open has decided to follow suit and will be a 15-day tournament in 2025 as well. The 145th edition of the New York Slam will begin on August 24, and the last matches will be played on September 7.

But while other Grand Slams are expanding and adding days, Wimbledon can't do the same. The All England Club has one issue that other tournaments don't have, and that's the surface on which the Wimbledon Championships are played.

Grass is a demanding surface, so much so that for decades, there was no play on Sunday during the first week of the tournament. That was to help the grass recover and be in the most playable shape throughout the tournament.

That rule was abandoned in 2022, as it's assumed that advancements in technology now make it possible to maintain grass while playing on it for two consecutive weeks. At the same time, it's the very reason why the tournament can't expand any further.

While the Australian Open tournament director, Craig Tiley, hinted that after a successful 15-day expansion that the Australian Open could expand to 16 days, Wimbledon can't yet consider expanding to even 15 days.

Former ATP World No. 4 Tim Henman recently spoke about the idea of expansion, as per The Mirror. He revealed that the organizers at the All England Club are not even thinking about the expansion at the moment precisely because of the issues with grass courts.

"It’s pretty safe to say that from Wimbledon’s point of view, 14 days for the Championships is enough. When it was a 13-day event, the middle Sunday was absolutely about watering the courts to make sure it was going to be still alive for the latter part of the tournament. Centre Court is the one that gets played on the most because it’s used every day and you have to have it in the best possible condition for the final weekend. It was a big decision to go to 14 days. You’re looking at 80 hours of tennis on Centre Court. The appetite to go to 15 days is zero. First and foremost because of the courts."