What Is Wimbledon’s Rest Day Rule and Why It Doesn’t Apply in 2025?

Wimbledon is a tournament renowned for its strong adherence to almost 148-year-old traditions. These traditions usually include the all-white dress code for players and the consumption of strawberries and cream. These are some of the things that make this tournament so unique among the rest of the majors. Talking about uniqueness, Wimbledon used to have a traditional rest day on the middle Sunday of the tournament. However, from 2022 this practice was discontinued. The tournament now takes place on all 14 days of the tournament. This year, The Championships will take place from 30 June 2025 to 13 July 2025. But what is the exact reason behind this change?

If we go down the history of this tournament, the middle Sunday rest day was a unique feature of Wimbledon among the Grand Slam tournaments. It was initially implemented to allow for the grass court maintenance and repairs. Since the first Sunday of the Wimbledon Championships was a rest day, it led to the second Monday known as “Manic Monday” with a series of fourth-round matches coming thick and fast on the same day. But now the 14-day tournament has allowed the fourth-round matches to be held across two days. 

Now, talking about the reasons behind this change, well, the elimination of the rest day was driven by multiple factors, including the advancements in grass court technology and maintenance practices, which have now made it more feasible to maintain the courts without a full day of rest. In 2021, All England Lawn Tennis Club chief executive, Sally Bolton said, “Over time Wimbledon has continuously evolved to meet changing demands and behaviors of our fans – always changing, always staying the same is something we talk about often. We want more of this wonderful event to be available to more people around the world to share in the joy of the Championships.”

She further added, “Including Middle Sunday permanently in our schedule will allow us to do just that and become a new tradition which we hope we can become immensely proud of. It enables us to do more on the second Monday, which is known as ‘manic’ for good reason.”

This year, the US Open announced that it would extend the main draw to 15 days, while the AO had already made the step in 2025. The French Open has already changed to a Sunday start in 2006. So, Wimbledon is now the remaining Grand Slam left in the calendar which started on a traditional Monday schedule in 2025. Earlier this year, while talking on this topic, tennis legend, Tim Henman said, “Centre Court is the one that gets played on the most because it’s used every day and to have it in the best possible condition for the final weekend, it was a big decision to go to 14 days. The research and data around that, you’re looking at 80 hours of tennis on Centre, that’s the sort of maximum. I think the appetite to go to 15 days is zero, first and foremost because of the courts.“

What are some of the interesting changes that we’re going to see at this year’s Wimbledon, though? Live Electronic Line Calling (Live ELC) will be adopted at the Championships from this season. Talking about this new implementation, Bolton said, “The decision to introduce Live Electronic Line Calling at The Championships was made following a significant period of consideration and consultation.” She spoke about how they’ve analyzed and tested methods at the previous editions before considering this technology.

She believes it’s the right time to take this important step in seeking maximum accuracy in officiating. “We take our responsibility to balance tradition and innovation at Wimbledon very seriously. Line umpires have played a central role in our officiating set-up at The Championships for many decades and we recognize their valuable contribution and thank them for their commitment and service,” said Bolton.

Now, coming to the draws, the main draw ceremony will be held on Friday, June 27, at 10 am (local time). With Carlos Alcaraz and Coco Gauff winning the title at Roland Garros, surely they will be the ones to watch out for in this tournament as well. But who are the favorites at Wimbledon 2025 according to tennis experts?

Tennis experts pick their favorites for the 2025 Wimbledon

Talking about picking favorites for this year’s Wimbledon, well, there have been quite a few names that have come up recently. For example, the 22-time doubles Grand Slam champion Todd Woodbridge said, “I’m going to go a little bit left-field, not way left, but I’m going to go with Mirra Andreeva. I just think that the way she has been building, and sometimes women’s draws can open up, and I think she’s ready now to go through and do that.” Andreeva is currently ranked seventh in the world, and she has already won two titles this season.

Other than Andreeva, he also picked Aryna Sabalenka as the “obvious favorite” in Wimbledon. But talking about Coco Gauff, he said that he feels it would be a bit difficult for her to get back-to-back success in majors. Who was his pick on the men’s side, though? “I’m going with Carlos [Alcaraz], I find it hard not to go with him,” said Woodbridge.

No American woman has won the Wimbledon Championships since Serena Williams in 2016. But former ATP pro-Ryan Harrison thinks Madison Keys and Coco Gauff could possibly be title contenders on this surface. But according to CoCo Vandeweghe, “Maddie Keys has definitely been the more consistent player at Wimbledon than all these other women combined. But I’m going to go with Amanda Anisimova. I think she’s got the best chance out there.” Andy Roddick has also showered praise on Anisimova recently for her incredible performances in the last few months. Who among these stars do you think has a real chance of winning the Wimbledon title this year?