You can just about tell when it’s peak British summer, as it tends to be around the time that the Wimbledon Championships arrive.
For Brits, it’s been a quiet few years at Wimbledon, or maybe we were just spoiled by the exploits of Andy Murray throughout the early 2010s.
But it’s now been 13 years since we saw a British winner at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, and fans on these shores will be hoping that this can change over the next two weeks.
It’s already a tournament full of surprises, with the withdrawal of last year’s finalist and world number two Carlos Alcaraz shocking many on the men’s side, while the women’s draw sees the return of seven-time champion and now-44-year-old Serena Williams.
With all of this in mind, and hundreds of thousands set to flock to southwest London once again from today, SBC News spoke to Betfair, bet365 and Betway ahead of Wimbledon 2026 as part of its Bookies Corner series.
Has your company done any specific promotions for Wimbledon 2026?
Lewis Knowles, Betway’s PR Manager: We don’t have any specific promotions for Wimbledon, but we intend on being top price on many of the high-profile names throughout the tournament, and we’ll be boosting the odds of plenty of specials over the two weeks with our ‘Betway Boosts’ offering.
Has the withdrawal of Carlos Alcaraz on the men’s side shifted trading to Jannik Sinner, or are punters reluctant given how short a price he is?
Steve Freeth, bet365’s Sports and Trading Expert: Sinner undoubtedly has and is a popular selection, more so in accumulators than singles, given his price.
I would not say Alcaraz’s withdrawal has meant a direct switch of trade onto him, particularly as the last time he was seen in competitive action was his capitulation from a virtually unassailable lead at Roland Garros.
James Mackie, Betfair Spokesperson: The withdrawal of Carlos Alcaraz has led to UK&I customers backing a fan favourite in Novak Djokovic as an alternative who is now priced at 6/1 second favourite. Customers are still supporting Sinner even with his short odds of 8/15.
Betfair customers are also looking at Jack Draper priced at 33/1. However, since the draw came out last week people are looking at Taylor Fritz in the outright markets priced at 22/1. Fritz faces Draper in the first match so it will be one to watch.
Lewis Knowles: Despite Jannik Sinner’s shock defeat at Roland Garros last month, Punters are very much siding with the World No.1, with Sinner accounting for over 40% of all bets on our men’s outright market.
Away from the Italian, the only other player we’ve seen any substantial interest in has been Alexander Zverev, but considering his poor record on grass, we’re fairly happy laying those bets at this stage.
Does the World Cup coinciding with Wimbledon benefit or hinder trading volume? Many will be focused on the football instead, but with people being active on your platform, does it offer up an opportunity to capture their attention via Wimbledon markets too?
Lewis Knowles: It’s probably one of the few positives of the World Cup games being on so late in the UK that it shouldn’t really affect trading volume on Wimbledon.
No doubt we’ll see plenty of cross-sport multiples with the tournaments overlapping, and the increased activity on the app as a result of the World Cup should lead to an increase in business on the tennis.
Has patriotic betting been a factor pre-tournament? For example, are you seeing many bets on the likes of Jack Draper and Emma Raducanu?
Steve Freeth: We’ve seen modest pre tournament action on both. Raducanu showed positive signs as runner-up at Queen’s a few weeks ago, but has not played since and injury concerns persist.
Jack Draper had a positive week at Eastbourne, but has been handed a hellish 1st Round match against Taylor Fritz this week.
James Mackie: Patriotic betting is a factor with Wimbledon. Customers are always looking to support local players but typically that comes just before the start of the tournament or as the competition progresses into the deeper stages.
For example, ahead of the tournament, Emma Raducanu is the most backed by Betfair customers in the Women’s Outright winner market by a significant amount and she is currently priced at 33/1.
What about nostalgic bets? Serena Williams will be a notable underdog on the women’s side, while Novak Djokovic is still going strong and remains one of the favourites to lift his eighth men’s Wimbledon title? What has trading activity been like on these two?
Steve Freeth: Our traders are reporting moderate interest levels on Djokovic given his recent fitness concerns.
There has been some speculative action on Serena being able to make an impact in the singles next week, but given her four-year hiatus, expectations in general are low. She will arguably have more impact in the Women’s Doubles with Venus.
James Mackie: Nostalgic bets on the more well known but maybe older players comes to the fore especially at Wimbledon. Serena Williams may be an underdog, but she is still a fan favourite with customers and bettors are taking advantage of her price at 50/1.
As the final remaining great from that golden era of Men’s tennis, Novak Djokovic is always well supported going into any Grand Slam, and probably even more so this year with no Carlos Alcaraz to worry about. A few solid performances in the early rounds, and his price could really tumble.
There surprisingly haven’t been many nostalgic bets on Serena Williams as of yet, and while you’d never rule anything out where Serena is involved, this is a huge ask after so long away from the professional game. What a story it would be though, if she could go all the way, and it would probably rival Tiger Woods and Michael Jordan as one of the great sporting comebacks.
We know bet365 has upgraded its product to support bet builders across many sports, including tennis. Is there any other added incentive for punters to use your product on this sport, akin to your ‘Sub On Play On’ in football?
Steve Freeth: Tennis Bet Builders provide a very popular and flexible approach to tennis betting and very much enhances customer engagement. We also have our long standing Retirement Guarantee; as well as generous Acca Boosts that apply to Wimbledon.
With bookmakers across the country upgrading their sportsbook, how do you make your tennis offering stand out among the rest?
Lewis Knowles: With Betway Boosts, we’ll aim to be clear top price in the market for a number of specific outcomes. We’ll also be offering BetYourWay markets, which will allow punters to combine a number of fun/niche selections in any given match.
In the UK, is tennis now a less popular market given the retirements of Andy Murray and Johanna Konta, or are the likes of Raducanu, Draper and Cameron Norrie, as well as leading names from abroad, still ensuring that it remains a major market for your sportsbook?
Steve Freeth: Tennis is still a significant product for our sportsbook. Andy Murray’s presence at previous Wimbledon tournaments did encourage more casual interest, but the sport itself remains popular with bettors.
Lewis Knowles: We do see less patriotic betting these days, but tennis markets are still some of the most popular on our sportsbook, even in the UK.
The retirements of players such as Andy Murray and Rafa Nadal were a bit of a blow for tennis betting initially, but Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner, and Aryna Sabalenka have very much become household names since, and they all enjoy a good share of the market going into any big tournament.
How important is Wimbledon to your brand, given its history and how iconic it is on these shores?
Lewis Knowles: Wimbledon is so iconic, and it’s by far the most important tournament of the tennis calendar. Whether you’re a diehard tennis fan or a casual viewer, everybody loves a flutter on Wimbledon, and for that reason, it’s hugely important for our brand.
Steve Freeth: As a Grand Slam and crown jewel in the British Sporting calendar it serves as one of the highlights of the summer sportsbook offer, along with other key sporting events with genuine global reach.
