After withdrawing from the Roland Garros with a meniscus tear, the Serbian now feels second thoughts about Wimbledon 2024.
The fans with Wimbledon tickets were anxiously waiting for a re-run of last year’s final between Alcaraz and Djokovic, but with the Olympic Games in mind, Djokovic wants to play it safe.
Djokovic Travels to Wimbledon
In a more consolation verdict for the fans with Wimbledon tickets, the former world #1 has traveled to London for the torment, but he is unsure of playing.
Novak Djokovic has arrived at Wimbledon amid uncertainty about whether he will compete after undergoing knee surgery. Djokovic is not the only men’s tennis star under a massive injury cloud. Following initial reports that the two-time champion at the All England Club has been forced to withdraw from the tournament, confusion reigns over Andy Murray’s status.
The ATP Tour reported on Sunday that the 37-year-old was “sadly out of Wimbledon” after undergoing back surgery the previous day. However, the post on the official page of the men’s tennis body was swiftly deleted, and the Brit’s Davis Cup captain, Leon Smith, later revealed that the 37-year-old had not decided whether he would compete.
“He went through a procedure yesterday, and you have to wait and see now,” Smith said on BBC TV. “My understanding is no decision has been made, and let’s hope for the best for Andy.” The ATP’s initial tweet came off the back of a report from The Telegraph that claimed Murray would not be able to compete after having surgery on a spinal cyst over the weekend.
That came after Murray was forced to retire from his second-round match in sad scenes at Queen’s last week, with the Telegraph reporting that Murray’s surgery was set to sideline him for six weeks.
Murray’s camp has not confirmed his withdrawal, and it’s understood he’ll wait and see how his recovery progresses over the next few days before deciding about his participation at Wimbledon, which begins the following Monday.
The Briton has yet to give up hope of making a farewell appearance at this year’s tournament ahead of a possible retirement after the Olympic Games tennis competition in Paris, which begins 13 days after Wimbledon finishes.
Djokovic withdrew from the French Open after his fourth-round victory over Francisco Cerundolo, having torn the medial meniscus in his right knee. He had surgery in Paris less than three weeks ago and is racing the clock to be fit for Wimbledon, with the Serb also hoping to play at the Olympics in Paris.
But to liven the spirits of those with Wimbledon tickets, Djokovic has posted two optimistic videos on Instagram using an exercise bike, doing leg weights in the gym, running, lunging, and going through his service routine. “We keep building day by day,” he posted to his 14.6 million followers.
Djokovic lost to Carlos Alcaraz in a thrilling five-set Wimbledon final last year and has reached the decider at The All England Club the previous five years – winning four titles there since 2018.
Ash Barty Returns to Wimbledon
Retired Australian tennis great Ash Barty is set to return to the scene of one of her greatest accomplishments when she takes part in an exhibition doubles match at Wimbledon.
The 2021 Wimbledon singles champ hasn’t played on the grass courts since she defeated Karolína Plíšková in three sets in the final three years ago and has largely avoided tennis since her shock retirement in 2022.
Barty abruptly ended her career after winning the 2022 Australian Open. Since then, she has started a family and released a children’s book.
Wimbledon announced Barty’s participation in a post on Instagram.
Barty’s partner for the doubles event is yet to be announced.
Casey Dellacqua and Alicia Molik played in the 2022 invitational event, while last year, Renae Stubbs joined forces with Serbian Nenad Zimonjić to win the mixed doubles portion.
Australian Wendy Turnbull won the first ladies’ invitation doubles event in 1990 alongside British legend and 1977 singles champion Virginia Wade.
Barty will also be featuring as a commentator at Wimbledon this year.
AI Features for Fans with Wimbledon Tickets
Thanks to a new AI-powered tool, tennis fans with Wimbledon tickets and those following worldwide can instantly catch up on all the latest action at this year’s Wimbledon 2024 tennis championships.
Tournament organizers, the All-England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC), have unveiled their new Catch Me Up tool, powered by IBM’s Watson generative AI platform. The tool aims to bring fans closer to every match—even if they aren’t at the tournament.
Catch Me Up utilizes Watsonx’s generative AI to create player-based updates in the form of “cards” available on the Wimbledon.com website or mobile app, providing short-form commentary on their progress through the championships, set to start on July 1.
Speaking at a media briefing ahead of this year’s tournament, TechRadar Pro’s Chris Clements, Digital Products Lead at the AELTC, noted that 650 million fans from all over the globe engage with Wimbledon in some way during the tournament.
However, some of the more interesting or less-heralded stories are often overlooked, especially during the first few days of the tournament, when there is simply so much action.
Kevin Farrar, Head of Sports Partnerships at IBM UK, explained that the model could take in trusted “structured” tournament data alongside “unstructured” external sources (namely, the analytics site Sportsradar) to learn and provide the most accurate summaries possible.
He added that the launch should help give attention or focus to some lesser-known players, especially in competitions such as the junior or wheelchair tournaments, which typically start once the more high-profile draws have reached their later stages.
With the enhancements coming to the fans, they now get a more immersive experience without purchasing Wimbledon tickets.
Annually, only a limited number of Wimbledon tickets go on sale, and you need to be a fortunate fan to get access to one.
While secondary retailers fulfil the hopes of a few other fans, the app will provide more connectedness this time around to be in the mix of the games as they build up to the final.