The biggest grass court tennis tournament of the year, Wimbledon, has finally arrived.
This tournament could be the last for Scottish Men’s player Andy Murray, who is still waiting to see if he’s fit enough to play. Meanwhile, Carlos Alcaraz will be defending his title after besting multi-winner Novak Djokovic.
Here’s how you can tune in to watch Wimbledon live – for free and on any device – whether you’re in the UK or elsewhere, at home or sneakily watching at work, or even if you want to catch up later on in your own time.
When does Wimbledon 2024 start?
The Wimbledon Championship runs from Monday 1 July to Sunday 14 July, ending with the women’s final on Saturday afternoon, and the men’s on Sunday.
You can check out the tournament’s order of play every day to find out who’s playing and when. Use the search facility and star players to follow their progress.
How to watch Wimbledon in the UK
If you’re in the UK then Wimbledon will be shown by the BBC, as usual.
During the main tournament, TV coverage will be led by Clare Balding once again. She will be joined by Isa Guha, with commentary from former champions.
Coverage will kick off at 11:00am on most days – when play begins on the outside courts – but you might be most interested in the afternoon, as Centre and Court One, where the big games happen, typically start play at 1:00pm.
It will be available on BBC One, BBC Two, and the Red Button. The BBC is also making Wimbledon available live across radio, online, mobile, the iPlayer and BBC Sport apps, and smart TVs. Whenever coverage is live, you’ll be able to tune in online by visiting the BBC Sport website or iPlayer.
Remember that you need a TV Licence to watch live on TV or online, or even on catch-up.
Highlights, along with live coverage of the finals, will also be broadcast on Eurosport on Virgin (channels 521 and 522), Sky (channels 521 and 411) and BT (channels 435 and 436). Users with a Discovery+ Standard Membership can also stream these – this costs £6.99 per month.
How to watch Wimbledon in the US
In the US, Wimbledon will exclusively be broadcast by ESPN, TSN/ RDS, and The Tennis Channel.
If you don’t have those included in your cable package, you can always sign up to ESPN+. This costs $10.99 per month, or $109.99 per year, but you can get better value if you sign up for the $14.99 per month Disney+ bundle that includes both ESPN+ and Hulu.
US fans can also subscribe to Tennis Channel Plus, though it’s not cheap at $110 per year. On the other hand, this will let you watch over 100 ATP & WTA events, so it might be worth it if you’re a tennis devotee.
How to watch Wimbledon anywhere in the world
The good news is that it’s possible to watch Wimbledon from anywhere. The first thing to do is check the tournament’s official broadcaster list to find out who has the rights to the tournament in your country.
Even if there’s no broadcaster where you live – or they’re tied to an expensive plan – you can always watch the UK’s BBC coverage from outside the UK.
To do so you’ll need a VPN – two good bets are NordVPN and SurfShark – to get around the geographical blocks put in place on BBC iPlayer – see our best VPNs round-up for more.
BBC iPlayer now also requires you to register for an account before streaming, which is done to ensure all viewers have a valid TV Licence. The BBC says that the aim of the account isn’t to pursue iPlayer users who haven’t paid for a TV Licence, but admitted that it will cross-reference the email addresses with people who’ve previously claimed not to need a TV Licence.
A second catch is that you’ll need to provide a valid UK postcode in order to sign up, which shouldn’t be an issue if you are simply holidaying outside the UK. Read more in our guide to how to watch BBC iPlayer abroad.
How to watch Wimbledon in 4K HDR
After successful trials for a few years the BBC is sticking to the same plan for the 2024 tournament. That means the tournament will be broadcast in 4K HDR, but the tech will be limited to matches on Centre Court.
No US broadcaster or streaming service announced that they’ll be showing games in 4K. So, if you want guaranteed access to Centre Court matches in 4K from the States, you’ll have to use the VPN method above to access the BBC stream.
Naturally, you’ll have to make sure you have a compatible 4K TV or streaming device plugged into a 4K TV, along with sufficient internet bandwidth to keep up with the stream. Check out our dedicated guide to watching Wimbledon in 4K Ultra HD and HDR for more info.
How to watch Wimbledon on catch-up
If you happen to miss a match you’ll find that programmes are available for a month following their transmission on BBC iPlayer, but note that the service’s Download and Series Record features are not usually available for sporting events.
To watch Wimbledon on a Windows, Mac or Linux PC, simply head to bbc.co.uk/iplayer for the desktop version of the site. Dedicated apps are available from Google Play and the App Store, while Xbox and PlayStation owners can stream content from Xbox Live or the PlayStation Network.
If the tennis match you’re after isn’t featured on the home page, search Wimbledon in the bar at the top right. The following screen will show the Wimbledon coverage that is currently available to watch. Scroll down to find and select the match in the list. Click the arrow in the video frame to begin playback.
How to buy Wimbledon tickets
Most pre-booked tickets for the tournament are now sold out, but it’s still possible to get in thanks to the legendary Queue.
Fans willing to stay the night (or brave a very early start) can try their luck at the gates on the day to buy either ground passes or tickets for each of the main courts. There will also be ticket re-sales during the day, as departing fans return their tickets to let more people attend.
Head to the Wimbledon site for more info on ticket pricing, how the Queue works, and other ways to grab tickets at the last minute.
