When does Wimbledon start? Why 2023 tournament is starting so late - dates and schedule explained

The British Grand Slam championships are just around the corner with tennis stars such as Novak Djokovic, Elena Ryabkina and Coco Gauff all anxiously awaiting the third major of the year.

Similarly to 2022, the British contingent will be out in full with the likes of Liam Broady, Katie Boulter and Katie Swann all being given tournament wildcards with Boulter hopeful of improving on her third round finish of last year after securing her first WTA Tour win in Nottingham earlier this month. The Nottingham Open saw a double whammy of British winners as former world number one Andy Murray lifted the ATP trophy just shortly after securing the Surbiton Open as well. The 36-year-old just missed out on securing a top-32 seed due to his poor form at the Queen’s Club but the two-time Wimbledon champion will hope to bounce back in SW19 next week.

Carlos Alcaraz will also be in attendance fresh off his win at the Queen’s Club Championship. The Spaniard has previously struggled to excel on grass but the world number two could well pull off an almighty upset to Djokovic’s bid for a 24th Grand Slam if his recent form in West Kensington is anything to go by.

This year’s Grand Slam is taking place slightly later than we have previously seen. Here is all you need to know about why there is a delay to the start date of Wimbledon 2023.

Why is Wimbledon so late in 2023?

The tournament usually sees a traditional late June start date but this year it has been pushed back a week in order to allow players to adjust from clay to the grass playing surfaces as well as leaving more time between the tournament and other major sporting events.

This is not the first time the Championships have been moved back but it has not happened since the 20th century. Players require extra preparation time for grass courts as the surface has a lower bounce than clay and when wet it can make the surface even faster to move on. Tennis stars also do not have the same opportunity to prepare for the ball as they do with clay surfaces, their movements needing to be different in order to adapt to the changes. Rallies are often shorter on grass and players also wear special grass court shoes.

When is Wimbledon?

The tournament will begin on Monday 3 July and end with the Ladies’ singles final on Saturday 15 July and the Men’s singles final on Sunday 16 July. There will be the qualifying rounds taking place from Monday 27 June. Here is the schedule:

• Monday 3 July – Men’s and women’s singles first round
• Tuesday 4 July - Men’s and women’s singles first round
• Wednesday 5 July- Men’s and women’s singles second round
• Thursday 6 July- Men’s and women’s singles second round
• Friday 7 July- Men’s and women’s singles third round
• Saturday 8 July- Men’s and women’s singles third round
• Sunday 9 July- Men’s and women’s singles fourth round
• Monday 10 July- Men’s and women’s singles fourth round
• Tuesday 11 July- Men’s and women’s singles quarter-finals
• Wednesday 12 July- Men’s and women’s singles quarter-finals
• Thursday 13 July– Women’s singles semi-finals, mixed doubles final
• Friday 14 July- Men’s singles semi-finals
• Saturday 15 July– Women’s singles final, men’s doubles final (Centre Court play starts at 2pm UK time)
• Sunday 16 July– Men’s singles final, women’s doubles final (Centre Court play starts at 2pm UK time)