Why are tennis players protesting and who are the British hopefuls? All you need to know before Wimbledon starts next week

Wimbledon season is upon us again, with the greatest in tennis descending on SW19.

With the biggest prize pot in the Grand Slam's history on the line, and both Iga Swiatek and Jannik Sinner returning to defend their singles titles, the championships is shaping up to be one to watch.

Here is everything you need to know.

When does Wimbledon start?

The main draw of the tournament gets under way on Monday 29th June.

Play is scheduled every day for two weeks until the finals, set for Saturday 11 July and Sunday 12 July.

The singles tournament kicks off two days before the doubles, with the wheelchair and junior tournaments following on after that.

Similar to last year, the singles finals will be held no earlier than 4pm, with the men's and women's doubles finals to be held first at 1pm.

A full order of play will be released on the official Wimbledon website the night before matches are due to take place.

Who's in and who's out?

The championships promise to deliver some of the finest tennis in the world, and after the French Open saw Mirra Andreeva and Alexander Zverev bag their first Grand Slam titles, nothing is guaranteed.

Defending men's singles champion Jannik Sinner will no doubt be hoping to have a more successful run than in Roland-Garros, where he was defeated in the second round after becoming unwell on court.

The world number one was a huge favourite to win the title - the only Grand Slam trophy he hasn't lifted - and was on a 30-match winning streak before he struggled in high temperatures against Juan Manuel Cerundolo.

One guarantee this year is there will be no repeat showdown for the title between Sinner and two-time Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz, who confirmed in May that he would not be taking part in the tournament.

The Spanish current world no.2 is continuing to recover from a wrist issue, leaving the race to the Wimbledon singles title wide open.

Closer to home, former British number one Dan Evans, who announced last week that Wimbledon will be the final tournament of his career, will have to go through qualifying to make it into the tournament.

The 36-year-old missed out on the guarantee of one final singles match at Wimbledon after the two final wild cards were given to British pair Harry Wendelken and Felix Gill.

Check out the charts below to see other players worth keeping an eye on as the championships gets under way:

How much do players win?

This year's Wimbledon prize pot stands at a record £64.2m. It's up 20% on last year's £53.5m, which was also a record at the time.

Both the men's and women's singles champions will receive £3.6m - up from £3m last year - and runners up will get £1.8m.

In the doubles, champions will take home £760,000 (per pair) while the mixed doubles champions will get £148,000 (per pair) - up 10% on 2025.

The uplift in the prize money available across the whole tournament makes Wimbledon the Grand Slam with the second-highest prize pot, after the US Open which has a total fund of £66.3m.

Why are they protesting?

Despite the uplift in cash, some of the sport's top players plan to limit their contractual media commitments at the tournament to 15 minutes during the first week of Wimbledon.

The act is in protest against Wimbledon currently paying slightly below 15% of revenues to players as prize money.

Players, including Aryna Sabalenka and Jannik Sinner, did the same during the the French Open at Roland Garros in Paris.

Wimbledon organisers responded to say they are "surprised and disappointed by the move" as the decision to increase this year's prize money was made following detailed consultation with players across both tours.

Player representatives wrote to Wimbledon's leadership to inform them of the planned action and did acknowledge the increase in prize money compared with last year's championships.

Return of the Venus sisters

While one legend won't travel to SW19 (Alcaraz), two legends are pairing up at Wimbledon for the first time in a decade.

Serena and Venus Williams have been given a wild card into the doubles tournament, having won the title during their last appearance together at the championships in 2016.

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Serena, 44, bagged 23 Grand Slam singles titles - including seven at Wimbledon - before stepping away from the game in 2022, saying at the time she was "evolving" away from tennis rather than "retiring".

But earlier this year she ended her run of nearly four years away from the sport to win her first contest at Queen's alongside 19-year-old Canadian, Victoria Mboko, before the youngster's unfortunate injury curtailed their run.

Shortly after announcing her return to doubles, Serena was handed the final wild card invitation for the singles tournament, meaning she is well and truly making her come back to Wimbledon.

Venus, who continues to be an active presence in both singles and doubles tournaments, recently enjoyed a winning streak in Madrid alongside Briton Katie Boulter.

Who are the British hopefuls?

Homegrown talent from the UK will also be on display in SW19.

Jack Draper has long been touted as the next star of British tennis, but last year was knocked out of Wimbledon in the second round, while Cameron Norrie stormed into the quarter-final, securing his place as British number one.

Both will return to the grass courts in SW19, with Draper backed by two-time Wimbledon champion Andy Murray.

"His tennis is bloody good. He's really good. Obviously he's had lots of issues the last year with various injuries. I feel like he's starting to come out the other side of that now," Murray, who is currently coaching Draper, said on 17 June.

"The next step is getting on the match court and getting a consistent run of tournaments and weeks under him and building trust again in his body."

In the women's game, Emma Raducanu, Katie Boulter and Francesca Jones are in the main draw, while six others have received wild cards.

While Oliver Tarvet, who made headlines last year when he came through qualifying and reached the second round, taking on Alcaraz on Centre Court, has once again successfully qualified for the main draw.

(c) Sky News 2026: Why are tennis players protesting and who are the British hopefuls? All you need to know before Wimbledo