From the sidelines: Beyond the traditions, glimpses of Wimbledon’s fierce sporting soul
Tennis – Wimbledon – All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, London, Britain – June 29, 2026 General view of the Wimbledon logo ahead of the tournament REUTERS/Marko Djurica
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LONDON, July 14 : At Wimbledon, the 149-year-old tournament’s roots in tradition and British social customs are preserved and nurtured like the perennial ryegrass on the All England Club’s iconic courts.
The oldest Grand Slam, with around 675 matches across all categories, featured players dressed in white down to their shoes, spectators with creative hats snacking on strawberries and cream, and appearances by members of the royal family.
Visually, the two-week event stood in stark contrast with the FIFA World Cup it coincided with. But beneath the polished packaging, the soul of Wimbledon lay in a competitive core very similar to the World Cup: the best players in the world battle over the sport’s most prestigious title.
Reuters photographers covering the event captured glimpses of this tumultuous soul, showing itself in the silence before a serve, the quiet determination of a player mid-volley, the relief of victory and the sinking realisation of defeat.
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It showed itself in Alexandra Eala’s expression as she fell while trying to make a forehand return against third seed Iga Swiatek. Her gritted teeth summed up the 21-year-old’s battle against the odds to beat a six-time major winner.
“I just managed to fit her whole body and ball into the frame as an upright when her fall made a landscape shape naturally,” said Toby Melville, who had positioned himself to capture Eala’s celebration, but unexpectedly caught one of the tournament’s best competitive moments.
The enormity of the occasion is also evident in Jaimi Joy’s image of Otto Virtanen who, during a hard-fought first-round win, walked up to a courtside barrier during a moment of frustration and looked like he wanted to disappear into the green canvas.
There were those, of course, who shone in the Grand Slam spotlight. Marko Djurica clicked Naomi Osaka strutting across Centre Court in her kimono-inspired dress, in a moment that seemed to encapsulate the two-time major winner’s fearless campaign as she reached the quarter-finals for the first time.
But as bright as the spotlights were in sun-drenched Wimbledon, the darkness of the shadows also told its story.
Melville captured men’s champion Jannik Sinner mid-air as he stretched to the limit to return a forehand against Alexander Zverev in the final — the Italian’s long shadow appearing to extend his reach.
Or Djurica’s photograph of Guo Hanyu and Kristina Mladenovic embracing after winning the women’s doubles title, casting a shadow that looked like one player raising her fist in triumph.
In the end, as the spectator stands emptied and the nets were rolled up, echoes of the Wimbledon whirlwind could be seen in the courts’ patches of worn grass, captured by Andy Couldridge’s time-lapse shot of Centre Court showing the passage of players’ shoes.
(Writing by Chiranjit Ojha in Bengaluru; Editing by Daniel Wallis)
Source: Reuters
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