Wimbledon 2025 Marks Emotional Farewells for Kvitová, Wickmayer, and More as Tennis Legends Bow Out

Notable News & Innovations

The year 2025 will mark a historic departure for the Wimbledon tournament as Hawk‑Eye Live electronic officiating takes the place of line judges, ensuring increased accuracy and uniformity throughout matches. The tournament will also have a record prize pool of £53.5 million, with singles champions receiving £3 million each, the largest sum in history. To better serve audiences in North and South America, the finals will now start at 16:00 BST. Public ballot entries are closed, but fans can still get tickets through The Queue or app resales, which begin at 15:00 daily.

What to Watch For

• Head-to-heads to watch: Alcaraz-Djokovic, Sinner-Alcaraz, Draper-UK stories. 

• Alcaraz is after a historic “three-peat for chasing Federer, Nadal-like streak on grass”. 

• The women’s draw is wide open with emerging contenders and veteran wildcards.

Confirmed Final Wimbledons

Wimbledon 2025 will be the major final farewell for two iconic tennis players. The superb eight-time champion of Wimbledon (2011, 2014) confirmed that she would not come again at this All England Club, although the formal announcement corresponding to her retirement is after the US Open. Kvitová stated at 35, soaking in the magic of SW19 for one last time feels very, very special. Among all this emotional farewell will be Yanina Wickmayer, former World No. 12 and a 2009 US Open semifinalist, who posted on Instagram the news that this would be her last professional tournament.

Others to Watch (Possible Farewells)

Wimbledon 2025 is more likely to mark the ending of the era for some players rather than for most. The 2019 champion Simona Halep is unlikely to return to play at SW19. She would end up making her official retirement announcement this February. Vasek Pospisil has also revealed that 2025 would mark his last season, and although he is not likely to advance far, this tournament may be one of his last Grand Slam appearances. Venus Williams has not played since early 2024, but after being marked absent from tour activity, is reportedly still under speculation—without any official retirement announcement, many still are watching. 

Between the thrilling matches and historic moments, Wimbledon 2025 will find itself as the theater of heartfelt goodbyes. With champions like Petra Kvitová and Yanina Wickmayer playing their farewell, this year’s tournament is truly about honoring achievements, not so much about winning.