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Tennis | Wimbledon 2022 | Wimbledon opening week most watched first week on UK TV for a decade

By Tony Fairbairn at Wimbledon

  • The first week of Wimbledon was the most watched first week on TV in the UK for a decade
  • Middle Saturday achieved it’s second highest attendance of all-time
  • Stefanos Tsitsipas, Nick Kyrgios and Jelena Ostapenko lead the fines list
LONDON, ENGLAND – The first week of Wimbledon was the most watched first week on TV in the UK for a decade as Stefanos Tsitsipas, Nick Kyrgios and Jelena Ostapenko lead the fines list.

 

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First week most watched on UK TV for a decade

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The first week of Wimbledon brought much drama, entertainment and tennis of the highest quality with both men’s and women’s singles competitions in a competitive place heading into the final few days. There was also ten British players who won their opening rounds with Andy Murray, Emma Raducanu, Heather Watson and Cameron Norrie all contributing to high viewing figures. There was also middle Sunday that saw legends of present and past gather to celebrate the centenary of Centre Court.

Taking all that into consideration it’s no surprise that the first week of Wimbledon was the most watched first week on UK television for a decade as popularity of the sport continues to grow in the United Kingdom. That popularity not only translates into the people watching on TV but also the people attending the event as middle Saturday, which is one of the most popular days of the tournament, recorded it’s second highest attendance of all-time with more than 42,500 people attending.

Some other interesting statistics about the opening week sees visits on the Wimbledon website up by 37% while Days six and seven saw a record amount for ‘UK Buzz.’ Also 277,000 people attended Wimbledon over the course of the first seven days while 15,000 people attended the museum over the first eight days of the tournament.

 

 

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Tsitsipas, Kyrgios and Ostapenko lead fines list

Moving onto the fines list and it’s no surprise to see Stefanos Tsitsipas and Nick Kyrgios top the men’s list. The two were involved in a controversial third round match that nearly saw Tsitsipas defaulted for narrowly missing a person in the crowd for hitting a ball in anger. While Kyrgios was seen spitting towards the crowd as well as continuing to engage in verbal arguments with officials. Both players for their actions receives $10,000 each. Other noticeable men’s fines go to Reilly Opelka, Denis Shapovalov and Frances Tiafoe. Opelka was fined $5,000 for audible obscenity while Tiafoe was fined $3,500 for unsportsmanlike conduct while Shapovalov was fined $3,000 for the same reason.

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On the women’s side Jelena Ostapenko leads the fines list after throwing a chair during her fourth round defeat to Tatjana Maria. Just like Kyrgios and Tsitsipas, she was fined $10,000 for her unsportsmanlike conduct. There was also fines for Harriet Dart for racket abuse during her second round match against Jessica Pegula as well as Garbine Muguruza who was fined $3,500 for coaching.

 

 

 

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