Wimbledon is hopeful Princess of Wales will present trophies to singles champions
The Princess of Wales presented Carlos Alcaraz with the men's winners' trophy in 2023 - The Telegraph/Eddie Mulholland
Wimbledon are hopeful that the Princess of Wales will be able to present trophies to the men’s and women’s singles champions after making a return to public life by attending the Trooping of the Colour earlier this month.
All England Club chair Debbie Jevans told Telegraph Sport that they will give her “as much flexibility as possible” as she continues her treatment for cancer, which could involve delaying a decision on who will present the trophies until the morning of the finals next month.
The Princess has been patron of the All England Club since 2016, and as well as making regular appearances with members of her family in the Royal Box has traditionally presented the trophies, moments of global significant that are hugely valued by Wimbledon. Indeed, such is the symbolic importance of the trophy presentation that the potential optics of the Princess handing over a trophy to a Russian player – and the propaganda boost it would give to Vladimir Putin – was one of the reasons cited for the All England Club’s controversial decision to ban Russians from the Championships following the invasion of Ukraine two years ago.
The Princess made her first public appearance this year at the Trooping of the Colour earlier this month following her emotional revelation in March that she is being treated for cancer. While her recovery remains ongoing, Royal sources have indicated that she would like to attend Wimbledon if possible.
The Princess of Wales attended Trooping of the Colour earlier this month - WireImage/Karwai Tang
Although the All England Club have not formalised alternative plans for the trophy presentation, their options would include another member of the Royal Household or Jevans herself, as chair of the club and former player at Wimbledon.
Ten royals have presented the Wimbledon trophies since Prince George (later King George V) became the club’s first President in 1907. The All England Club no longer has a president after the Duke of Kent stepped down three years ago, with the Duchess of Cambridge taking the role of patron from Queen Elizabeth II, who served as patron from 1952 to 2016 and presented the trophies on several occasions.
“We’re hopeful that the Princess of Wales will be able to present the trophies as the Club’s patron, but her health and recovery is the priority,” Jevans said. “We don’t know what we don’t know. All we’ve said is that we’ll work with her and give her as much flexibility as possible.
“I don’t know who would present the trophies as an alternative - that’s something to consider nearer the time if necessary. We’re staying flexible. When we hear we’ll then think about what’s the right thing to do.”
Jevans is expecting to extend an invitation to the finals to a new Prime Minister, given the state of the polls, following next week’s general election, but insists she remains open-minded regarding her own voting intentions. With the mens’ final clashing with the final of the European Championship on July 14, however, whether Keir Starmer would attend is likely to depend on England’s progress in Germany given his love of football.
Sir Keir Starmer (second right) is a huge football fan - Facebook/Angela Rayner
“The Prime Minister always has an invitation so if he wanted to come of course we’d welcome him,” Jevans said. “They’re both big football fans so it may depend on how England are doing.
“Rishi Sunak is a big Southampton fan, which I noticed at the Championship play-off final as a Leeds fan. But that won’t influence how I vote – I’m still open minded.”
Tennis politics is likely to dominate conversations in the All England Club suites and executive boxes at Wimbledon, with the four Grand Slam tournaments and the ATP continuing to wrangle over their contrasting visions for the future of the sport. While the mens’ tour is increasingly aligned with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, and are in talks over accepting their offer to stage a new Masters 1000 event at the start of the year, the four Slams are pursuing their own plans to set up a new Premium Tour, which would involve the world’s best players meeting more often.
Those negotiations are likely to continue for some time, with sources involved hoping for a compromise agreement, but Jevans made it clear that Wimbledon will not follow the ATP in signing commercial and sponsorship deals with Saudi.
“We’re not looking for any additional outside investment at the moment,” she said. “We have a full suite of sponsors and partners that we’re happy with. PIF’s sponsorship of the ATP did include the option to take branding at certain events, such as Miami, but the Lawn Tennis Association chose not to take it up at Queens. That was an LTA decision which we respect.
“Saudi had an exclusive negotiating period with the ATP - you’d have to ask them whether it’s expired. My understanding is that the Saudi offer to the ATP for host a Masters 1000 Series event is still on the table, but I’m not involved in the discussions.
“Our dialogue is with the Tours, not with PIF. PIF have sponsorship agreements with the ATP and WTA, but we’re not involved in that. We just talk to the Tours about the product.”
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