Wimbledon plans to add 38 grass courts
London’s Justice Pushpinder Saini has shot down a legal challenge by the Save Wimbledon Park group to the Greater London Authority after it granted planning permission for Wimbledon to expand its grounds, reported the Associated Press.
Wimbledon’s expansion plans would see the tennis tournament grounds nearly tripled with the construction of an 8,000-seat stadium with a retractable roof and the addition of 38 grass courts. This facilitates the transfer of the All England Club’s qualifying event to an on-site venue, improving attendance and revenue.
Wimbledon is presently the sole Grand Slam tennis tournament to conduct qualifying rounds in a different venue. Practice courts are limited in the current setup, driving players to share courts.
The Greater London Authority granted planning permission for the expansion in September 2024. Wimbledon champions Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz have voiced their support for the project.
“It’s great for the community, for London, for our sport. It’s a win-win, to be honest. If it doesn’t go through, it will be a shame,” Djokovic said in a statement published by AP News.
However, those who opposed the expansion raised concerns about the environmental impact of the expansion and the overall scale. They said that the adjacent property, which was a golf course when it was purchased by All England Club in 2018, was subject to restrictions favoring the preservation of open spaces for the public.
Nonetheless, Saini backed Wimbledon, saying in a statement published by AP News that “in short, the defendant’s decision on the relevance of deliverability, applying to both the statutory trust and the restrictive covenants, was a planning judgment rationally exercised and having regard to appropriate and relevant factors.”
All England Club chair Deborah Jevans praised the ruling.
“It is clear that we have a robust planning permission that enables us to create a permanent home for the Wimbledon qualifying competition as well as delivering 27 acres of beautiful new park land for local people, providing public access to land that has been a private golf course for over 100 years,” Jevans said in a statement published by AP News.
An eight-year construction window has been set for the expansion project once it clears all legal hurdles. In January 2026, a hearing will be held to determine whether the former golf course land is under a statutory trust.
