The BBC has stuck with many of the usual suspects for this year’s line-up of Wimbledon pundits – but a handful of big names have missed out. The season’s only grass-court Grand Slam tournament is less than a week away and fans are eager to get stuck into a high-stakes showdown in the south-west London sunshine.
For those who cannot make it to SW19, the BBC will keep them in the loop with wide-ranging coverage supplemented by an experienced team of presenters and a prestigious panel of tennis experts. Clare Balding will lead the presenting team and take charge of the afternoon coverage after Isa Guha kicks things off in the morning and before Qasa Aslom heads up Today at Wimbledon in the evening.
All England Club stalwarts John McEnroe, Tim Henman, Martina Navratilova, Billie Jean King, Pat Cash, Tracy Austin and Annabel Croft are set to join Balding and Guha in the studio to provide their hot takes on the action.
There are also a number of recognisable names in the commentary box including Andrew Castle, Andrew Cotter, Jo Durie, Anne Keothavong, Nick Mullins and Todd Woodbridge, among others.
And the BBC have snapped up even more tennis heroes to aid with their radio coverage as Marion Bartoli, Kim Clijsters, Laura Robson, Greg Rusedski, Naomi Broady, Daniela Hantuchova and Leon Smith all made the cut.
Despite the long list of experts set to appear at Wimbledon, there are also some high-profile absentees from the BBC’s list. There is no mention of Johanna Konta – the former world No. 4 who competed for Great Britain and was part of last year’s studio coverage.
Australian star Ash Barty, who won Wimbledon in 2021 and retired the following year, appeared on the Beeb in 2024 but will not do so this summer after announcing the birth of her second child earlier this month.
And there is no place for the controversial Nick Kyrgios, whose inclusion as a BBC pundit and commentator last year was slammed by the then Women and Equalities select committee chair, Caroline Nokes, who said the broadcaster should ‘hang its head in shame’ for agreeing terms with the Aussie after he admitted to assaulting his ex-girlfriend.
Kyrgios has since hit back at his omission, telling The Guardian: “I know I’m a great commentator. All I’ve done for 20 years is play, study and breathe this sport. I also think tennis needs commentators who say things that not everyone says. It’s unfortunate but it’s probably their loss more than mine.”