The 2018 tournament was the 132nd edition of The Championships, the 125th staging of the ladies' singles Championship event,[1] the 51st in the Open Era and the third Grand Slam tournament of the year. It was played on grass courts and was part of the ATP World Tour, the WTA Tour, the ITF Junior tour and the NEC Tour. The tournament was organised by All England Lawn Tennis Club and International Tennis Federation.
The tournament was run by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and included in the 2018 ATP World Tour and the 2018 WTA Tour calendars under the Grand Slam category. The tournament consisted of men's (singles and doubles), women's (singles and doubles), mixed doubles, boys' (under 18 – singles and doubles) and girls' (under 18 – singles and doubles), which was also a part of the Grade A category of tournaments for under 18, and singles and doubles events for men's and women's wheelchair tennis players as part of the UNIQLO Tour under the Grand Slam category.
The Wimbledon total prize money for 2018 had increased to £34,000,000, up by 7.6% on 2017. The winners of the men's and women's singles titles will earn £2.25m.[2] Prize money for the men's and women's doubles and wheelchair players were also increased for the 2018 competition.[3]
A new rule in 2018 was that any first round singles player who is unfit to play and withdraws on-site after 12pm on Thursday before the start of the Main Draw will now receive half of the First Round prize money, the other half to be awarded to the replacement lucky loser. Any player who competes in the First Round Main Draw singles and retires or performs below professional standards, may now be subject to a fine of up to First Round prize money, to deter players from appearing only to claim prize money.[1][4]
The seeds for men's singles are adjusted on a surface-based system to reflect more accurately the individual player's grass court achievement as per the following formula, which applies to the top 32 players according to the ATP rankings on 25 June 2018:
Take Entry System Position points at 25 June 2018.
Add 100% points earned for all grass court tournaments in the past 12 months (26 June 2017 – 24 June 2018).
Add 75% points earned for best grass court tournament in the 12 months before that (20 June 2016 – 25 June 2017).
The seeds for ladies' singles are based on the WTA rankings as of 25 June 2018, with an exception for Serena Williams (details are given below). Rank and points before are as of 2 July 2018.
† The player did not qualify for the tournament in 2017. Accordingly, points for her 16th-best result are deducted instead.
‡ Serena Williams was ranked outside the top 150 on the day when seeds were announced, because she missed most of the last 12-month period due to her pregnancy. Nevertheless, she was deemed a special case and seeded 25th by the organisers.
