How to watch classic Wimbledon matches as 2020 tournament cancelled
Our guide to the BBC's Wimbledon content taking the place of this year's cancelled tournament
- Patrick Cremona
Published: Monday, 29 June 2020 at 4:46 pm
Any sport fan will tell you that one of the highlights of every summer is undoubtedly Wimbledon - with the two week tennis tournament normally reliably bringing about a fair share of drama and excitement.
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Only, this year it's not to be - much like many other big sporting events, including Euro 2020 and the Olympic Games, the Championships at the All England Club will not be going ahead this year due to the coronavirus pandemic - the first year without Wimbledon since the second world war.
But to make up for the absence the BBC will be repeating some classic matches from years gone by - here's everything you need to know.
When will classic Wimbledon matches air?
Wimbledon was due to start today (Monday 29th June) and so over the next two weeks the BBC will be airing an impressive 50 hours of programming - ranging from repeats of iconic finals to an Andy Murray Greatest Hits weekend - with three hours of coverage from 1:30pm to 4:30pm every weekday in week 1, and from 2:15pm to 5:15pm in week 2.
In addition, in place of the usual Today at Wimbledon programme, Sue Barker will be hosting a one-hour show, Wimbledon: The Best of the Championships, on BBC Two at 8pm every weekday, with input from former players including Tim Henman, Boris Becker, John McEnroe and Martina Navratilova.
Full Wimbledon 2020 TV schedule
You can find the BBC's full schedule of content below:
- Wimbledon Rewind week one: Monday 29th June - Friday 3rd July, 1:30pm-4:30pm, BBC Two
- Wimbledon Rewind week two: Monday 6th July - Friday 10th July, 2:15pm-5:15pm, BBC Two
- Wimbledon: The Best of the Championships: Weekdays 29th June-10th July, 8pm, BBC Two
- BBC Two Andy Murray's Greatest Hits: Saturday 4th July at 1:15 pm on BBC Two and Sunday 5th July at 2pm on BBC One
- Wimbledon: The Greatest Final: Saturday 11th July at 1:15pm on BBC One and 12th July at 2:05pm on BBC One
- One Day (documentary looking back at last year's final, which took place at the same time as England's cricket World Cup win): 12th July at 7pm on BBC One
Which classic matches will be shown?
Some of the most iconic moments of all time will be replayed, including the 2008 men's final between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, often hailed as one of the finest - if not the finest - tennis matches of all time, and another all time great between John McEnroe and Bjorn Borg - and yes, we can be serious.
Read on for the full list.
Monday 29th June - BBC Two, 13:30-16:30
Roger Federer vs Rafael Nadal, 2008 men's single final
Tuesday 30th June - BBC Two, 13:30-16:30
Martina Navratilova vs Chris Evert, 1978 ladies' singles final and Venus Williams vs Lindsay Davenport, 2005 ladies' singles final.
Wednesday 1st July - BBC Two, 13:30-16:30
Andre Agassi vs Goran Ivanisevic, 1992 men's singles final and Goran Ivanisevic vs Pat Rafter, 2001 men's singles final
Thursday 2nd July - BBC Two, 13:30-16:30
Boris Becker vs Kevin Curran, 1985 men's singles final and Steffi Graf vs Arantxa Sanchez Vicario, 1995 ladies singles final.
Friday 3rd July - BBC Two, 13:30-16:30
Virginia Wade vs Betty Stove 1977 ladies' singles final and Ivan Lendl vs Pat Cash, 1987 men's singles final
Monday, 6th July - BBC Two, 14:15-17:15
Evonne Goolagong Cawley vs Chris Evert, 1980 ladies' singles final and Bjorn Borg vs John McEnroe, 1980 men's singles final
Tuesday, 7 July - BBC Two, 14:15-17:15
Billie Jean King vs Ann Jones, 1960 women's singles final and Roger Federer vs Andy Roddick, 2009 men's singles final
Wednesday, 8 July - BBC Two, 14:15-17:15
Steffi Graf vs Jana Novotna, 1993 women's singles final and Jimmy Connors vs Arthur Ashe, 1975 men's singles final
Thursday, 9 July - BBC Two, 14:15-17:15
Serena Williams vs Agnieszka Radwanska, 2012 ladies' singles final and Pete Sampras vs Pat Rafter, 2000 men's singles final
Friday, 10 July - BBC Two, 14:15-17:15
Novak Djokovic vs Roger Federer, 2019 men's singles final and Serena Williams vs Simona Halep, 2019's ladies' singles final
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How can I watch the coverage?
Fortunately, it couldn't be easier to tune in, either watch the content as it goes out on BBC One and BBC Two at the times listed above, or repeated on the Red Button, while all of the programmes will also be available on iPlayer after they air.
Authors
Patrick CremonaSenior Film Writer
Patrick Cremona is the Senior Film Writer at Radio Times, and looks after all the latest film releases both in cinemas and on streaming. He has been with the website since October 2019, and in that time has interviewed a host of big name stars and reviewed a diverse range of movies.
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