The most anticipated Grand Slam of the season is only three months away, and the buzz is already starting to trickle in. The crowds will be rushing to Wimbledon again this year, with millions of others catching the action at home. But what about those who will be traveling? Don’t worry, this guide to Wimbledon 2019 has got all the bases covered.
This championship never disappoints. So, make sure to get all the details early and come prepared; otherwise, you might miss out on some spectacular moments.
When is Wimbledon 2019?
Tradition never strays far from the grass courts of Wimbledon. And so the championship will be held at the All England Club in London as always. This prestigious event hasn’t changed very much since it was first held in 1877, and that’s the way everyone likes it.
The tournament is only two weeks long, usually starting in the last week of June. However, recent changes moved it to the first week of July. So this year, Wimbledon will start on Monday 1st July and end on Sunday 14th July.
Some important dates to keep track of:
The qualifying competition (Bank of England Club): Monday 25th June to Thursday 28th June
The Men’s Singles Final: Sunday 14th July
The Women’s Singles Final: Saturday 13th July
Wimbledon is one of the most significant tennis events of the year and tickets are always hard to get. Which is why most people rely on broadcasting networks and watch from home. Anyone traveling during these two weeks will have a harder time trying to catch the games or highlights.
How to Watch Wimbledon While Traveling
Unlike a lot of other sporting events, Wimbledon is extremely popular and airs on various broadcasting networks and some streaming sites. That’s great news for those who will be traveling during the games, as this offers a couple of options.
Catch it at a Pub or Café
Plenty of restaurants, pubs, cafés, and coffee houses have televisions and will be airing the matches during the day. It’s not the most reliable way to watch the games, and there might be some noise from other patrons. But it’s a good option if other ones aren’t available.
Feel free to head over to the manager or waitstaff and ask to change the channel if the games are on. Most won’t mind switching to a network that’s broadcasting Wimbledon if they have it.
Another option is hotels, as most rooms with a television should be able to air the games as well.
To see which broadcasting networks will be airing the matches, head over to the official Wimbledon website.
Catch the Highlights on YouTube
This method isn’t entirely reliable either, but almost every year people upload footage of the games to YouTube and social media. The videos are often taken down rather quickly on YouTube, though. So it’s best to check regularly.
Use Streaming Services
Usually, traveling meant missing out on one’s favorite shows and sporting events. But these days, everyone travels with mobile phones, tablets, and laptops which work great from anywhere.
The only downside is, streaming services aren’t always available everywhere. Watching sports can be especially hard as licensing around sports broadcasting is even stricter. So only a few sites are allowed to stream.
It’s hard to get a list of all of the streaming services that will be airing the show live. As it stands, the BBC is one of the only ways to stream Wimbledon. They will host 15 live streams of the matches on iPlayer. However, this will only be available to UK residents.
This is because of geo-blocking, which tracks a device’s IP address and blocks everything outside of the UK. Luckily, there’s a way around that. Anyone who wants to create an account on iPlayer from outside the UK will need a VPN (download). It hides the user’s real IP address while they’re connected to the internet. That user can then select a new IP from a different location, like the UK. Similarly, those who are traveling outside the US will be able to access their ESPN accounts by using a VPN.
On to Wimbledon!
It may be a little harder to catch the Wimbledon games while traveling abroad, but it’s worth the effort. Just make sure to prepare a strategy before the journey starts to avoid missing any nail-biting moments.
More Articles
Enter Our FIFA 19 Tournament, Featuring Montee Ball
Biggest Steal of Each Round in the NFL Draft
