Say goodbye to 'Breakfast at Wimbledon' and hello to 'Brunch at Wimbledon' in 2025

Wimbledon is an iconic tennis tournament heavily invested in tradition, rarely instituting changes. However, the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, home of the Wimbledon Championships, has raised eyebrows by announcing two significant changes to the tournament beginning in 2025.

The first is the line judges normally surrounding the court will disappear, after 147 years, in favor of electronic line calling. Wimbledon is the third Grand Slam to implement this change, following the lead of the Australian Open and U.S. Open, so this was a change to improve the accuracy of the game and conform with other Grand Slam tournaments.

The second change is more significant for U.S. television viewers in the Eastern time zone. For generations, Wimbledon finals weekend was kicked off with "Breakfast at Wimbledon" at 9 a.m. ET. Television viewers were encouraged to have their homemade version of Wimbledon's signature food item, strawberries and cream, for "Breakfast at Wimbledon." The 9 a.m. ET start time equated to a 2 p.m. London start time.

In 2025, "Breakfast at Wimbledon" will be replaced with what Rennae Stubbs has affectionately called "Brunch at Wimbledon" for east coast viewers. The singles finals matches will begin at 4 p.m. in London or 11 a.m. ET. 

The time change is prompted by the tournament's desire to crown the champions "in front of the largest possible worldwide audience." Californians and others in the Pacific time zone benefit from this change as the matches will start at 8 a.m. PT instead of 6 a.m. PT. 

It remains to be seen if this change will increase ratings. Baseball games and soccer matches with afternoon start times could negatively impact how many television viewers watch Wimbledon finals matches in their entirety.