The All England Lawn Tennis Club has today announced its first ever official esports tournament: the Wimbledon eChamps.
The tournament is presented by American Express, Official Partner of The Championships since 2019. The eChamps will be the first tennis esports tournament using TopSpin 2K25, a revival of the tennis simulation video game series.
And the winner of the LAN final will receive a unique gold-plated PlayStation 5 (PS5), engraved with the champion’s name, achievement and the Wimbledon logo by Wimbledon’s official engraver.
Other prizes include £1,000 worth of gaming peripherals and accessories, a £500 PS5, Xbox or Steam voucher, plus an all-expenses paid five-star trip for two to the Gentlemen’s Singles Final at the Championships 2025. This will include Centre Court tickets to the Gentlemen’s Singles Finals, economy flights and two nights’ accommodation, plus Wimbledon hospitality.
Second place will receive £1,000 for Wimbledon apparel, plus a £500 PS5, Xbox or Steam voucher.
Third and fourth place will receive £500 for Wimbledon apparel, plus a £250 PS5, Xbox or Steam voucher.
The eChamps will begin with open qualifiers, allowing eligible TopSpin 2K25 players to work their way up the rankings and attempt to qualify for the live in-person finals, to be held at Wimbledon in September.
The qualifiers will run across four countries in Europe, as well as North America, covering UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Mexico, Canada and the US.
Players will have the chance to face off in Wimbledon, with the in-person finals taking place in the Media Theatre at Wimbledon. There they will compete for the honour of being the first ever Wimbledon eChampion.
The Wimbledon eChamps presented by American Express is being run by Blast, the esports producers behind several tournaments, including the recent RLCS London Major won by G2 Stride, and the Blast Premier Spring Final at Wembley.
It’s not the first esports tennis tournament of course, with British tennis esports player Fozzy winning back-to-back Roland-Garros eSeries tournaments.
Usama Al-Qassab, Marketing & Commercial Director for the All England Club, commented:
“Over the years Wimbledon has witnessed many historic firsts. We are excited that this year, alongside our partners American Express, we will be adding to this with the first ever Wimbledon eChamps.”
Usama Al-Qassab, All England Club
“The arrival of TopSpin 2K25, provided the perfect opportunity for us to create this exciting esports tournament and we cannot wait to welcome the qualifiers to Wimbledon in September.”
Shiz Suzuki, VP Global Brand Sponsorships and Experiential Marketing at American Express, added: “It’s important for Amex to continue to show up in innovative ways where our Card Members are, which includes the world of sports gaming.
“We’re thrilled to expand our presence in gaming culture, working closely with our partners at the All England Club to be part of the Wimbledon eChamps, bringing fans an exciting new way to immerse themselves in Wimbledon.”
The news comes one year after the All England Lawn Tennis Club partnered with American Express to launch a virtual Race to Wimbledon in Fortnite Creative.
Players can register for the tournament from today (June 28th) with qualifying matches starting from July 6th. Full tournament rules can be viewed at go.cmode.gg/Wimbledon24Rules
Dom is an award-winning writer and finalist of the Esports Journalist of the Year 2023 award. He graduated from Bournemouth University with a 2:1 degree in Multi-Media Journalism in 2007.
As a long-time gamer having first picked up the NES controller in the late ’80s, he has written for a range of publications including GamesTM, Nintendo Official Magazine, industry publication MCV and others. He worked as head of content for the British Esports Federation up until February 2021, when he stepped back to work full-time on Esports News UK and offer esports consultancy and freelance services. Note: Dom still produces the British Esports newsletter on a freelance basis, so our coverage of British Esports is always kept simple – usually just covering the occasional press release – because of this conflict of interest.
