With New York experiencing what is arguably its most epic summer in years — complete with back-to-back celebrations including the Knicks’ first NBA Championship in 53 years, hosting duties for the 2026 FIFA World Cup tournament (and its final championship match on July 19) and the Puerto Rican Day and Pride parades — the team at Wimbledon determined it would not be outdone as it continues to increase its investment in the American audience.The All England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club (AELTC) tournament, which officially kicked off its main draw matches June 29, made its return to the city with a new location, look and game plan. Dubbed The Wimbledon Court in Central Park, the activation, which ran from June 26 to 29, brought the full grass-court experience for which the tournament is renowned to the iconic Wollman Rink, where fans enjoyed an exhibition match by tennis legends and tried out the court themselves.The program, meant to build anticipation for the tournament, is a departure from the watch parties of the women’s and men’s championship matches it hosted at The Hill in New York four years prior. Die-hard tennis fans packed the venue on June 26 to watch Andre Agassi, Caroline Wozniacki, James Blake and Genie Bouchard.Located in a space significantly larger than the park in Brooklyn’s DUMBO neighborhood where The Hill took place, the free, lottery-access activation offered a variety of perks from the tournament and its brand partners.Through Barclays’ youth program, players aged 15 to 24 had an opportunity to play on the court. Lavazza served up espressos and limited-time deals on its new state-of-the-art Tablì coffee machine. Range Rover drove interest with a car giveaway. Babolat and Slazenger provided rackets and balls for the clinics. Stella Artois and Lanson provided the beer and bubbly, and American Express and Resy delivered a curated dining experience of English delicacies at The Wimbledon Court Café by chef Ed Szymanski of British restaurants Lord’s and Dame.Barclays' Youth Players test out the grass court.Fans enjoying Stella Artois.A Lavazza rep demonstrates the brand's new Tabli machine to an attendee. (Photo credits: AELTC, used with permission) =Usama Al-Qassab, Wimbledon’s director of marketing and commercial, spoke with Campaign to break down what made this year — the penultimate to the tournament’s 150th anniversary — so special, detailing the event’s tech innovations, the digital return of tennis’ all-time GOAT to Centre Court and the elements keeping tens of thousands of fans (and an audience of millions) coming back for more. The following has been edited for clarity and length. Campaign: What prompted the move from DUMBO, Brooklyn, to Wollman Rink in Central Park? Was the decision based on demographics, increased demand from fans or additional factors?Usama Al-Qassab: Wimbledon has loved hosting The Hill in New York with finals watch parties over the past four years, and these have been incredibly successful in driving fan engagement and awareness. In 2026, we decided that we had a unique opportunity to switch things up and elevate our New York experience. Firstly, we wanted to both entertain and educate on the core brand essence and what makes Wimbledon unique, and that is grass-court tennis, the original and best surface, using Wimbledon Grand Slam icons to help share the story.Secondly, we have invested nearly a decade to develop our own proprietary technology that would enable us to lay down a playable court in 48 hours versus the two years it normally takes to bed down a court, which is a global first, and to do this in the iconic venue that is Central Park. Lastly, to cut through the noise created by New York hosting the World Cup finals and the upcoming Fourth of July celebrations, it demanded a bigger and bolder execution that could show why Wimbledon is not just the guardian of grass-court tennis for 150 years, but to do so before the start of The Championships to create a greater impact than toward the end of the tournament.What was the strategy behind hosting an activation in the beginning of the tournament, as opposed to during the championship matches like with The Hill in Brooklyn in previous years? Was the decision based on avoiding running into Fourth of July and America250 celebrations, given the history between the U.K. and U.S.?The U.S. and U.K. have always had a special relationship, and we are really focused on driving engagement and increasing our unique audience. It simply makes more sense to do that at the start of an event, when the maximum number of U.S. players are involved, to drive acquisition and retention of audiences, which we have seen growing year over year. With a GOAT of tennis returning in Serena Williams, that opportunity has only been amplified further, as it was amazing to watch her classic final against her sister, Venus, Friday [during the match replays onscreen at the activation]. Wimbledon is all about tennis in an English garden, and to hear the birds tweeting while watching that iconic duel in Central Park on the big screen with the iconic backdrop of the Manhattan skyline and its skyscrapers was thrilling. While this year’s experience had the crowd-pleasing factor of the exhibition match with the legends, you notably aren’t doing the opening night concerts you’ve done in the past. Is that to get back to focusing mainly on the tennis?In the city that never sleeps, there is always a huge amount of celebrity and razzmatazz. This has been amplified in recent weeks in New York City. We have had the Knicks parade and the FIFA World Cup, so we decided to put the tennis, the grass, what makes Wimbledon distinctive and, of course, the players, front and center this year. The increased scale of this event obviously equals an increased financial investment. Does Wimbledon see the American audience as one with the growth potential to make this investment yield great returns?Wimbledon, alongside our U.K. domestic audience, has always been a priority. Our broadcast partner ESPN invests hugely in a constantly innovating production that is live for well over 100 hours over the Wimbledon fortnight, and there is no sport or tournament in the world that can say it is truly global until it has conquered the U.S. marketplace. We have invested time, energy and creativity, and so far, we are well on our way to smash over 1 billion impressions before The Championships, which should see our popularity, viewership and already incredible brand strength continue to blossom.How has year-over-year growth been since entering the New York market?Wimbledon has seen exponential growth across all key metrics — brand relevance, strength, audience broadening, unique engagers, impressions, increase in ballot applications for The Championships from the U.S. and online retail sales of our merchandise. With that in mind, we are on a good run in the U.S., and New York has been integral to that award-winning success. What should tennis fans expect from this experience and for future efforts in the years to come from Wimbledon?Firstly, a lot of fun. We saw that in the opening of The Court, with icons like Andre Agassi, Caroline Wozniacki, James Blake and Genie Bouchard playing while mic’d up to share some insights on The Champs and their careers alongside brilliant banter with each other and the fans. (Photo credit: Gail Amurao for Haymarket Media)I understand much of the merchandise has already sold out, signaling the demand is high for an event of this caliber. How do you plan to keep the momentum going throughout the tournament post-activation?Nearly a decade ago, we brought the design, sourcing, manufacturing, licensing, merchandising and marketing process for over 1,000 items per annum [in-house], and it’s reaping rewards, more than doubling sales on the grounds and through our year-round online business. The extreme heat on day one meant that some of our caps, visors and bucket hats experienced high demand, but with more than 20 designs to choose from, there is still plenty online. The importance of a ballot system for tickets for our kick-off invitational event is primarily for them to be distributed fairly and equitably — and in the instance of The Wimbledon Court in Central Park, for free, which is almost unheard of in New York. Naturally, the ballot, which has seen its highest requests this year from U.S. fans, also enables us to gather fans’ data and responsibly reconnect with them across The Championships, allowing us to establish two-way conversations versus one-way communications.Could you take us through the planning and logistics for an event of this scale? How long did it take from concept to execution, and who were your production partners?We have been planning this event for nearly a year, remotely from the U.K., with a small but perfectly formed team. We value loyalty and expertise at Wimbledon and have continued to partner with TXG, whose experiential and local expertise allowed us to create not only the groundbreaking The Hill in New York but also The Wimbledon Court in Central Park. We have also collaborated with our creative agency, VCCP, and Burson on media and communications, alongside some support from former USTA employees who know the New York landscape intimately and appreciate the unique sensibilities that Wimbledon has. Merging the heritage and traditions of Wimbledon with the innovation and energy of New York is a fine balance, and all have worked tirelessly to pull together this fantastic event sensitively.Any additional details you’d like to share with our audience?The Wimbledon Court in Central Park is just the start of The Championships and one of our many innovations. We have developed a whole new digital platform from the ground up, including a new website and app. This is complementary to the more traditional broadcast viewing experience and will drive a deeper, more meaningful engagement with the estimated 750 million fans who will engage with The Championships this year. Creating breakthrough technologies by harnessing AI for live ball-by-ball match predictions with the likelihood to win, which calls out key moments of momentum swing, alongside automatic catch-ups for every single match across 18 courts and a match chat function — which is an “ask me anything” for tennis, updated ball by ball — will set a new standard in fan engagement within tennis. All of this has been designed hand in hand with our official technology partner, IBM.If that’s not your bag, then you can always enjoy an iconic Pimm’s or a new Stella Artois Strawberry, which is being launched at The Championships. What is safe to say is Wimbledon always brings something new and never-before-seen, and that’s why there is only one Wimbledon.