Connect with us

Tennis

Who are the BBC Wimbledon 2024 pundits?

Published

on

Who are the BBC Wimbledon 2024 pundits?

FORMER tennis stars Nick Kyrgios and Ash Barty are among the BBC’s new presenters for Wimbledon this year.

Starting on Monday, July 1, audiences can tune into comprehensive live match coverage of Wimbledon 2024.

Wimbledon 2024 is set to have a star-studded line-up commentating this yearCredit: Alamy Live News

Who are the BBC Wimbledon 2024 pundits?

Wimbledon returns with a star-studded line-up of BBC presenters, pundits and commentators.

However, one noticeable face will not be there.

Sue Barker stepped down as the lead presenter of Wimbledon TV coverage, with Clare Balding taking the reins in 2023 and beyond.

Here are some of the voices and faces guiding you through The Championships from SW19.

Nick Kyrgios

Nick Kyrgios is currently injuredCredit: PA

New for 2024, Australian tennis star Nick Kyrgios is joining BBC Sport to provide unique expert analysis and commentary from the oldest tennis tournament in the world.

Kyrgios, who isn’t playing due to injury, reached his highest ATP singles ranking of world No. 13 on October 24, 2016.

He claimed seven ATP Tour singles titles, notably the Washington Open in 2019 and 2022. 

The player then advanced to eleven finals, including the 2022 Wimbledon Championships and the 2017 Cincinnati Masters.

In doubles, he achieved a top ranking of world No. 11 on November 7, 2022, and won a major doubles title at the 2022 Australian Open.

Kyrgios has even reached the quarterfinals of three major singles tournaments.

Ash Barty

Ash Barty even turned her hand to cricketCredit: PA

The other sportsperson joining the presenting team is the retired Ash Barty, who was the second Australian tennis player to be ranked world No. 1 in singles by the Women’s Tennis Association.

The three-time Grand Slam singles champion won the 2019 French Open, 2021 Wimbledon, and 2022 Australian Open. 

Neal Skupski wins men’s doubles to become first British man to win titles in three consecutive years for almost 90 YEARS

She also excelled in doubles, reaching a career-best world ranking of No. 5. 

In late 2014, Barty took a break from tennis and ventured into cricket, playing for the Brisbane Heat in the first Women’s Big Bash League season without prior formal training in the sport.

After returning to tennis in early 2016, she had an exceptional year in 2017, capturing her first WTA singles title at the Malaysian Open and climbing to world No. 17.

She also excelled in doubles, making her first WTA Finals appearance that year. 

The Aussie continued her success in 2018 by winning major doubles titles and achieved similar success in singles in 2019, including a notable win at the French Open. 

In 2021, she secured five titles, among them her second major singles championship at Wimbledon and two WTA 1000 titles. 

In 2022, she won at the Australian Open, achieving major singles titles on all three surfaces. 

Barty led Australia to second place in the 2019 Fed Cup and won a mixed doubles bronze at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.

Pat Cash

Pat Cash played on Super Saturday in 1984Credit: Getty Images

Another former Australian tennis player, Pat Cash is legendary in the circuit.

In 1983, Cash became the youngest player to compete in a Davis Cup final, winning decisively against Joakim Nyström and helping Australia clinch the title with a 3-2 victory over Sweden. 

The following year, Cash made it to the semifinals at Wimbledon and the US Open. 

He was defeated by John McEnroe in three sets at Wimbledon and lost to Ivan Lendl in a dramatic fifth-set tiebreaker at the US Open. 

The same day at the US Open, famously known as Super Saturday, also featured iconic matches including Chris Evert versus Martina Navratilova and McEnroe against Jimmy Connors. 

Cash ended 1984 among the top 10 players for the first time.

The coach achieved his highest ATP singles ranking of No. 4 in the world in May 1988, and his top ATP doubles ranking of No. 6 in August 1988. 

After claiming the 1987 Wimbledon singles title, Cash started the long-lasting tradition of climbing into the stands to celebrate.

He has coached top players including Greg Rusedski and Mark Philippoussis.

Andrew Castle

Andrew Castle was GB’s top singles player at one pointCredit: Getty Images

Andrew Castle is a familiar face on TV having presented a number of shows and even taken part in Strictly Come Dancing.

The former British tennis player, who was Great Britain’s top singles player in 1986 and ranked as high as 80th in the world in 1988, had a notable career before transitioning to broadcasting. 

He also achieved a world doubles ranking of 45 with partner Tim Wilkison. 

During his tennis career, he won three ATP doubles titles and one Challenger tour title, winning a total of $344,338 in prize money. 

He also reached the mixed doubles final of the 1987 Australian Open with Anne Hobbs.

After retiring from professional tennis, he turned to television, presenting on ITV’s GMTV from 2000 to 2010 alongside Ben Shephard. 

He also hosted the ITV game show Divided in 2009 and began presenting for LBC in 2013. 

However, he was unexpectedly dropped from LBC in November 2023 with no explanation provided.

Naomi Cavaday

Naomi Cavaday came back into tennis after retiringCredit: Richard Pelham

The former British tennis player retired in April 2011 to take up a coaching role with the Lawn Tennis Association.

At the time of her retirement, Cavaday was the British No. 6, however she reached a career-high ranking of 174 in 2010. 

She secured three ITF singles titles and two doubles titles. 

After initially retiring, she made a comeback in 2014, winning three more ITF titles and regaining her world ranking. 

She retired for good in 2015 and transitioned to a career in coaching and sports commentary, contributing to BBC Radio Five Live’s Wimbledon broadcasts and Amazon Prime.

Andrew Cotter

Andrew Cotter was originally a golfer before transitioning into broadcastingCredit: Getty Images

Andrew Cotter is a Scottish sports broadcaster who primarily works for the BBC, focusing on golf and rugby union, along with tennis, athletics, and The Boat Race. 

Since 2008, he has been a commentator for tennis and has become a familiar voice at the Wimbledon Championships for the BBC. 

His commentary is also featured in the English language coverage of the tournament on Eurosport.

Annabel Croft

Off the dancefloor, Annabel Croft was once a junior Wimbledon Champion

Annabel Croft is a former British professional tennis player and now a television and radio presenter. 

During her tennis career, she won the Wimbledon and Australian Open junior titles in 1984 and the Virginia Slims of San Diego in 1985, reaching a peak world ranking of 24 that December. 

She also represented Great Britain in the Fed Cup and the Wightman Cup.

Following her retirement from professional tennis, Croft transitioned to television, hosting shows like Treasure Hunt and Interceptor. 

She won ITV’s Celebrity Wrestling in 2005 and was a contestant on BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing, finishing fourth in 2023.

Croft currently works as a sports presenter and pundit for networks such as Eurosport, Sky Sports, and the BBC.

Jo Durie

Jo Durie proudly holds her 1987 trophy for winning mixed doubles at Wimbledon with Jeremy BatesCredit: The Times

Jo Durie, a retired tennis player from the United Kingdom, once ranked as high as No. 5 in the world in singles.

She also achieved a No. 9 ranking in doubles and secured two Grand Slam mixed doubles titles alongside Jeremy Bates.

Durie was the most recent British woman to advance to a Grand Slam semifinal before Johanna Konta did so at the 2016 Australian Open. 

She was also the last British woman to claim a major title in any category until Heather Watson won the mixed doubles at Wimbledon in 2016 with Henri Kontinen.

Colin Fleming

Colin Fleming frequently teamed up with Ross Hutchins, as well as Jamie and Andy MurrayCredit: AFP / Getty Images

Colin Fleming, another retired British professional tennis player, specialised in doubles. 

He was a key member of the Davis Cup team, contributing to eight consecutive doubles victories that advanced Great Britain to the World Group. 

His efforts included a major win in the World Group quarter final against Italy. 

Fleming also clinched the mixed doubles gold medal at the 2010 Commonwealth Games, partnering with Jocelyn Rae for Scotland.

Over his career, Fleming reached nineteen ATP Tour doubles finals and secured eight titles. 

His peak Grand Slam performance came in 2011, reaching the Wimbledon quarterfinals and later matching this achievement at the US Open.

Fleming frequently teamed up with fellow British players, notably Ross Hutchins, Jamie and Andy Murray, Ken Skupski, and Jonathan Marray. 

In January 2017, he retired from professional tennis to become the national coach for Tennis Scotland.

Peter Fleming

Peter Fleming and John McEnroe was considered one of the greatest tennis partnerships

Peter Fleming, who is not related to Colin but shares the same surname, is a former American professional tennis player. 

In doubles, he famously partnered with John McEnroe to secure 52 titles, including seven Grand Slam victories (four at Wimbledon and three at the US Open). 

As a singles competitor, he reached a career-high ranking of world No. 8 and secured three titles, notably the 1979 Cincinnati Open.

Fleming was also a key member of three American Davis Cup teams that won the championship in 1979, 1981, and 1982, and he contributed to the US winning the World Team Cup twice.

In 1984, he achieved the World No. 1 ranking in doubles. 

His top singles ranking was world No. 8 in 1980, the same year he made it to the Wimbledon quarter-finals. 

Throughout his career, Fleming won three significant singles titles and sixty doubles titles.

After retiring from professional play, Fleming transitioned to a career in broadcasting, providing tennis commentary for Sky Sports, Eurosport, and the BBC.

Every pundit presenting at Wimbledon 2024

Clare Balding and Isa Guha will lead the presenting team for daily coverage on BBC One, BBC Two, and BBC iPlayer starting at 11am.

Gigi Salmon and Clare McDonnell will anchor live broadcasts for BBC Radio 5 Live, BBC 5 Sports Extra, and BBC Sounds.

Qasa Alom will host Today at Wimbledon on BBC Two and iPlayer every evening.

Andy Stevenson will cover the wheelchair finals, bringing the action as the tournament concludes following an exciting two weeks.

Todd Woodbridge, Jayant Mistry, Louise Hunt, and Katie O’Brien are set to commentate on the Wheelchair events.

Jo Currie and Joe Wilson will provide daily updates for TV audiences, reporting on the tournament’s developments at One, Six, and Ten on BBC One, and on Radio 4 at 6pm.

Chetan Pathak will deliver live sports news both in the UK and internationally on BBC News and will keep UK viewers informed with Sportsday daily.

Reflecting on the day’s matches, Clare and Isa will be joined by grand slam winners John McEnroe, Martina Navratilova, Billie Jean King, Pat Cash and Tracy Austin alongside Tim Henman, Johanna Konta and Annabel Croft.

Expert commentary is provided by Chris Bradnam, James Burridge, Pat Cash, Andrew Castle, Naomi Cavaday, Matt Chilton, Andrew Cotter, Annabel Croft, Katherine Downes, Jo Durie, Colin Fleming, Peter Fleming, Paul Hand, Dom Inglot, Abigail Johnson, Anne Keothavong, Robbie Koenig, David Law, Nick Lester, John Lloyd, Ronald Mcintosh, Alison Mitchell, Nick Monroe, Nick Mullins, Pete Odgers, Arvind Parmar, Louise Pleming, Simon Reed, Candy Reid, Chanda Rubin, Sam Smith, Liz Smylie, Mel South, and Andy Stevenson.

Matt Chilton

Matt Chilton is a seasoned sports journalist, commentator, and presenter. 

Since 1992, he has been working for Eurosport, and he joined BBC Sport in the mid-1990s. 

Chilton specialises in ski racing and has contributed to Ski Sunday since 1996. 

He has also been a fixture at Wimbledon for BBC Sport since 2001 and has covered 13 Olympic Games, both summer and winter editions.

Katherine Downes

Katherine Downes, a television presenter, was previously part of BBC News and BBC Breakfast as a sports specialist.

In 2022, she was a key member of the BBC Sport team, presenting and conducting interviews at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.

Over the next few months, Downes will appear on various BBC channels, covering five major sports events, two weeks of Wimbledon, the Paris Olympics, and concluding with the Solheim Cup in September. 

Chris Bradnam

The former GB tennis player had a brief career in the sport before becoming a commentator.

The Eurosport pundit is joining the BBC team for Wimbledon, often providing wacky and offbeat commentary.

Bradnam has been behind the scenes of the tournament from 2021, and has presented other contests including the French Open and the WTA AEGON International event from Eastbourne.

Bradnam played in both the Boy’s Singles and Men’s Singles at Wimbledon in 1976 and 1978 respectively.

James Burridge

James Burridge is not only a recognisable figure at Wimbledon but also the host of the Football League magazine show Late Kick Off in East England.

Starting his journalism career with The Sunday Telegraph and Eurosport, Burridge covered the 2002 World Cup before joining the BBC in 2003.

For six years, he was a sports and news presenter and commentator at BBC Radio Northampton and joined BBC Look East as a sports reporter in 2007, becoming a key member of the team.

Read more on the Irish Sun

He presents the Look East news bulletins from Cambridge, reports on rugby for BBC Radio 5 Live, and provides commentary at Wimbledon for BBC TV.

In 2012, he became a reporter for the Late Kick Off team, exploring all sorts of topics, from the threats of relegation to the impacts of drinking and gambling in football.

Continue Reading