Wimbledon Brings The Drama Of Centre Court To Life

Today, The All England Lawn Tennis Club unveils its highly anticipated 2026 campaign ahead of the 139th staging of The Championships, Wimbledon.

Created in partnership with lead creative agency VCCP, ‘Where beauty meets the battle’ marks the second instalment of the global brand platform ‘There Is Only One Wimbledon’, which launched last year. The integrated campaign reinforces the unique appeal of Wimbledon - an unparalleled experience where timeless heritage and beauty collides with the athletic excellence of the players as they battle to secure the ultimate prize at The Championships Wimbledon.

At the heart of the campaign is a cinematic 60” hero film, directed by Sanjay de Silva through production company Division Global, with support from VCCP’s global content studio Girl&Bear. Created by Alice Goodrich and Katy Stanage, the film captures the essence of the event from the perspective of a Holly Blue butterfly, with the peaceful elegance of ‘tennis in an English garden’ shattered by the dynamic shots on court as players push themselves to their limits to secure victory.

Butterflies are frequent visitors to the Wimbledon courts and an anecdote from former French tennis player Henri Leconte provided the inspiration for the campaign*. Playing at Wimbledon in 1986 he commented: "I played very well and then something wonderful happened. I was shaping up to serve and this beautiful white butterfly landed at my feet. Usually, most people would stamp on it to get on with things, but I picked it up and it stayed on my racket, I walked it over to the crowd and it flew into the stands. The people went nuts!”

Usama Al-Qassab, Marketing and Commercial Director at The All England Lawn Tennis Club, said: “Creating this second instalment of ‘There Is Only One Wimbledon’ gave us the opportunity to celebrate what makes Wimbledon truly unique. Revered around the world not only for the pinnacle of performance, alongside excellence and tradition, but also for the exhilarating emotion and intensity that can only be brought by the world’s best players in full flight. Our 2026 film tells that story beautifully to our fans all around the world. A legacy of tennis gladiators, battling for victory, in the ultimate arena of Centre Court and all its beauty.”

Amid an exciting summer of sport, the campaign reinforces Wimbledon’s status as the finest stage in tennis and one of the most iconic events spectators and players can experience.

Darren Bailes, Global Chief Creative Officer at VCCP added: “There is only one Wimbledon. A truth and an endline. Tennis in an English garden. Nothing like it. Our second global trailer references the garden in which Wimbledon is played and the fauna within. Butterflies are often captured on film or stills on court. But the risk to their existence is real. This film tells the story of a butterfly in harm's way on Centre Court. Forehands, backhands and big serves put our unsuspecting butterfly in danger.”

Annabel Croft, the voice of the 2026 Campaign, said: “Wimbledon is truly one of a kind. There is nothing quite like the contrast of the sport at its most intense, played out amid such extraordinary beauty - it really is tennis in an English garden.“

On starring in the trailer, world No.2 and 34-time Grand Slam champion, Alfie Hewett, commented: “Wimbledon is a very special place. Within the amazing grounds is a desire to win like nowhere else. It’s wonderful to be part of the campaign ahead of this year’s Championships particularly in this significant milestone year as wheelchair tennis marks its 50th anniversary."

The integrated campaign spans TV and social, extending into striking local OOH executions that further celebrate the duality of Wimbledon. Running from 8 June, ‘Where beauty meets the battle’ will roll out across global markets and broadcast channels including the BBC (UK), ESPN (North America and LATAM), Eurosport (Europe), Sky-Italia, Amazon Prime (Germany), Movistar (Spain), beIN (France & MENA), Jio Star (India), Channel Nine (Australia), NHK & WOWOW (Japan), CCTV & Tencent (China), and SuperSport (South Africa).

The Championships, Wimbledon 2026 will take place from 29 June to 12 July.

Credits:

Campaign Title: Where beauty meets the battle

Client: The All England Tennis Club; Usama Al-Qassab, Brendan Dinen, Akinyi Gardiner

Advertising Agency: VCCP

Global Chief Creative Officer: Darren Bailes

Creative Director: Jim Capp

Senior Creative team: Alice Goodrich & Katy Stanage

Creative team: Jake Wiseman & James Ginn

COO: Peter Grenfell

Business Director: Alexandra Gluck

Senior Account Manager: Lily Sherston

Deputy Head of Planning: Lotte Jones

Senior Planner: Saskia Meagher

Agency Production: Girl&Bear

Agency TV Producer: David Vass

Senior Integrated Creative Producer: Phoebe Hazzan

Broadcast Affairs Manager: Julia Matthews

Production Company: Division Global

Director: Sanjay de Silva

Managing Director (UK): Elena Argiros

Executive Producer: Charlotte Lepot

Producer: James Greenall

Production Manager: Fatima Zaman

DOP: Peter Bishop

Production Designer: Ben Ansell

Stylist: Zahra Asmail

Casting: Hammond Cox

Edit House: Cabin

Editor: Emma Backman

Senior Cutting Assistant: Jacob Crow-Mains

Edit Producer: Demi Roach Lewin

Head of Production: Franky Chadwick

Executive Producer: Ruth Minkley

Managing Director: Kayt Hall

Post-Production Company: Black Kite

Colourist: Tom Mangham

VFX Lead & Supervisor: George Brunt

Lead 3D Artist: James Hansell

Animation Lead: Jorge Montiel Meurer

Animator: Alberto Lara, Remy Herissé

2D Artists: Alexandra Lucut, Laurence Lavoie, Matt Hutchins, Pablo Oliver

3D Artists: Amir Bazazi, Aurelian Lemonnier, Chan Ah-Hong, Darren MacPherson, David Low, Joel Paulin, Martin Villert

VFX Producer: Phil Whalley

Sound: Runamok

Sound Design & Mix: Jon Clarke

Managing Director: Lucy Spong

Executive Producer: Caroline Jemirifo

Music House: The Hogan

Music Supervisor: Sean Hogan

Archive Search: The Director’s Studio

Researcher: Hugo Jenkins

Operations Manager: Sirena Chan

Global Content Creation Studio: Girl&Bear

Post-Producer: Elliott Watson

Offline Editor: Mark Singer

Colourist: Syd Harvey

Online Editor: Tom James

Sound Engineer: Emily Vizard

Design Director: Tomas Paichl

Junior Creative Artworker: Layla Elsekaifi

Design Production Tech Lead: Tom Whetnall

Deputy Head of Artlab: Scott Mitchell

Resource Manager: Yasmine Moridi