The last truly elite tennis player produced by China remains Li Na, who between 2011 and 2014 won two Grand Slam titles, the Australian Open and Roland Garros, and reached the final of the WTA Finals. And yet this is a country with around 20 million players. A vast number, and a vast audience following them. The numbers recorded at Wimbledon 2026 are revealing. According to Jing Daily, Wimbledon-related content on Chinese social media reached 304 million views. The first-round meeting between Wu Yibing and Djokovic, played on Centre Court, accounts for much of that figure, but the tournament continued to draw attention well beyond that match.
Wimbledon is not only about tennis, matches or results. In China, it has also become a cultural and lifestyle event, something that extends beyond the sport itself. A wider Xiaohongshu hashtag, translated roughly as “the allure of tennis”, has gone beyond 375 million views. China is moving closer to Wimbledon: to its traditions, its atmosphere, the sense of a tournament that exists on its own terms. For the Championships, the implications are largely commercial. The millions of streams on Tencent, which will hold the broadcasting rights in China until 2027, will matter when future agreements are discussed with the organisation behind the Grand Slams. And with the All England Club, which considers China the second-largest market in the world for tennis engagement and passion.
Seen from that perspective, the absence of Chinese companies among Wimbledon’s official partners is notable. Rolex, IBM, Ralph Lauren, Range Rover, Emirates, Evian, Barclays, American Express, Stella Artois and Lanson are all present. China is not. The streaming figures and the social media numbers suggest that this may not remain the case forever. Wimbledon is still deeply attached to its traditions and to an idea of exclusivity that feels almost sacred. But the possibility of Chinese companies becoming part of that world is no longer difficult to imagine.