Warm, mostly dry forecast eases concern for Wimbledon’s opening week

A warm, mostly dry first week is set to greet The Championships 2026 as play opens Monday at Wimbledon, a forecast that could quicken grass-court conditions and reduce pressure on player recovery, scheduling and the first crowds moving through SW19. Daytime temperatures are expected to sit around the mid-20s Celsius, with only low rain chances on most days, a far softer start than the extreme heat many feared.

The All England Lawn Tennis Club now has two retractable roofs, so rain is less disruptive than it once was. Centre Court first saw match play under a roof in 2009, and No. 1 Court gained its retractable roof in 2019. That gives Wimbledon more cover for headline matches, but the weather still shapes the outdoor courts, the pace of play and the wider spectator experience across the grounds.

The contrast with Wimbledon’s weather history is stark. The hottest day recorded during the Championships fortnight came on 1 July 2015, when temperatures reached 35.7C at Kew Gardens. The wettest single day on record came on 28 June 1906, when 62.7mm of rain fell, and the wettest overall Championships were in 1927, when 83.8mm of rain accumulated over 14 days at Raynes Park.

Long-term Met Office climate averages for Kew Gardens put June at a mean maximum of 21.43C, a mean minimum of 11.02C and average rainfall of 49.66mm, underscoring how quickly the fortnight can swing from manageable to punishing. That backdrop matters after qualifying in Roehampton was already disrupted by extreme heat before the main draw, a reminder that conditions around Wimbledon can change sharply from one phase of the tournament to the next. For the opening rounds, a dry, merely warm week offers faster courts, more predictable scheduling and a safer environment for the queues and crowds that define the first days at SW19.