Tennis viewers on One missed most of Jannik Sinner’s first set and then lost Novak Djokovic’s match just before a decisive point. Clare Balding told viewers the Djokovic coverage would shortly move to Two, but the switch left them watching EastEnders credits instead.
Clare Balding and One
Balding’s on-air warning came before the handover: “Oh my word, this set is on a knife edge. We are very shortly going to switch over to Two. So, if you want to continue watching Novak Djokovic battling his way against Wu Yibing in the first round of Wimbledon, it will very shortly be available on Two. Please join us there.” The change came after One had already started coverage of Jannik Sinner’s match at 2.10pm, 40 minutes after play on Centre Court was scheduled to begin.
By the time One joined Sinner, Miomir Kecmanovic had already broken him to move 5-4 ahead. The programme also showed the score, weather updates and completed matches before live action began, even though footage of Sinner and Kecmanovic walking on court had been shown more than half an hour earlier.
Jannik Sinner and Miomir Kecmanovic
The delay meant viewers on One missed almost the entire first set of Sinner’s match against Kecmanovic. Two could have shown the start of that match, but it carried Harriet Dart’s meeting with Jelena Ostapenko instead, while Two’s programming had begun at 10.30am and play on the outside courts was scheduled to start at 11am.
That left the opening day split across channels in a way that still did not deliver the key live tennis to One viewers. Until two years ago, One began its daily Wimbledon coverage at 1.45pm, but it now does not start until 2pm after a change that came with an hour of national and local news from 1pm.
Novak Djokovic and EastEnders
The second break was even sharper. One ended its coverage of Djokovic’s first-round match against Wu Yibing at 8.30pm, and viewers missed Wu breaking Djokovic’s serve to level the match after the switch. The entire Sinner and Djokovic matches were available live on the website and iPlayer, but the television audience on One was still pushed away from both key moments.
That contradiction is the story of the day: the matches were available online, yet One viewers were cut off from live action on two of the tournament’s biggest names. A year ago, Today at Wimbledon effectively became Yesterday at Wimbledon for TV viewers after being moved to a late-night slot, and this opening day gave them another reminder that the main channel no longer carries the day’s biggest moments from the start.
For viewers trying to follow Sinner and Djokovic on television, the practical answer was simple: One was not the place to stay. The live action arrived late, then disappeared again, and the decisive tennis happened while EastEnders credits rolled.
