Sir David Beckham was among the first arrivals at the world’s most famous tennis tournament, the Wimbledon Championships. The prestigious tournament gets under way today, Monday, with excitement building at the All England Club.
The tournament is famous for many reasons, from showcasing the best tennis the world has to offer, to attracting some of the most famous faces on the planet. One of the celebrities making the journey to Wimbledon this year is Sir David Beckham. The former England international has already been pictured at the event, with pictures circulating on X, formerly Twitter.
The sportsman was pictured wearing a dark suit and a brown tie, with a finishing touch of sunglasses. Sir David could be seen with a bandage on his arm following recent surgery. Isa Guha will be on presenting duties from 11am daily, taking viewers through the morning action from SW19.
Former British tennis star Tim Henman spoke about the atmosphere as the BBC broadcast got under way this morning. “First morning, getting ready for the players to get under way, it really is special,” he said. Isa told viewers: “We’ve even had David Beckham in already, it really does attract lots of different sports stars.”
Sir David was recently taken to hospital, with his wife shared a photo of him wearing a bandage in bed. Victoria Beckham posted the picture on her Instagram Story, showing her husband smiling wearing a hospital gown with a sling on his arm.
She captioned the photo “get well soon, daddy” but gave no further details about how the former England star came to be injured. She also gave him a friendship bracelet made with white beads to form ‘Get Well Soon’.
This year, the former footballer was awarded a Knighthood in the King’s Birthday Honours. The former England captain was made an OBE in 2003, but now finally becomes Sir David after being in the running for many years. He gets the honour for his services to sport and charity.
He told PA news agency: “Growing up in east London with parents and grandparents who were so patriotic and proud to be British, I never could have imagined I would receive such a truly humbling honour. To have played for and captained my country was the greatest privilege of my career, and literally a boyhood dream come true.”
He said he’d been fortunate to “represent Britain around the world and work with incredible organisations that are supporting communities in need and inspiring the next generation”. He added: “I’m so lucky to be able to do the work that I do and I’m grateful to be recognised for work that gives me so much fulfilment.
“It will take a little while for the news to sink in but I’m immensely proud and it’s such an emotional moment for me to share with my family.”
The 138th edition of the Wimbledon Championships, the third Grand Slam event of 2025, gets under way today. Action on day one includes men’s singles champion, Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz, who faces Italian Fabio Fognini on Centre Court.
Emma Raducanu is also in action facing British teenager Mimi Xu, while world number one Aryna Sabalenka begins against Canadian Carson Branstine.
Unwelcome news for some, however, as the price of strawberries has risen this year. Organisers are raising the price of their world famous strawberries and cream for the first time in 15 years this year.
The All England Club have kept the price at £2.50 per portion since 2010, but that will increase by 20p for 2025. The club sell around 140,000 punnets per year, meaning the new price is on course to bring in an extra £28,000.