At Wimbledon, World Cup games are off and tennis is on

Open this photo in gallery:

The World Cup has gripped soccer fans in Canada and around the world. But there’s one corner of London where watching the games is a definite no-no: Wimbledon.

The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club has a strict no soccer policy when it comes to the annual tennis tournament, which started on Monday at the club’s grass courts.

“We’re not going to be showing the football on any of the big screens around the ground,” said Sally Bolton, the chief executive of the AELTC. That includes lounges where players unwind after matches and practice sessions.

All eyes on Serena Williams as tennis great makes singles comeback at Wimbledon

Ms. Bolton said the club won’t go so far as to stop people from watching on their phones, but officials will be urging guests seated in reserved sections not to check for updates. “We do discourage people from using their phones in the royal box,” she told reporters.

There have been reports that some tennis players have asked that their matches not coincide with World Cup games to avoid disruption from fans. Ms. Bolton said she was not aware of any requests. “I’m conscious some people have suggested that in the media. But they certainly haven’t made any requests to the referees’ officer,” she said.

More than a dozen World Cup games will take place at the same time as Wimbledon, including England’s knock-out game against the Democratic Republic of the Congo on Wednesday. That match will broadcast at 5 p.m. local time. Canada’s game against Morocco on July 4 will be shown at 6 p.m. local time, which will also conflict with Wimbledon.

FIFA World Cup 2026: How to watch, game day schedules, Canada's roster and everything you need to know

Most players at Wimbledon seem to be taking the soccer-tennis conflict in stride and many can’t get enough of the World Cup

“It’s crazy. I have been following it a lot. I love football,” said Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime after winning his first-round match on Monday; 6-3, 6-1, 6-4 over Alexander Shevchenko of Kazakhstan. “So much on the line, so much excitement. For us, in Canada, it’s really historic. It’s a beautiful thing, because growing up, I had to find a team to support. It was a shame that you didn’t have your home country to support. So now it’s different. We actually have a solid team coming up. We’ll see how the next round goes.”

Mr. Auger-Aliassime said he got hooked on soccer during a family trip to Barcelona when he was a young boy. “And it was the era of Guardiola in Barcelona where they were dominating,” he said, referring to legendary coach Pep Guardiola who recently stepped down as the manager of Manchester City. “So that’s the first time I discovered football in Europe. Before I was watching hockey back home.”

Open this photo in gallery:

Brazilian tennis star Joao Fonseca has been keeping up with his country’s national team, which narrowly defeated Japan 2-1 on Monday to advance to the round of 16. He’s exchanged messages with a few of Brazil’s soccer players and raced out of Wimbledon Monday afternoon to catch the action on TV after defeating Spain’s Roberto Bautista Agut 7-6, 6-4, 6-3. “I already sent a message to one of the players, but not nowadays. I know the guys are focused,” he said.

Two years ago, a match between Novak Djokovic and Alexei Popyrin was disrupted by fans on their phones cheering England’s win over Switzerland on penalties at the European championships. Mr. Djokovic responded by mimicking a penalty kick while Popyrin held up his arms like a goalkeeper.

Mr. Djokovic said on Sunday that he’s learned not to be bothered by the distractions. “You can sense there’s a buzz going on. People are kind of simultaneously looking at your match and also following their national team. It’s normal,” said the seven-time Wimbledon champion who beat China’s Wu Yibing, 6-4 5-7 6-4 6-4, on Monday. “It’s the football fever right now in this four to six weeks. We are also part of it. I like football. I follow everything that is going on.”