Finding a reliable way for Wimbledon 2026 live streaming in India shouldn't be as hard as returning a Novak Djokovic serve. But every year we sit down in front of our TVs, confused about which specific channel has the broadcast and whether we need another expensive app subscription.
I get it. The grass-court season is short. You just want to watch the action at the All England Club without buffering or hunting down sketchy links on Telegram. This year, the tournament runs from June 29 to July 12, 2026. Jannik Sinner and Iga Swiatek are defending their titles. Honestly, the draw looks wide open, in my experience.
So we gathered everything you need to watch the matches in India and what time to tune in. I also included which Indian players to track over the next two weeks.
How to watch Wimbledon 2026 on TV in India
If you prefer watching on a big screen with your evening chai, Star Sports has the official broadcast rights for India. They've held these rights for years. And they usually do a decent job with the coverage.
But there's a catch (annoying, I know). Star Sports has about a dozen channels now. They love moving the tennis around based on what cricket match is happening. You might be watching an intense fifth set. Then suddenly they switch the feed to Star Sports Select 2.
Generally, you will find the matches on these channels:
- Star Sports Select 1
- Star Sports Select 1 HD
- Star Sports Select 2
- Star Sports Select 2 HD
If you don't have these channels active, you need to pay for them. Most DTH providers like Tata Play and Airtel Digital TV charge around INR 22 per month for the HD versions of these channels. Just use your set-top box remote or your DTH provider's mobile app to add them.
Wimbledon 2026 live streaming in India on Disney+ Hotstar
For most of us, watching on a laptop or mobile is just easier. Disney+ Hotstar is the official streaming home for Wimbledon in India. But no, it isn't free.
You need a paid subscription to watch the matches. Hotstar used to offer free sports streaming on mobile. But they limit that mostly to big cricket tournaments like the IPL or World Cup. For tennis, you have to pay up.
Disney+ Hotstar has three tiers if you need to subscribe:
- The mobile plan costs INR 149 for three months or INR 499 per year. You can only watch on one mobile device at a time, and the quality is capped at 720p.
- The super plan costs INR 299 for three months or INR 899 per year. This lets you watch on two devices, including your smart TV, at 1080p quality.
- The premium plan costs INR 1,499 per year or INR 299 per month. You get 4K streaming on up to four devices simultaneously.
Thing is, if you just want to watch Wimbledon, taking the INR 149 three-month mobile plan makes the most sense. I'm not sure exactly why people buy the yearly mobile one just for tennis. If you have a group of friends who want to watch on TV, split the INR 1,499 premium plan.
Steps to subscribe and start watching
- Download the Disney+ Hotstar app from the Google Play Store or Apple App Store.
- Open the app and log in using your Indian mobile number to receive an OTP.
- Click the subscribe button at the top right of the screen.
- Choose your preferred tier out of the three options.
- Pay using UPI options like Google Pay or PhonePe. UPI is usually the fastest and fails less often.
- Go to the sports tab and click on the tennis section to find the live streams after your payment goes through.
The JioTV hack: watching on your phone for free
I know many of you already pay for heavy mobile data plans. You probably don't want another subscription. If you have a Jio SIM card, there's a completely legal workaround to watch the matches for free.
Reliance Jio has live TV channels through its JioTV app. Since JioTV carries the Star Sports network channels, you can stream the matches directly there without paying Hotstar anything extra.
Steps to watch on JioTV
- Ensure you have an active Jio prepaid or postpaid connection with a valid data plan.
- Download the JioTV app from the Play Store or App Store.
- Log in using your Jio number and the OTP they send you.
- Use the search bar at the top to look for Star Sports Select 1.
- Tap on the channel logo and the live feed will start playing immediately.
The only downside is that JioTV only works on mobile devices. You can't cast it to your TV or use it on a laptop. If you try screen mirroring, the app shows a black screen because of DRM protection (which makes sense, actually). But for catching a match while commuting, it's perfect.
Wimbledon 2026 schedule and India timings (IST)
I think the time difference between London and India works out great for us. London is four and a half hours behind Indian Standard Time. This means the matches start in the late afternoon and run late into the night. So you can finish your workday and catch the best matches after dinner.
The tournament runs from Monday, June 29 to Sunday, July 12. A typical day looks like this in IST:
- Matches on the outside courts begin at 3:30 PM IST. These courts feature the early rounds and doubles matches.
- Number 1 Court matches begin at 5:30 PM IST.
- Centre Court matches begin at 6:00 PM IST. This is where the top seeds like Djokovic, Alcaraz, and Swiatek usually play.
A night match on Centre Court can easily stretch past midnight in India. This is especially true if it goes to five sets. So if you plan to watch the men's final on July 12, be prepared for a late night on Sunday before work on Monday.
Important dates to remember
- June 29 is when the first round begins. Look out for Novak Djokovic vs Wu Yibing on this day.
- July 5 and 6 bring the fourth round matches. The matches start getting serious here.
- July 7 and 8 are reserved for the quarterfinals.
- July 9 and 10 feature the semifinals.
- July 11 is the women's singles final.
- July 12 is the men's singles final.
Indian players at Wimbledon 2026
Basically, we Indian tennis fans are used to not having anyone in the main draw of the singles matches. This year isn't any different. We won't see an Indian player fighting it out in the men's or women's singles on Centre Court.
But the doubles matches are a completely different story. India is always strong in doubles. And this year we have a solid presence. Indian tennis legend Vijay Amritraj recently pointed out that the doubles draw is quite open this year. That gives our players a real shot at making a deep run.
"The doubles draw is always quite open, and our Indian players have a genuine opportunity to make an impact on grass this year."
Rohan Bopanna is obviously the biggest name to watch. Even in his mid-40s, he plays some of the best tennis of his career. You'll want to check the daily schedule on the official Wimbledon website to see exactly what time his matches are. Doubles matches get moved around courts frequently.
Yuki Bhambri is another player to keep an eye on in the men's doubles draw. He transitioned fully to doubles now and picks up steady ranking points. He has the game for grass. A good run is definitely possible if he gets a favorable draw.
If you want to read more about how Indian athletes are performing globally, check out our news section for the latest updates.
What you need to know before setting up your screens
If you plan to host a viewing party for the finals on July 12, you need to think about your internet connection. Streaming live sports requires serious bandwidth. This is true especially in 4K on the Disney+ Hotstar premium plan.
You need a stable broadband connection with at least 25 Mbps speed for 1080p streaming. You need 50 Mbps or higher if you want 4K without annoying buffering circles in the middle of a rally. I highly recommend plugging an Ethernet cable directly into your smart TV or laptop rather than relying on Wi-Fi. It might sound old school. But a wired connection drops out much less frequently than a wireless one.
Also, if you use Hotstar on your phone and cast it to your TV using Chromecast, make sure both devices are on the exact same Wi-Fi network. Sometimes dual-band routers put the phone on the 5GHz band and the TV on the 2.4GHz band. That confuses the casting feature completely.
Dealing with fake streaming links and scams
I need to talk about this because it happens every single Grand Slam. When big matches happen, Twitter and WhatsApp groups get flooded with links. They claim to offer free HD streaming of Wimbledon.
Don't click on these links. Nine times out of ten, they aren't actually streaming the match. They're phishing sites designed to look like a video player. When you click play, they ask you to download a video codec or an APK file to watch.
That APK is malware. It'll install quietly on your Android phone and start reading your OTPs. We've seen a massive rise in banking fraud from exactly this type of scam. If you want to know more about how these APK scams work, read our detailed guide on scams.
Stick to Star Sports or Hotstar. You can also use JioTV. Even if you pay a small amount for Hotstar, it's much cheaper than having your bank account drained by malware. If you accidentally install a sketchy app, turn off your mobile data immediately. Put your phone in airplane mode. Then call the 1930 cyber helpline. You can also report it on the cybercrime.gov.in portal.
Why Wimbledon still matters in India
There's just something different about Wimbledon. Maybe it's the all-white dress code or the grass courts. For many Indian fans, tennis starts and ends with Wimbledon.
The 2026 edition feels particularly interesting. The old guard is fading. And the new generation is finally taking full control. The numbers here are a bit fuzzy, but viewership is likely to be massive. Watching how Jannik Sinner handles the pressure of defending his title makes for great TV. Seeing if anyone can stop Iga Swiatek is fun too.
Just make sure you have your TV channels sorted or your Hotstar subscription active before the first serve on June 29. Trying to fix a payment issue on the app while a fifth set tiebreaker is happening is a mess.
Trust me on that.
If you have any issues setting up the apps on your smart TV, you might find our guides section helpful for basic troubleshooting.
