Sally Bolton will step down as chief executive of the All England Lawn Tennis Club after Wimbledon, ending a six-year run in which she became the first woman to lead the organisation and steered it through some of the tournament’s most difficult and most transformative years.

The All England Club said financial director Richard Atkinson will take over on an interim basis, with a permanent successor to be named in due course. Wimbledon runs from Monday, 28 June to Sunday, 12 July.

Bolton, who was appointed in December 2019 to replace Richard Lewis, said she was proud of what had been achieved together, particularly bringing the Championships back after the pandemic and helping shape a clear path for the future. She also said the All England Club was a very special institution and she looked forward to seeing it continue to flourish in the years ahead.

Her departure comes after a period in which the tournament changed shape. Wimbledon was cancelled in 2020 because of the Covid pandemic, then returned under her leadership. In 2022, the event moved from a 13-day schedule to a 14-day format and play was introduced on middle Sunday, a change that altered one of the tournament’s longest-running traditions.

Bolton’s influence at the club stretched back to 2016, when she joined as head of corporate affairs. She later backed the club’s plans to expand the Wimbledon site, making her one of the central figures in the next phase of the tournament’s development as well as in its recovery from the pandemic disruption.

Deborah Jevans, chair of the All England Club, said Bolton had guided the organisation through a period of significant change and thanked her for her hard work and dedication over that time. The timing of her exit means the club will enter this year’s Championships with a new interim leader, while the search for a permanent chief executive continues behind the scenes.