The 139th edition of Wimbledon is officially underway in London, but both of the tournament’s top-seeded players are arriving with more questions than answers heading into the prestigious grass-court major.
On the women’s side, Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka is dealing with performance concerns, while Italian defending champion Jannik Sinner on the men’s side has been managing health-related challenges. Despite strong stretches of play over the past six months, neither has claimed a Grand Slam title yet in 2026.
Sabalenka’s preparation for Wimbledon was limited to just one grass-court event, held in Berlin two weeks ago, where Jessica Pegula handed her a bagel — a 6-0 set — in a semifinal third set. Still, Sabalenka appeared unbothered heading into her Monday opener against Serbian qualifier Teodora Kostovic.
“I don’t want to stay too much in those sets, in those numbers,” Sabalenka said. “Overall I feel like things are clicking back together. Now I’m here, I’m happy and I can’t wait to start playing.”
Sabalenka could potentially square off against Great Britain’s Emma Raducanu in the third round. Raducanu, seeded 30th and a former U.S. Open champion, recently made it to the finals at Queen’s Club earlier this month.
Perhaps the biggest talking point of the entire women’s draw is the return of seven-time Wimbledon champion Serena Williams to singles competition. The 44-year-old accepted a wild card invitation and is scheduled to face 20-year-old Australian Maya Joint in her opening-round match on Tuesday. Williams last competed in a singles match at the 2022 U.S. Open and has played in two grass-court doubles matches in preparation for this week’s tournament.
Second-seeded Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan and third-seeded defending champion Iga Swiatek of Poland have largely flown under the radar after disappointing results on grass. Rybakina appears to have one of the more favorable paths to the quarterfinals among the top four seeds, though a potential clash with ninth-seeded Czech Linda Noskova — who has been rising quickly through the rankings — could be waiting.
Swiatek is chasing history, attempting to become the first woman in a decade — since Serena Williams — to win back-to-back Wimbledon titles.
“I feel proud of what happened last year,” Swiatek said. “But … I feel like I’m starting from a totally different position and keeping my expectations low. It’s not going to be smooth because of last year. Even though I won, I still have stuff to figure out.”
On the men’s side, top seed Sinner opted to skip the grass-court season entirely in an effort to address heat-related health problems. At the French Open in Paris, he dropped a match in the second round to Juan Manuel Cerundolo after leading two sets to none, ultimately falling in five sets.
Sinner, who opens his Wimbledon campaign against Serbia’s Miomir Kecmanovic on Monday, explained his thinking about skipping warm-up events.
“I feel good,” Sinner said. “I think grass is a very different surface, obviously. You come here trying to do your best. At the same time if you play a tournament before here, maybe it’s not going the way you would like to, you come here with some doubts. If you don’t play any tournament, you don’t have these doubts, you just go out and play.”
Another major name in the men’s draw is seven-time Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic, seeded seventh, who is making his 11th attempt at winning a record-breaking 25th Grand Slam title. Like Sinner — with whom he practiced at the All England Club this week — Djokovic hasn’t played since a third-round exit at Roland Garros. But the 39-year-old expressed strong confidence on the Wimbledon surface.
“I think I’m better prepared here than I was for Roland Garros,” Djokovic said on Saturday. “I always loved playing on grass. I have a very good score here, history, in Wimbledon. That gives me a higher dose of confidence coming into the tournament.”
Second-seeded German Alexander Zverev, riding high after claiming his first major title at Roland Garros, faces an immediate challenge in his opener against top-ranked Belgian Alexander Blockx, who sits at No. 37 in the world.
American tennis fans have reason for optimism heading into the tournament. No. 4 Ben Shelton claimed the title in Stuttgart, while No. 17 Frances Tiafoe won his first ATP 500 event in Halle. No. 6 Taylor Fritz and No. 21 Tommy Paul also reached finals during the June grass-court stretch.
However, Fritz faces a difficult first-round draw against London native and former World No. 4 Jack Draper, who is working his way back from right knee and left arm injuries.
The entire men’s field also gets a boost from the absence of defending champion Carlos Alcaraz, who will sit out his second consecutive Grand Slam due to a wrist injury.
