Wimbledon 2026 - The Complete Player Guide

It’s that time of the year again when the smell of fresh grass, strawberries & cream and gallons of Pimms consumes the south of London. Wimbledon 2026 is finally here and what an exciting year we have in store. The return of one of the sport's greatest competitors along with the absence of the two-time champion Carlos Alcaraz should make for an interesting start of the next two weeks. Who will come out on top this year!

The ‘Queen of the Court’ Returns

After receiving a wildcard to play doubles with her sister Venus Williams, Serena Williams gained another for the Women’s Singles bracket as well, marking the return of the 23-time Grand Slam champion, and seven-time Wimbledon champion. Her last competitive match in singles was at the US Open in 2022, with her competing in doubles at Queens only 2 weeks ago where she made the quarter-final. Since Williams’ last major title at Wimbledon in 2016, there have been eight different winners, showing how open women’s tennis has become since her dominance ended. Only time can tell whether she will be able to keep up with the new wave of women’s talent, but if someone were to defy any odds and make the greatest comeback of all time, Serena Williams would be the one to do so.

May the Odds be Ever in Sinner’s Favour… Again

Just as we saw last month, Jannik Sinner is once again the out and out favourite for another major tournament. Just as he did at the French Open, the Italian has the highest odds (-195) of winning a major tournament - this time since 2007, where Roger Federer (-218) won 3-2 in sets against his fierce rival Rafael Nadal. Now last year’s champion has the fortune of not having to overcome Carlos Alcaraz again, but as we saw at Roland Garros, heat can play a strong factor in a players ability to perform at the peak of their powers, and the sun will have no help again in the coming days. Signs are showing that this year's tournament is going to be as hot as ever, with an average of 28°C during the day, with some days moving into the low 30s. It shouldn't be a question of whether Sinner can make it to the final of this year’s Wimbledon, but what we can ask is - can he handle the heat?

Who are the favourite’s in the Men’s Bracket?

Novak Djokovic - The seven-time champion may be facing the last years of his career, but will want to go out with another spectacular major championship win. He places as the second favourite this year with Alcaraz’s absence but also places on the same side of the draw as Jannik Sinner. Can the Serbian pull another miracle out of the rabbit hat to grasp victory?

Alexander Zverev - The Roland Garros champion has never fared well at Wimbledon, with him only ever making it as far as the fourth round of this tournament, and exiting in the first

round last year. With the benefit of not being on the same side of the draw as Sinner, he will still have to overcome his grass-court woes. However, can his major win last month spur a rise in confidence on a court he cannot seem to master?

Ben Shelton - The American made the quarter-final of Wimbledon last year, and will hope through the draw he has been given that he can push further this year. Shelton will be looking at the success of Zverev in France last month with the belief that if he plays calmly, but still aggressively with his towering service game, he can be in with a shot at winning. His confidence will be high with his win in Stuttgart against Taylor Fritz last month.

Jack Draper and Taylor Fritz - Writing about these two separately would be wrong, as the pair face each other in the first round on the 2nd of July. Draper has been absent from play for a couple of months, with his most recent action coming last week in the Lexus Eastbourne Open, where he made the semi-finals. His unfortunate showing at last year’s Wimbledon will hopefully be behind him, but it will be a monster task to beat the fifth seed Taylor Fritz. The American made it to the final of the Stuttgart Open, and has had an incredibly positive record at Wimbledon, making it to the semi-final last year. This without a doubt will be the best opening round match of a tournament in a long time, with Fritz set to be the clear favourite. But with the British crowd behind him, can Draper prove the odds wrong and come out on top?

Jakub Mensik - Only making the third round last year, the up and coming talent Jakub Mensik will want to make a statement in his career, but will it be this year’s Wimbledon? He made the semi-final of the French Open last month, and has been showing no signs of slowing down. With him only being 20 years of age, it is hard to suggest that he will win the whole tournament, but it will be interesting to see how far he goes.

Who are the favourite’s in the Women’s Bracket?

Aryna Sabalenka - After making it to the semi-final of this tournament three times in the last five years, you would think that Sabalenka can finally make the final and achieve her first ever Wimbledon title. The four-time major champion has been struggling to get over the hurdle in many of the major tournaments in the last year, breaking down after the heartbreak at Roland Garros last month, threatening to quit tennis entirely. Consistently making it to the final and semi-final of most of the major tournaments she takes part in, her struggles to get over the final hurdle are very evident, particularly at Wimbledon. Can the World No.1 put her troubles behind her and focus on the task at hand?

Elena Rybakina - The 2022 Wimbledon champion begins her bid for championship glory tomorrow, as she aims to win her second major title of the year. Only making the third round last year, Rybakina will want to go back to her record of making those semi-final to final appearances once more. As an established top five player in the world, it would be wrong to assume she wouldn’t make it far in this year's tournament.

Iga Swiatek - The Towel thief returns to Wimbledon tomorrow as she shoots for back-to-back titles in this Major Championship. Although she is not odds on favourite to win, Swiatek

has shown incredible growth in her game, and should be seen as the player to beat this year. She will not have to face Sabalenka, Pegula or Andreeva on her side of the draw, giving her a strong chance to be the first female player to go back-to-back at Wimbledon since, coincidently, the ‘Queen of the Court’ herself - Serena Williams.

Jessica Pegula - The American has only ever made it as far as the quarter-final in 2023, but has shown qualities recently of someone who can challenge for the title. Making the final of Grass Court Championship in Berlin last month, she will be confidently one of the favourites to make it all the way, and with how Wimbledon’s champions have come in the last eight years, a new champion should emerge this year as well. Could this be her year?

Mirra Andreeva - The 2026 Roland Garros Champion made the quarter-finals last year, and has been showing immense growth in the world of Women’s tennis. The 19 year old will be confident in making it far in yet another major tournament, especially after last month's impressive victory in Paris. Unfortunately, if she is to win this year, she will have to go through Jessica Pegula and Aryna Sabalenka to do so. It will be a tall task, but a joy to watch nonetheless