LONDON : Defending champion Jannik Sinner begins his Wimbledon title defence on Monday as the Italian targets a fifth Grand Slam crown, while women’s world number one Aryna Sabalenka opens her campaign in search of a first Wimbledon title.
With two-time champion Carlos Alcaraz absent from the tournament, Sinner starts as the clear favourite but arrives at the All England Club without playing a grass-court warm-up event after suffering an early exit at the French Open.
The 24-year-old said skipping the lead-up tournaments could work in his favour ahead of his opening-round match against Serbia’s Miomir Kecmanovic.
“If you play a tournament before here, maybe it’s not going the way you would like to, you come here with some doubts,” Sinner told reporters on Saturday.
“If you don’t play any tournament, you don’t have these doubts, you just go and play.”
Sabalenka, who has held the WTA world number one ranking since late 2024, is chasing her first Grand Slam title of the season after reaching four major finals over the past 18 months but lifting only one trophy.
The Belarusian endured a painful French Open quarter-final defeat to Diana Shnaider after losing the final 10 games and later admitted she briefly felt like quitting tennis. She has since worked with a psychologist and said she has regained confidence despite a semi-final loss to Jessica Pegula at the Berlin Open.
“I felt really good throughout the tournament there. I struggled a little bit here and there, but overall I feel like things are clicking back together,” Sabalenka said ahead of her opening match against Serbia’s Teodora Kostovic.
The four-time Grand Slam champion has reached the Wimbledon semi-finals in each of her last three appearances but is still seeking her first title at the All England Club.
Seven-time Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic also begins another bid for a record 25th Grand Slam singles title, which would move him past Margaret Court.
The 39-year-old Serbian said he arrives at Wimbledon in better condition than he did for the French Open, where he was beaten in five sets by Brazil’s Joao Fonseca.
“Playing on grass, comparing to clay, you don’t need to exert as much physical effort. So that’s better for me,” Djokovic said.
“I always loved playing on grass. I have a very good history in Wimbledon. That gives me a higher dose of confidence coming into the tournament.”
Centre Court action begins at 1230 GMT on Monday with Sinner taking on Kecmanovic, followed by Sabalenka’s first-round clash against Kostovic.
