Wimbledon is the last Grand Slam before the 2024 Olympic Games begin at the end of July. With the Olympic roster finalized, the battle on grass will provide players a chance to fine-tune their form ahead of the Games. Here's who is going to contend at the All-England Club.
Jannick Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz could battle
Carlos Alcaraz, the 2023 Wimbledon champion, has a difficult path on the way to defend his title. The world No. 2, who recently took home the 2024 French Open trophy, could face world No. 1 Jannik Sinner in the semifinals.
Alcaraz will first have to dismiss world No. 8, Casper Ruud and recent Queen’s Club champion Tommy Paul, who’s win allowed Paul to overtake the previous top American man, Taylor Fritz, in the rankings.
Fritz, seeded No. 13, has a quarter full of other strong seeds. Fritz could face off against 2020 Tokyo Olympic champion Alexander Zverev. Andrey Rublev, seeded No. 6, could spar against Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas, the 13th seed who has yet to make it past the first round at Wimbledon.
Two-time Olympic tennis champion Andy Murray enters the tournament unseeded in what could be his final Wimbledon appearance. Should the two-time Wimbledon winner decide to play after having a cyst removed from his spinal cord last weekend, he will first face off against Tomas Machac of Czechia. It was earlier this year in March at the Miami Open where the two last met, and where Murray suffered a torn ligament in his left ankle, which he has been battling over the proceeding months. Murray was also granted a wild card to the men’s doubles event and will team up with brother and fellow Wimbledon champion Jamie Murray.
World No. 3 Novak Djokovic is the strongest player in his quarter of the draw, with the closest seed Alex De Minaur of Australia, seeded No. 9, as a potential quarterfinal opponent.
Noticeably missing from the draw is two-time Wimbledon champion Rafael Nadal, who announced that he would forgo Wimbledon in an effort to prepare for the Olympics. Nadal will be competing in both the men’s singles and doubles event, and will partner with Alcaraz for doubles.
Women's draw begins with confusion
Wimbledon’s legacy of tradition was called into question after the women’s draw descended into chaos.
Wimbledon is the only slam that still holds an analog draw ceremony of pulling chips from a bag to determine match play. However, a major mix-up occurred between the draw room and the graphics team after the 24th seed Mirra Andreeva was put onto the draw sheet after 20th seed Beatriz Haddad Maia was called. The confusion led to a knock-on effect of players being drawn on the wrong lines.
Wimbledon referee Denise Parnell corrected the error at the end of that set of seeds, and the mishap will not impact match play when the tournament begins.
Sixth seed and defending Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova begins her Wimbledon campaign against unseeded Spaniard Jessica Maneiro Bouzas. Her path to the final won’t be easy, as she could be set to face world No. 1 Iga Swiatek in the quarterfinals.
Swiatek’s draw sees her first-round match against 2020 Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin, who last year dismissed 2023 U.S. Open Champion Coco Gauff in the first round.
The women of the U.S., the nation with the highest number of seeded players in the women’s draw (five) will have to contend with their own compatriots in the first round. Gauff is set to face fellow American Caroline Dolehide and fifth-seeded Jessica Pegula will compete against Texas native Ashlyn Krueger.
Ons Jabeur, a 2023 Wimbledon finalist, will play against Moyuka Uchijima in the first round, and could potentially see a third-round match against 2020 Tokyo bronze medal winner Elina Svitolina.
Two-time Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka will headline the third quarter, and is set to face Emina Bektas in the first round. Ninth seed Maria Sakkari joins Sabalenka in the quarter, and will contend in a tough first-round match against No. 8 seed Zheng Qinwen.
The 2024 Olympic tennis tournament will take place at Roland-Garros. Play kicks off on Saturday, July 27 at 6:00 am ET and will conclude the first weekend of August. The women’s gold medal final will be at 4:30 pm ET on Saturday, August 3. The men’s final is set for Sunday, August 4 at 8:30 am ET.