Unlock Editor’s Digest Lock for Free
FT editor Roula Khalaf will select your favorite stories in this weekly newsletter.
This article is part of FT Globetrotter’s Guide to London
Something is missing from Wimbledon this year. For 147 years they kept watching over grass and chalk (actually titanium dioxide), scolded by an infuriated player and hit to speed the ball on the line of duty. Now, the judges are left to history. The “challenge” system, a suspense crowd favorite, has also been exiled. Swapping both is an electronic line call system, already widely used throughout the tennis tour and is impermeable to opponents, but some will give it a try.
Otherwise, this tradition, the white tennis, strawberry fortress is rarely transformed. At least until all English lawn tennis and Crockett clubs launch the controversial £200 million expansion project. For now, most of the money (a record pot of £53.5 million this year) is getting attention towards players. And here are the men and women who are most likely to win the top prizes and, more importantly, the trophies.
Carlos Alcaraz (Spain)
Will it stop the wonders of Spain? Carlos Alcaraz won the titles in 2023 and 2024 and will perform for a hat trick when he arrives at SW19. Seamlessly transitioning to all surfaces, Alcaraz appears to float on the grass as Roger Federer once did, unleashing hammer-like forehands and feathering drop shots in impossible places. Whether he wins again or not, the pure sight of the Spanish game makes him something to see.
Novak Djokovic (Serbia)
When you win Wimbledon seven times, you don’t have to play the Warm-Up Grass Court Tournament. At least this is the way Novak Djokovic ruled here for over a decade between 2011 and 2022. The main obstacles of the 8th Trophy, comparable to Federer, are age and youth. Djokovic turned 38 in May and was defeated in the last two Wimbledon Finals. Still, Djokovic has overcome Alkaraz in two recent encounters. And you bet on your dangerous and powerful Serbia.
Jannik Sinner (Italy)
In June, Giannik Thinner, the world’s number one in the normally modest boys, shocked the world by releasing a musical collaboration with veteran diva Andrea Boseli. Its title, “Dust and Glory,” could be the sum of the years of the sinners so far. Glory came first. He began the year at a high price by winning the second Australian Open (and the third Grand Slam tournament). Then came an extended barren period as he served a three-month ban after testing positive for the anabolic steroid crosstebol, which was banned in March 2024. Reappearing in the red stains of Rome, he fell in both there and in Roland Garros, both in Acaraz. He may have rocked him out of the clay, but the disappointment may still remain.
Almost male
Is this the towering year of the German metronome, Alexander Zverev, Mercurial Russian octopus Danil Medvedev, or Great American Hope Taylor Fritz? Is it Italy’s 2021 finalist Matteo Berettini or his burgeoning compatriot Lorenzo Musetti (one of the last indexes of a one-handed backhand)? Can Kazakh’s Alexander Babrik, the surprise winner of the German grass court tournament Hale a week ago, do you think? Bookie would say no, but the Wimbledon men’s race hasn’t been postponed. The latest one is undoubtedly the victory of Golan Ivanisevic’s emotional late career in 2001.
British
Jack Draper is the most improved player in the last 12 months, rising from 29 in the world rankings to four, snatching his biggest tournament victory at California’s Indian Wells along the way. With his big serve and solid volleys, he proved his prowess in the grass in the past, beat both Alkaraz and the sinner in Queens, but hasn’t done it yet at Wimbledon. He never passed the second round and was collapsed last year by fellow Britt Cameron Norley. This year brings another concern: tonsillitis that hindered his run at Queens. Did he recover in time to deliver a fully resonating performance at Wimbledon?
On the women’s side, 2021 US Open champion Emaradukanu still steals much of the focus and hopes to improve last year’s Wimbledon run to round 4, but both fitness and results this year have been patchy so far. UK No. 2 Katie Boulter is also trying to make an impression.
Alina Sabalenka (Belarus)
The statuesque Belarusian number one has been regularly swept before her over the past few years, but has not yet been in Wimbledon. A shoulder injury left her out of last year’s competition. With her clocking up to 133mph, there are no signs of that this year. The bigger concern is her nerves at the biggest moments. Sabalenka appeared to conquer the suspicions that had bothered her as the finish line approached, but the Old Demons recently resurfaced in the Australian Open Finals and the French Open Finals with Madison Keys and CocoGough. Sabalenka herself may be the only player who can stop her.
Czech people
Name two female tennis players today. Please continue. The two names that leapt from your tongue were probably not Barbora Krejčíková and Markéta Vondroušová unless you happen to be Czech. But these are the latest Wimbledon ladies champions.
Success proved difficult to maintain. Since winning the 2024 title, Krejčíková has struggled with a back injury and hopes he has not lifted up his exquisite Venus rosewater dish. Vondroušová has also had a quiet spell since his surprise victory in 2023 and lost in the first round of Wimbledon last year, but there are signs of a comeback. Two weeks ago, in Berlin, she folied Sabalenka with a game of less powerful but guile strategic spin and off-pace balls. No one wants to play against her in SW19.
Elena Rivakina (Kazakhstan)
The 2022 champions won turbulence for 12 months on both the court and off the game. Last September, she split from her longtime coach and one day quickly hired her boyfriend Stefano Vukov and 2001 Wimbledon champion Golan Ivanisevic. But it didn’t stick. In January, she rehired Vkov and Ivanisevic left the team. Vukov is currently banning a 12-month ban for violating the Tennis Association’s code of conduct, but both he and Rybakina say she has never been abused by him. Naturally, her outcomes have been struggling, but she was narrowly defeated by Berlin’s Sabalenka after winning her first title in over a year at Strasbourg in April and earning four match points. With laser-like ground strokes and flat, powerful serves, she has a game that everyone can defeat.
Igaświątek (Poland)
Many eyes are trained with poles with a lot of topspin, but not for the best reason. By the age of 23, he had accumulated five Grand Slam titles (four at Roland Garros), świątek has been shown this year regarding signs of frailty. Usually dominated by clay, she failed to win the title this spring. Her best run here remains in the 2023 quarterfinals. Could she give her time to adapt to the Greens in London earlier than usual, from the exit from the red powder in Paris?
Americans
The US has not produced a Wimbledon singles winner since Serena Williams in 2016 (in 2000 men have to look back at Pete Sampler more). Leading the charges in 2025 is the second seed cocogoff who just lifted the first Roland Gallostrophy he did similarly in Melbourne in January. Neither of them have completely persuaded Grass, but they have the momentum and momentum this year, with smaller troops like Jessica Pegra, Emma Navarro and Amanda Anisimova.
Who do you support at Wimbledon? Please let me know in the comments below. Follow FT Globetrotter on @ftglobetrotter’s Instagram to find out more about the latest stories
FT City
FT Globetrotter, an insider guide to some of the world’s largest cities, offers expert advice on food, drinking, exercise, the arts and culture.
London, Tokyo, New York, Paris, Lagos, Rome, Frankfurt, Singapore, Hong Kong, Miami, Toronto, Madrid, Melbourne, Copenhagen, Zurich, Milan, Vancouver, Edinburgh, Venice
