After a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it grass-court season and less than three weeks removed from the French Open, Wimbledon is already upon us.
The year’s third major gets underway on Monday at the All England Club in London, and there is already no shortage of intrigue — starting with the status of Novak Djokovic. Following knee surgery earlier this month, it was assumed the 24-time major champion would be missing the tournament. However, Djokovic has been on site practicing all week in hopes of being ready to play.
If Djokovic doesn’t play, it will mark the first main draw at Wimbledon to not include a member of the Big Three since 1998, as Rafael Nadal has opted to skip the event to prepare for the Olympics. We’ll find out soon enough if Djokovic plans to play, but either way, there are so many other tantalizing storylines to watch.
Will Carlos Alcaraz successfully defend his title? Or will someone else — like newly minted world No. 1 Jannik Sinner or, heck, even the just-crowned Queen’s champion Tommy Paul or the red-hot British favorite Jack Draper — swoop in for the trophy?
On the women’s side, the grass remains perhaps the most open of the surfaces, as several of the top players have dealt with injuries and illness as of late, making it all the more chaotic.
Will either of the past two champions Marketa Vondrousova or Elena Rybakina run it back? Already a major champion on clay and hard court, could this be the tournament where things click on grass for Iga Swiatek? Or could Coco Gauff, Aryna Sabalenka or two-time finalist Ons Jabeur win their first Wimbledon title?
Get your strawberries and cream or your Pimm’s cup ready, because this could be a Wimbledon for the books. Here are the players and storylines you need to know about before the action begins.
Iga’s new quest
Swiatek has been the world No. 1 for all but eight weeks over the past two years. She’s simply been the dominant force in women’s tennis during that span. Since the start of the 2022 season, Swiatek has won 19 titles, including four of her five majors and nine at the 1000 level.
But the one thing she hasn’t done during that impressive stretch? Win a title on grass.
While her prowess on clay and the hard court is well documented, she has struggled on grass and has never advanced past the quarterfinals at Wimbledon. After winning the French Open title earlier this month, Swiatek said she found the grass easier to adapt to every year but admitted…
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