WIMBLEDON 2026: WHO’S LIGHTING UP SW19 THIS SUMMER
Published: 25/06/2026 | By: Alex Courbat
***Strawberries are stacked, the grass has had its summer trim, and somewhere in Roehampton a qualifier is currently convincing themselves they can actually do this (and who says they can’t?). ***
Wimbledon is back from 29 June to 12 July, and this year's draw reads less like a tennis schedule and more like a script nobody would have dared pitch a decade ago. Legends refusing to accept the word final. Teenagers with zero respect for reputation. Two sisters who said they were finished and very clearly weren't. SW19 doesn't do quiet years anymore. Here's who you should watch.
The Champions Under Pressure
Jannik Sinner walks back in as the man to beat. A shock early exit at Roland Garros has introduced a rare element of doubt around the world number one, but grass remains the surface most naturally aligned with the way he plays. The serve is compact, the movement's clean, and the ball comes off the racket like it's already made its mind up. For the first time in a while, though, the favourite arrives with questions attached rather than certainty.
Iga Świątek arrives in a similar position from the other side of the draw. Defending champion, multiple-time major winner, and a player who's spent the last year proving she can thrive on grass as well as clay. The catch remains the same one it's always been. Her heavy forehand grip can make Wimbledon’s lower bounce feel like a completely different sport. She's made subtle adjustments to her setup and her game over the last year. The sort of changes that tend to matter a lot more in week two than week one. Two defending champions. Two different versions of the same question. Can they do it again?
The Legends With Unfinished Business
Novak Djokovic is 39. Hasn't lifted this trophy since 2022. Lost at Roland Garros to a teenager who didn't seem remotely interested in the script. And yet he arrives at Wimbledon, where he's won seven titles and piled up more than a hundred match wins, with history sitting right there in front of him. Grand Slam number 25 remains the target.
Serena Williams is chasing something different but every bit as seismic. Back in singles for the first time since 2022 at 44, and reuniting with Venus in doubles, the most decorated sibling partnership tennis has ever seen is back on Wimbledon grass. Call it nostalgia if you want. The draw certainly won't. Between Djokovic quietly stalking history and Serena returning to a stage she spent two decades owning, this is the most purely emotional storyline the tournament has produced in years.
The Power Players
Alexander Zverev finally arrives at Wimbledon carrying the label he's spent years chasing. Grand Slam champion. The breakthrough in Paris removed the biggest question hanging over his career. Wimbledon asks a completely different one. What happens when a player stops carrying the weight of nearly?
Aryna Sabalenka is doing the equivalent on the women's side. Power off both wings, a first serve that arrives before most opponents have finished their split step, and a genuine shot at reclaiming the world number one ranking. Elena Rybakina belongs in the same conversation. When her serve is landing, grass courts feel less like tennis courts and more like launch pads. Three players. Three different routes to the same conclusion. Wimbledon still rewards anyone capable of making the court feel uncomfortably small.
The Form Brigade
Ben Shelton is borderline must-watch television right now. Big serve, bigger forehand, fresh off a grass-court title and playing with the sort of confidence that makes coaches nervous.
Taylor Fritz made the semi-finals here last year and is working his way back to full fitness, while Alex de Minaur remains the player nobody wants drawn against in round three. He doesn't blast opponents off court. He just hangs around until they've talked themselves into losing.
Amanda Anisimova has been building similar momentum, runner-up here last year and carrying strong grass-court form into SW19 once again. Belinda Bencic rounds out the group, all-court craft on a surface that rewards exactly that. None of these names are favourites. Every single one is the sort of player a top seed quietly hopes lands in somebody else's section.
The Kids Who Don't Do Fear
João Fonseca beat Djokovic in five sets at Roland Garros. Nineteen years old and seemingly unaware he was supposed to be intimidated.
Jakub Menšík won Miami and followed it by tearing through established names with a level of composure that shouldn't really belong to somebody his age. Rafael Jódar has been climbing fast as well, another young player who looks increasingly comfortable in very big moments.
Mirra Andreeva is the women's equivalent and then some. Already a major champion, already a proven threat on grass, and playing with the sort of freedom that comes from realising you belong. She's stopped waiting for permission.
None of them have been around long enough to learn the polite version of tennis. Which means somebody important is getting an unpleasant surprise before the second week.
BRITWATCH
No piece like this gets written without the home contingent, and this year there's actually plenty to shout about.
Jack Draper arrives with Andy Murray now formally in his coaching box, Britain's last men's Wimbledon champion lending his eye to Britain's best current best bet. If you're looking for a storyline tailor-made for Centre Court, that's probably it. Injury has interrupted his season, but the Murray partnership guarantees eyes on every ball he hits.
Cameron Norrie has spent the year quietly rebuilding through deep runs at big events and remains one of the most awkward players in the draw. He's been to a Wimbledon semi-final before. Nobody seems to remember that until he's three rounds deep and making life miserable for a seed.
Emma Raducanu could hardly have timed her form better. A strong grass-court swing has reignited belief that this could finally be the summer she pushes beyond the fourth round and gives Centre Court the sort of fortnight it's been waiting for.
Katie Boulter has been doing her bit too. A two-time Nottingham champion whose results continue to outpace the attention they receive.
It's not the deepest summer for the wider British squad. Sonay Kartal misses out through injury, a genuine blow given her trajectory over the past year. Harriet Dart, Francesca Jones and Katie Swan are all in the main draw regardless, while wildcards Mika Stojsavljević, Hannah Klugman and Mimi Xu get the chance to test themselves on the biggest stage in the sport. Heather Watson makes her sixteenth Wimbledon appearance, which deserves a moment of appreciation all by itself.
On the men's side, Jacob Fearnley, Arthur Fery and Jack Pinnington Jones arrive with wildcards and genuine momentum, while Oliver Tarvet returns after qualifying and carrying memories of taking a set from Carlos Alcaraz on these courts last summer.
And then there's the doubles, where Britain has quietly become very good while most people were looking elsewhere. Henry Patten and Harri Heliövaara enter as one of the standout pairs in the draw. Julian Cash and Lloyd Glasspool arrive as defending champions, the first all-British men's partnership to win this title in 89 years. Frankly, that stat deserves a banner over the gates rather than a passing mention.
The last British man to win the singles title was Andy Murray, back in 2016. He's spending this one in the coach's chair instead. The last British woman was Virginia Wade in 1977. No pressure on anyone, obviously.
Right, Get The Diary Out
Two weeks. A wide-open field. Two defending champions carrying more questions than they've faced in years. A 39-year-old chasing history. A 44-year-old returning to Centre Court. Teenagers who don't care who they're drawn against and a British contingent with more reasons for optimism than pessimism.
And somewhere in the middle of all that, at least one name above that nobody's currently predicting will most likely go far.
That's grass for you.
That's Wimbledon.
