Wimbledon 2025: Players to watch in this mythical Grand Slam tournament
by Devesh Jaganath | by Devesh Jaganath
Alcaraz aiming for Wimbledon three-peat
Carlos Alcaraz kicks off the 2025 Wimbledon Championships as the hot-pot favourite to win the tournament (again), and he will get his title defence underway against Italian Fabio Fognini on Monday. You can check out our experts’ thoughts on the champ's chances to defend his title using our Wimbledon predictions.
The Spaniard returns to the All England Club looking to etch his name in the history books by becoming only the fifth men’s singles player to win three consecutive Wimbledon titles, following in the footsteps of Bjorn Borg, Pete Sampras, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic.
Alcaraz is riding a career-best 18-match win streak coming into this year’s competition!
The 22-year-old romped to victory in Rome before pulling off a stunning comeback at Roland Garros against the world number one Jannik Sinner, and proceeded to make a seamless transition to grass by dominating at the Queen’s Club.
Alcaraz has won 29 of his 32 Tour-level matches on this surface, with his last defeat at Wimbledon coming against Sinner in the round of 16 back in 2022. He is also 2-0 against his first-round competitor, Fognini, and has not lost in a Grand Slam first round in 17 previous appearances.
Veteran Djokovic eyes 25th Grand Slam title
While the tennis world has seen a seismic shift from the likes of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic handing the torch to Alcaraz and Sinner in recent times, the 2025 Wimbledon arguably represents Djokovic’s best chance to earn a record-breaking 25th Grand Slam title.
Indeed, at 38, this could be the last time the Serbian graces the oldest Grand Slam tournament. He has won the competition seven times and drew level with the legendary Margaret Court on 24 major singles titles by winning the US Open in 2023.
Since then, though, Djokovic has had to watch the Italian and Spanish world numbers one and two share the next six Grand Slam titles. During that time, he was beaten here in the final by Alcaraz last year, and was ousted by Sinner at the French Open at the start of June.
The Serb will face Alexandre Muller in the opening round on Tuesday, and you can check out our Alexandre Muller vs Novak Djokovic prediction right here ahead of the match.
Sinner seeks redemption after Paris heartbreak
Jannik Sinner has claimed victory in three of his last six Grand Slam appearances, but will likely still be recovering from the disappointment of blowing a two-set lead and three Championship points to lose to Alcaraz in a final-set tie-break at this year’s French Open.
The world number one has also had to deal with a few off-court issues in the lead-up to Wimbledon, having opted to part ways with Marco Panichi and Ulises Badio, his trainer and physiotherapist, respectively, who helped him defend the Australian Open title at the start of the year.
The Italian suffered a shock defeat to Alexander Bublik at Halle ahead of this competition and has yet to reach a final at Wimbledon, with a semi-final in 2023 being his best finish. Still, he will be fueled by a desire to exact his revenge at the All England Club. Check out our Jannik Sinner vs Luca Nardi prediction.
Draper, Fritz and Zverev among the lurkers for the title
If the “big three” were to fluff their lines, there are another three players that we’ve picked out to keep an eye on. Starting with Jack Draper, who is now ranked fifth and notched up a morale-boosting victory over Alcaraz at Indian Wells back in March. He has the momentum and is at a very tempting 18/1 with the best online betting sites.
Taylor Fritz will arrive at SW19 with bags of confidence, having won his fourth grasscourt title in Stuttgart. While he may still be searching for his first Grand Slam title, Fritz has featured in two of the last three quarter-finals at Wimbledon and cannot be written off just yet from becoming the first American to win a major since Andy Roddick over two decades ago.
Zverev, like Sinner, will be fueled by a desire to bring an end to a list of near-misses. The German has finished as a runner-up in three major finals and has yet to progress beyond the fourth round at Wimbledon. However, deep runs at Halle and Stuttgart will provide him with major benefits as he looks to make his mark at Wimbledon this year.
Gauff gunning back-to-back Grand Slams
Wimbledon will undoubtedly hold a special place in the heart of Coco Gauff. It was here at SW19 that she made her professional tennis breakthrough at just 15 years of age back in 2019 when she reached the fourth round of the competition at her first major.
Now 21, the American returns to Wimbledon following a defeat in her first and only grass-court match of the year, but her incredible run to the title at Roland Garros will certainly serve her in good stead. A first-round victory over Dayana Yastremska will also add to her confidence.
Notably, Wimbledon has produced a first-time women’s champion in each of the last seven editions, and Gauff will be aiming to add her name to that list. Given the draw, she could face world number one Aryna Sabalenka in the final, and you can follow her run using our tennis livescore tool.
Sabalenka hoping for a winning return to SW19
Aryna Sabalenka did not participate in Wimbledon last year but arrives in SW19 in 2025 as the tournament favourite, having reached the final of her last three Grand Slam events, albeit that she only managed to lift the title in one - the US Open.
Still, the number one ranked female player already has three Grand Slam titles under her belt, including back-to-back Australian Open triumphs in 2023 and 2024, while having reached the semi-final in the 2023 edition here at the All England Club.
Keys and Rybakina to pose greatest threat to top seeds
Few can forget the heartbreaking scenes at Wimbledon 2024 when Madison Keys exited the tournament in tears after sustaining an injury while serving for the match against eventual runner-up Jasmine Paolini in the fourth round of the competition.
However, the American is in fine form coming into this year’s contest, having already won the Australian Open, beating the always formidable Iga Swiatek and two-time defending champion Sabalenka in back-to-back matches en route to the title Down Under.
Check out our Elena-Gabriela Ruse vs Madison Keys prediction for the first round right here!
Rounding out our “ones to watch” section for the tournament is a former Wimbledon champion, Elena Rybakina, whose victory here in 2022 still stands as her only Grand Slam title. Indeed, she thrives on grass and is one of the toughest opponents around when everything clicks.
The Kazakhstani star is ranked 11th entering the tournament and has endured illness and injury setbacks in recent times. However, she currently leads the way in aces on the WTA Tour this season, having smashed an astonishing 235 in just 40 matches.
