Wimbledon 2026: Serena Returns, British Hopes Loom Large, and a Record-Breaking Championships Begins

The Headlines

The Coco Gauff vs Tamara Korpatsch match will likely steal the spotlight today. But the bigger Wimbledon story belongs to Serena Williams, who will step onto Centre Court on Tuesday to face 20-year-old Maya Joint in her first Grand Slam singles match since September 2022.

The 44-year-old holds seven Wimbledon singles titles and six doubles crowns, and she accepted the eighth and final wild card entry just eight days ago.

Williams is two wins away from her 100th career victory at the All England Club. A win in any round would make her the third-oldest woman to claim a Wimbledon singles match. She and Venus have also entered the doubles draw together for the first time in a decade.

Beyond the Williams story, the men's draw has thrown up a blockbuster scenario:

• Sinner and Djokovic are in the same half, meaning they could only meet in the semi-finals.
• Djokovic, now 39 and seeded seventh, is chasing a record-extending 25th Grand Slam title.
• Meanwhile, French Open champion Alexander Zverev is the second seed but remains historically unconvincing on grass.
• This is also the first Wimbledon to feature video reviews, with challenges permitted on Centre Court, No. 1 Court and four additional show courts.
• The total prize pot has risen to a record £64.2 million, a 20% increase on last year.

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British Men: Draper Handed the Toughest Draw in the Tournament

In other news, Jack Draper's return to Wimbledon could be brief.

The former British No. 1, recently back from a knee injury that kept him off the tour for months, has drawn sixth seed Taylor Fritz in the opening round. And Fritz, with notably strong grass-court form, reached the semi-finals here last year.

Draper leads the head-to-head 3-2, including their only previous meeting on grass at Queen's Club in 2022.

His run to the Eastbourne semi-finals last week suggested his movement is returning. But this is a second-week quality match-up on the first day.

Cameron Norrie, seeded 26th, has a far kinder path. The British No. 1 faces qualifier Michael Zheng of the USA and could reach the third round before meeting a seed. Norrie made the quarter-finals here last year, losing to Carlos Alcaraz, and reached the semi-finals in 2022.

He enters the tournament off quarter-final appearances at Indian Wells and Barcelona this season.

There is also a painful absence from the men's draw in the form of Dan Evans. He had already said this would be his final Wimbledon, but wasn't awarded a wild card and failed to come through qualifying.

He will miss the singles draw for the first time since 2018, denied a farewell on the court where he has spent much of his career.

British Women: Raducanu Out, Boulter and Three Teenagers Left to Carry the Flag 

British hopes in the women's draw took a major blow on Sunday night when Emma Raducanu withdrew with a stress fracture in her right leg, just hours after telling the press she planned to play.

But a final scan revealed the niggle she had been managing had worsened. It is the latest in a long sequence of injury setbacks for the 2021 US Open champion. That leaves Katie Boulter as Britain's highest-ranked woman in the draw.

She has a manageable opening against Italian qualifier Tyra Caterina Grant, with Nottingham champion Marie Bouzkova a possible second-round opponent.

Three British teenagers are also in the main draw:

• Hannah Klugman, 17, faces the toughest assignment: 2024 champion Barbora Krejcikova.
• Mimi Xu, 18, and Mika Stojsavljevic, 17, will both look to win their first Championship matches.
• Sonay Kartal, who broke through at last year's Wimbledon and the China Open, is absent with a back injury.

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