LONDON, June 30 — The Championships at Wimbledon completed its opening day on Monday at the All England Lawn Tennis Club, with top seed Jannik Sinner surviving a major scare and women’s world number one Aryna Sabalenka advancing comfortably. Today (Tuesday), the grass-court Grand Slam continues its two-week run, with British number one Jack Draper headlining the Day 2 schedule.
Sinner, the top seed and world number one from Italy, opened play on Centre Court — a slot traditionally reserved for the defending champion, who stepped in following the withdrawal of 2024 champion Carlos Alcaraz. Sinner was pushed to the limit by Serbia’s Miomir Kecmanovic, eventually prevailing in a grueling five-set battle 4-6, 6-3, 6-7(6), 6-2, 6-3. The marathon encounter lasted three and a half hours, as the Italian looked to reset after an early exit at the French Open earlier this month.
Following Sinner, women’s top seed Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus advanced with a dominant display on Centre Court, defeating Serbia’s Teodora Kostovic 6-2, 6-3. The third match of the day on Centre Court saw seven-time champion Novak Djokovic, seeded seventh, overcome China’s Wu Yibing in four sets, 6-4, 5-7, 6-4, 6-4, in a physical match lasting over three hours.
Elsewhere on No.1 Court, eighth seed Daniil Medvedev of Russia cruised past former Wimbledon finalist Marin Cilic of Croatia 6-1, 6-2, 6-4.
The men’s singles draw was reshaped by the absence of Alcaraz, who officially withdrew in May citing a wrist injury he sustained at the Barcelona Open in April. His absence opened up the bottom half of the draw, where Djokovic and Medvedev now headline their respective sections.
Britain’s leading hope on the women’s side, 30th seed Emma Raducanu, did not take part in the tournament. The 2021 US Open champion withdrew on Sunday evening, hours before her scheduled first-round match against Antonia Ruzic of Croatia on No.1 Court. In a statement, Raducanu said scans had revealed a stress fracture in her lower right leg. She had reached the final of the grass-court event at Queen’s Club in the build-up to Wimbledon. A lucky loser from qualifying took her place in the draw on Monday.
Other notable results from Day 1 included 23rd seed Rafael Jodar, a Spanish teenager who trained at the Rafa Nadal Academy, defeating British wild card Felix Gill 6-3, 6-3, 7-5 on No.3 Court. Among Chinese players in action on Monday, Wang Xinyu faced Italy’s Elisabetta Cocciaretto, Zhang Shuai took on former US Open champion Bianca Andreescu of Canada, and Zheng Qinwen, last year’s quarter-finalist at SW19, opened her campaign against 32nd seed Katerina Siniakova of the Czech Republic.
The tournament continues its use of full electronic line-calling (ELC) across all main competition courts. Following its landmark implementation last year, human line judges remain absent from the main courts, bringing Wimbledon in line with the Australian Open and the US Open. Chair umpires remain in place.
British interest on Day 2 will centre on Jack Draper, the home number one and a seeded player in the top eight, who is due to play his opening match today. Draper reached the semi-finals at the US Open last year and carries the hopes of the home crowd.
Forecasts published by the UK Met Office for Tuesday in Wimbledon point to warm and largely dry conditions, with temperatures comfortably above 20 degrees Celsius. Both Centre Court and No.1 Court are fitted with retractable roofs in the event of weather disruption.
The Championships, first played in 1877, remain the only Grand Slam contested on grass and the oldest tennis tournament in the world. Prize money has been increased again for the 2026 edition, with the men’s and women’s singles champions each set to take home a record purse.
