Carlos Alcaraz begins his quest for a third straight Wimbledon crown on Monday, while world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka commands attention as the grass-court Grand Slam gets underway.
Headlining the opening day of the 138th Championships, Alcaraz will have the honor of launching play on Centre Court, where the world No. 2 takes on 38-year-old Italian veteran Fabio Fognini.
An early exit would be a major shock for the 21-year-old Spaniard, who has never lost in the opening round of a Grand Slam in 17 appearances.
He is aiming to avoid joining Manuel Santana (1967) and Lleyton Hewitt (2003) as the only defending Wimbledon men’s champions to lose their opening match.
Having vanquished Novak Djokovic in the past two Wimbledon finals, Alcaraz arrives in southwest London looking to join an elite group of Wimbledon icons.
The 21-year-old Spaniard’s clay-court credentials are firmly established, but he is equally dynamic on grass. Alcaraz has won 29 of his 32 tour-level matches on the surface, with his last defeat at Wimbledon coming against Jannik Sinner in the round of 16 in 2022.
He is bidding to become the fifth man in the Open era to win at least three consecutive Wimbledon titles, joining seven-time champion Djokovic, Bjorn Borg, Roger Federer and Pete Sampras.
If he achieves that feat, Alcaraz would be the second-youngest player in the Open era to win six Grand Slam men’s titles, after Borg reached that mark in 1978.
“I’m coming here thinking I really want to win the title, I really want to lift the trophy,” Alcaraz said. “I’m not thinking about how many players have done it, winning three Wimbledons in a row. I’m just thinking that I want to prepare myself in the best way possible. Obviously, I feel a lot of confidence right now.”
The latest edition of Wimbledon begins amid a brief heatwave in London. Temperatures are expected to climb to a scorching 33 degrees Celsius (91 degrees Fahrenheit) on Monday, posing a challenge for players and spectators alike.
Sabalenka will be determined to keep her cool when the top seed starts her campaign against Canadian qualifier Carson Branstine on Court One.
The 26-year-old Belarusian is a three-time Grand Slam champion but suffered agonizing three-set defeats in this year’s Australian Open and French Open finals.
She was beaten by Madison Keys in Melbourne and Coco Gauff in Paris, with the latter loss triggering a frustrated outburst. Sabalenka was heavily criticized for attributing the Roland Garros defeat to her own errors rather than crediting Gauff’s performance. She later apologized for describing the match as the worst final she had played.
“I didn’t really want to offend her (Gauff). I was just completely upset with myself, and emotions overcame me. I just completely lost it,” Sabalenka said.
“It was a tough time for me. The lesson is learned. I was able to sit back and be open to myself, not just to ignore some things. I really hope it will never happen again.”
Sabalenka, who has reached the final in five of the past six Grand Slams she has contested, has yet to make the Wimbledon final, falling in the semifinals in 2021 and 2023.
There are 23 British players in the men’s and women’s singles – the most since 1984 – and four have been given prestigious slots on Wimbledon’s top two courts on Monday.
Katie Boulter meets Spanish ninth seed Paula Badosa on Centre Court, while Jacob Fernley faces Brazilian teenager Joao Fonseca on Court One.
Former U.S. Open champion Emma Raducanu takes on 17-year-old fellow Briton Mingge Xu on Court One.
Elsewhere Monday, German third seed Alexander Zverev plays Arthur Rinderknech, while Italian fourth seed Jasmine Paolini – beaten by Barbora Krejcikova in last year’s final – opens against Anastasija Sevastova.
Women’s champion Krejcikova, recovered from a thigh injury, will begin her title defense Tuesday against Alexandra Eala of the Philippines.
