What the Masters is to golf or what the Daytona 500 is to NASCAR is akin to what Wimbledon is to tennis, as the sport’s most prestigious tournament is on the horizon. The 2026 Wimbledon Championships begin on Monday, June 29, at the All England Club in London, with the women’s and men’s final matches taking place on July 11 and 12, respectively. Here are the top things to know ahead of the third tennis Grand Slam of the year.
Serena Is Back
After dipping her toes back into tennis with doubles play, Serena Williams will participate in both singles and doubles at Wimbledon 2026. She’s a Wildcard entry in both and will team with her sister, Venus Williams, in women’s doubles. The 44-year-old hasn’t played a singles match since the 2022 U.S. Open but is a seven-time Wimbledon champion, third most among women.No one is expecting Williams to challenge for an eighth, which would also be her record-tying 24th Grand Slam victory. However, Williams simply winning a match would be historic in its own right. If she prevails in her first-round match versus 20-year-old Australian Maya Joint then Williams would become the third-oldest woman to ever win a match at Wimbledon, trailing only Madeline O’Neill at 54 and Martina Navratilova at 47.
Speaking of GOATs…
Williams’s 23 Grand Slams trail only Margaret Court and Novak Djokovic, who each have 24. The Joker has been stuck on two dozen major wins since the 2023 U.S. Open but has made at least the semifinals in seven of the 10 Grand Slams since. He’s a seventh seed this year as the 39-year-old has his own age-related milestone in front of him. If he can defy Father Time and prevail at the All England Club, then Djokovic would become the second-oldest man to win a Grand Slam, trailing only the 41-year-old Arthur Gore at Wimbledon in 1909.Handicapping the Men’s Field
If recent history is any indication, then one of the following men will take home the Wimbledon trophy: Top-seed Jannik Sinner, Alexander Zverev, Felix Auger-Aliassime, Ben Shelton, Alex de Minaur. That’s because 19 of the last 20 men’s winners have all been top-five seeds, with No. 12 Djokovic (2018) being the outlier. Thus, history isn’t on the side of challengers such as six-seeded Taylor Fritz, who made the semis last year, two-time semifinalist in No. 8 Daniil Medvedev, or American Frances Tiafoe, who is seeded 17th.A Breakthrough for Coco?
American Coco Gauff is seeded seventh as she looks to conquer what’s been her toughest major tournament. Gauff has made 10 semifinal appearances at Grand Slams, but zero have come at The All England Club, and her match win percentage at Wimbledon (65 percent) is her lowest across all four majors. Gauff was bounced in the first round last year as she’s hoping things finally click for her this year and she can add to her Grand Slam collection.Already with wins on clay with a French Open win, and on a hard court with a U.S. Open victory, Gauff can join elite company by winning on grass at Wimbledon. If she does, then she’d become the ninth woman to win majors on all three surfaces, and only Williams would have accomplished the feat younger than the 22-year-old Gauff.
Captain America?
No. 4 Ben Shelton is the top-seeded American man, followed by No. 6 Taylor Fritz, No. 16 Learner Tien, N. 17 Frances Tiafoe, and No. 21 Tommy Paul. The United States used to have a stranglehold on Wimbledon as American men won in eight of nine years from 1992 to 2000. However, it’s now been over a quarter-century since Pete Sampras’s 2000 victory, and we’re two decades removed from the last final appearance by an American man, courtesy of Andy Roddick (2009).Shelton would, seemingly, have the easiest road to ending that final appearance drought for U.S.-born men. He won’t have to deal with Carlos Alcaraz, who remains injured and won’t compete, and Shelton would avoid both Jannik Sinner and Djokovic en route to a potential final.
The Top Seeds
Sinner, who is the defending champion, is the top seed in the men’s draw as he looks to make amends for his second-round exit at the French Open last month. Only a who’s who in men’s tennis has repeated at Wimbledon this century in Roger Federer, Alcaraz, and Djokovic. Not having to contend with Alcaraz will certainly help the Italian as he’s lost seven of his last 10 matches against Alcaraz. This is the third time that Sinner is the top seed at Wimbledon, following last year’s victory and a quarterfinal appearance in 2024.On the ladies’ side, Aryna Sabalenka is No. 1, though she’s never made a Wimbledon final appearance across six tournaments. She has a combined eight finals at the other three Grand Slams, as grass is, by far, her weakest surface. She has 24 singles titles, but none have come on grass, and of her 44 WTA Tour final appearances, just two have been on grass. She’s played one grass tournament this year in which she made the semifinals of the Berlin Open.
An added incentive for Sabalenka to perform well is to retain her No. 1 World Ranking, as a deep run by current No. 2 Elena Rybakina, and an early exit by Sabalenka, and their rankings would flip after the tournament, with Rybakina the new No. 1.
