Tennis loves its traditions, and The Championships at Wimbledon more so. In the recent past though, the sport’s most prestigious Major has progressively cut out many of its famed anachronisms. The bespoke grass-court seeding formula, the Middle Sunday holiday and best-of-five set doubles matches have all been done away with. Now, for the first time in the 148-year history of the tournament, there will be no line judges, and electronic calling will take effect on all courts. Yet, when the first ball is struck on Monday, there will be no dearth of the verdant pomp and splendour. If anything, a less clustered court, with its glazed green grass, may lead to a better visual experience, and give the best players, clothed in pristine white, a broader canvas to work their magic on. Chief among them will be Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz, the world’s top two men who have now established an engaging rivalry reminiscent of the Roger Federer-Rafael Nadal duels. Alcaraz, in fact, is the two-time defending champion at SW19 and has won four of his last five tournaments, including the Queen’s Club Championships. World No. 1 Sinner does not have similar grass pedigree, but his first-ever Slam semifinal was at the All England Club in 2023, and he won the only meeting with Alcaraz on grass, at Wimbledon 2022.
However, 24-time Major winner and seven-time Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic is not to be discounted. The 38-year-old Serb is not in Slam-winning shape but grass presents the best chance. He finished runner-up in 2024 just weeks after a knee operation and the last time he exited Wimbledon before the final was in 2017. Among women, No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka, despite the bitter French Open final loss to Coco Gauff, remains the player to beat and there is no reason why her power-packed game cannot triumph in southwest London. But the last eight editions have seen eight different victors, pointing to an open field. For Gauff and five-time Major champion Iga Swiatek, Wimbledon has been the least rewarding Slam and they will be hoping to crack the code. American Gauff has not gone past the fourth round while Swiatek’s best showing is quarterfinals. Defending champion Barbora Krejcikova, 2024 runner-up Jasmine Paolini and 2022 winner Elena Rybakina are among the other notable names. The Indian presence will again be limited to doubles with Rohan Bopanna, Yuki Bhambri, Sriram Balaji and Rithvik Bollipalli competing. As the country’s tennis remains stuck in a vicious cycle of a shrinking talent pool, administrative apathy and endless litigation, it will be up to these players to keep the flag flying.
Published – June 30, 2025 12:10 am IST