Preview | Wimbledon 2025

The Alcaraz-Sinner show looks set to continue at SW19 but who will win the women's title?

By Stephen Higgins | 29th June 2025

With another Championships on the horizon, we’ve reached the traditional peak of the tennis season. While Roland Garros proved that two men are clearly above the rest of the field, we don’t have that clarity on the women’s side.

That Paris final between Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, which was eventually won after more than five hours by the Spaniard, ensured that the last six major finals have been won by one of the two men. Will we see Alcaraz make it three Wimbledon titles in a row, joining the likes of Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer, or can the Italian lift the trophy for the first time?

Beyond the top two, perhaps one could look at the rising Jack Draper, who definitely has the game and support to succeed at SW19. But I wonder if it’s just a bit soon for him? And what of Djokovic? The seven-time winner - who’s now 38 - looks set to embark on his last proper charge on Centre Court. Is there life left in his dream of 25 majors?

While we have certainty atop the men’s game, after a period of dominance by Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek, we are undergoing some flux. The Belarusian, who was firmly below par in the Paris showpiece, is still no.1 but the Pole has fallen outside the top five and finds herself seeded eighth here.

World no.2 Coco Gauff is in the ascendancy after her Roland Garros success, but the American is yet to make the last eight at Wimbledon. Meanwhile, Bad Homburg champion Jessica Pegula is quite a force on grass but her grand slam results have rarely matched her status. And let us not forget our most recent champions, the Czech pair of Marketa Voundrousova and Barbora Krejcikova. What can we expect from this oft-injured but remarkably talented duo?

It looks very open on the women’s side but whoever wins will receive a record cheque worth £3 million (€3.5 million) along with the male singles champion. As we saw with the wonderful Lois Boisson in Paris, grand slam prize money can change careers in a fortnight. Incidentally, tournament organisers did not hand a wildcard to the talented Frenchwoman. Quel dommage.

Men's Draw

Jannik Sinner strikes a forehand at Wimbledon

Having at least reached the final of three out of four grand slams, world no.1 Jannik Sinner has an excellent chance to complete the set this fortnight. A semi-finalist back in 2023, the Italian opens against compatriot Luca Nardi.

In truth, it looks like Sinner will make it comfortably through to the last eight bar an enormous shock from someone like Denis Shapovalov (third round) or Tommy Paul (fourth round). In the quarters, he could well meet either the stylish Lorenzo Musetti or flashy Ben Shelton. Both men are capable on the surface, but it’s hard to see either upsetting Sinner over five sets.

In the other quarter of the top half, we could be in for a real treat in the last eight with the surging Jack Draper projected to meet the seven-time Wimbledon champion, Novak Djokovic. However it does not look straightforward with notable landmines in that section including Halle champion Alexander Bublik and grass court aficionado Alex de Minaur.

After a solid semi-final run in Queen’s, Draper should be ready to have a good tilt at this event but Bublik could be an enormous obstacle in the third round. As for Djokovic, the 24-time major winner has a great draw to work with and will fancy his chances of reaching the business stage of Wimbledon for potentially the last time.

Moving down to the other half, defending champion Carlos Alcaraz will most likely make the last four but there may be one significant challenge. The two-time winner opens against Fabio Fognini and it’s hard to make an argument for Andrey Rublev, Stefanos Tsitsipas or Felix Auger-Aliassime stopping him before the last eight.

However, in the quarters he is projected to meet Holger Rune, Frances Tiafoe or the most dangerous of all, Jiri Lehecka. The Czech can trouble anyone with his power and just lost in three sets to Alcaraz in the Queen’s final. The 22-year-old also beat the Spaniard earlier this season in Doha so he should not be underestimated.

The remaining third quarter will probably be a slugfest between Alexander Zverev, Taylor Fritz and Daniil Medvedev. However, Zverev and Fritz will need to start their campaigns with optimum focus as Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard and Arthur Rinderknech could make things tricky respectively.

Women's Draw

After two consecutive grand slam final losses in 2025, Aryna Sabalenka will hope to break that streak in London. However, making the championship match could prove out of reach for the world no.1 given her difficult quarter.

The 27-year-old should have little trouble in her first two matches, but will dread a potential third round clash with former champion Marketa Vondrousova. The streaky Czech is back from injury and just added another grass court title to her collection in Berlin. There, the 26-year-old beat Madison Keys and Sabalenka en route to the final.

Keys, the Australian Open champion of course, also finds herself in the top quarter here and it would not surprise me at all if she went on a run this fortnight. I think this quarter will be a shootout between the three ladies.

The second quarter will probably go to the 2024 runner-up Jasmine Paolini. The Italian, who just made the last four in Bad Homburg, actually has an interesting opener against the once great grass court player Anastasija Sevastova. Of more concern to her though will be the presence of Queen’s finalist Amanda Anisimova in this section. I’m most interested to see if Qinwen Zheng can emerge from this quarter and put her horrid (to this point) Wimbledon record behind her.

Moving down to the third quarter, a number of questions linger over the chief contenders here. World no.3 Jessica Pegula is top seed here and comes to London bang in form after beating Swiatek in the final of Bad Homburg. That said, we know that the American has underperformed her ranking at the majors in the past apart from that excellent US Open run last year.

The steady American will also be wary of Queen’s champion Tatjana Maria, Belinda Bencic, Karolina Muchova and Xinyu Wang loitering in her section. I can definitely see a potential upset here.

If Pegula can survive to the last eight, she will probably meet Mirra Andreeva, Emma Navarro or the defending champion, Barbora Krejcikova. Unfortunately, the Czech hasn’t had much of a season so far in 2025 with a back injury keeping her out of most events. She returned at Strasbourg but then pulled out of Eastbourne with a thigh issue. Will she be fit enough to compete this fortnight?

We end with a bumper final quarter that features the Roland Garros champion, former world no.1, and a former Wimbledon winner.

Fresh from her triumph in Paris, Coco Gauff comes to a surface where she is much more vulnerable. The American has never made the last eight at Wimbledon and lost early in Berlin in the runup.

The 21-year-old opens against Nottingham finalist Dayana Yastremska so that’s hardly a gimme. She will probably have enough to get through the early rounds but the powerful Liudmila Samsonova definitely has the game to unsettle Gauff if they meet in the fourth round.

On the other side of that quarter we find Iga Swiatek and Elena Rybakina. While there could be an upset in there, I would expect the duo to make it through to a blockbuster fourth round contest. Of the three stars, it may be Rybakina who feels most confident given her prowess on the grass. We shall see.