With Wimbledon set to begin next week, the draws for both the men`s and women`s singles competitions have been finalized, setting the stage for exciting first-round encounters at the All England Club.
Men`s Singles Draw
British number one Jack Draper, seeded fourth, will kick off his tournament against Argentina`s Sebastian Baez. Draper`s path could potentially lead him to face Novak Djokovic in the quarter-finals and World No. 1 Jannik Sinner in the semi-finals, but he avoids two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz`s section of the draw until the final.
Carlos Alcaraz starts his bid for a third consecutive Wimbledon title against Fabio Fognini. Meanwhile, World No. 1 Jannik Sinner is scheduled to play Luca Nardi in his opening match.
Several other British players also learned their first opponents:
- Oliver Tarvet (qualifier) vs. Leandro Riedi
- Cam Norrie vs. Roberto Bautista Agut
- Ollie Crawford vs. Mattia Bellucci
- Charlie Searle (wildcard) vs. Zachary Svajda
- Billy Harris vs. Hubert Hurkacz
- Arthur Fery (wildcard) vs. Alexei Popyrin
- Dan Evans vs. Jay Clark (wildcard)
- Johannus Monday (wildcard) vs. Tommy Paul
- George Loffhagen vs. Pedro Martinez
- Jacob Fearnley (wildcard) vs. Joao Fonseca
Other notable first-round men`s matches include Novak Djokovic vs. Corentin Moutet, Taylor Fritz vs. Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard, Andrey Rublev vs. Laslo Djere, and Stefanos Tsitsipas vs. Luca Van Assche.
Women`s Singles Draw
In the women`s singles, Emma Raducanu will face fellow Brit and teenage wildcard Mingge Xu (Mimi Xu) in her opening match. Raducanu is expected to be a strong favourite in this all-British clash.
British number one Katie Boulter faces a tough challenge right away, being drawn against the eighth seed, Paula Badosa. Other British wildcards also received difficult draws; 16-year-old Hannah Klugman will play against the 29th seed Leylah Fernandez, known for reaching the US Open final in 2021 against Raducanu. Fellow 16-year-old wildcard Mika Stojsavljevic is matched against the 31st seed Ashlyn Krueger from the United States.
More British players in the women`s draw:
- Heather Watson vs. Clara Tauson (23rd seed)
- Jodie Burrage vs. Caty McNally
Key matchups for top international players include World No. 1 Iga Swiatek against Veronika Kudermetova, defending champion Elena Rybakina facing Elina Avanesyan, and Coco Gauff set to meet Dayana Yastremska.
A record number of British players are competing in the singles main draws at Wimbledon this year, with all now aware of their initial opponents at SW19.
