Wimbledon 2026 Begins Monday: Sinner, Alcaraz and Raducanu Headline Opening Week on Grass

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Wimbledon 2026 begins on Monday June 29 with the main draw for both the men's and women's singles commencing at the All England Club. World number one Jannik Sinner heads the men's field seeking his first Wimbledon title after winning the Australian Open and French Open earlier this year. Carlos Alcaraz, the defending champion who won Wimbledon in 2024 and 2025, returns as second seed looking for a third consecutive title on the grass. The top women's draw includes Iga Swiatek as top seed, Aryna Sabalenka at two and British hope Emma Raducanu, who reached the semi-finals in 2025, seeded 11.

The Championships will run until Sunday July 12 and the draw ceremony on Saturday confirmed some notable first round matchups. Alcaraz plays a qualifier in his opener but Sinner was drawn against a top 50 player in the second round if both win their openers as expected. Raducanu drew a manageable first round against a lower-ranked opponent and the British crowd at the All England Club will be expecting her to go deep in her home Grand Slam. Novak Djokovic, aiming for what would be a 25th Grand Slam title, is seeded sixth and faces a difficult draw in the top half.

The grass court season has been unusual this year with several top players managing injury niggles coming out of the clay court season. Rafael Nadal is absent, having announced last year that he would not return to professional tennis after his retirement tour. The draw is considered more open than in recent years with both Sinner and Alcaraz arriving without the decisive form advantage one of them has typically enjoyed going into Wimbledon. The weather at the All England Club has been excellent and the courts are in the best condition ground staff have reported in several years.

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