After Roland Garros, tennis rarely gets much time to breathe. The clay season ends, the grass season begins, and almost immediately the attention turns to Wimbledon. This year, the road to Wimbledon has even more questions than usual.
Carlos Alcaraz, already a two-time Wimbledon champion, will not be there because of injury. His absence changes the men’s draw in a big way. On grass, Alcaraz has been one of the most dangerous players in the world, and without him, many players will feel that the door is a little more open.
Jannik Sinner will arrive the biggest names to watch. Before Roland Garros, he looked almost impossible to beat after a long and dominant run at the Masters 1000 level. In Paris, he again looked in control after taking the first two sets against Juan Manuel Cerundolo, but the match changed in the heat and the world No. 1 suffered a shock defeat. That result made the tennis world pause, but on grass, Sinner remains a major threat, especially as the defending Wimbledon champion.
Alexander Zverev will also come into the grass season with fresh belief. After finally winning his first Grand Slam title at Roland Garros, he now moves towards Wimbledon with a different kind of confidence. Grass has not been his strongest surface, but a Grand Slam title can change the way a player carries himself. If his body stays ready, he will be one of the names others will not want to face.
And then there is Novak Djokovic. A seven-time Wimbledon champion, Djokovic is still chasing his 25th Grand Slam title. Only Roger Federer, with eight men’s singles titles, stands ahead of him in Wimbledon history. Even in an era now being pushed by players in their 20s, Djokovic remains the greatest name to watch. He reached the Australian Open final earlier this year after a tough five-set win over Jannik Sinner in the semi-finals. At Roland Garros, his run ended after another five-set battle, this time against young Joao Fonseca, who came from two sets down to beat him. At Wimbledon, experience matters. And very few players in tennis history understand that stage better than Djokovic.
The women’s draw looks even more open. The last six Grand Slam titles have gone to different players, which shows how difficult it has become to predict women’s tennis. Aryna Sabalenka, Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff, Elena Rybakina, Mirra Andreeva, Jessica Pegula and several others will all enter the conversation in different ways.
Rybakina already knows how to win Wimbledon. Sabalenka brings power. Swiatek will once again try to answer questions on grass. Gauff arrives as one of the strongest competitors in the women’s game. Andreeva now comes as a Grand Slam champion after her Roland Garros title, while Maja Chwalinska’s dream run in Paris reminded everyone that surprises can still happen at the biggest tournaments.
Away from the court, Wimbledon has also made news with a major rise in prize money. This year, the tournament has increased its prize fund by 20%, at a time when players have been speaking more openly about earnings, welfare and the difficult life of lower-ranked players. Maja Chwalinska’s Roland Garros story showed that reality clearly. In the middle of her dream run in Paris, she spoke about struggling to pay her hotel bills before support came from outside. Her journey from worrying about costs to reaching a Grand Slam final became one of the strongest examples of how hard tennis can be beyond the top names. That is why voices like Aryna Sabalenka and Jannik Sinner have become important in this conversation. For them, the issue is not only about the biggest stars earning more. It is also about making the sport a little easier for players outside the top 100, who have to manage travel, coaching, hotels and support teams through a long season.
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