Wimbledon Preview

Wimbledon 2023: Preview

Wimbledon 2023 will take place at the All England Club from Monday July 3 until Sunday July 16.

The grass court season has produced some fantastic tennis so far as the world’s leading players look to adjust to a very different surface ahead of, arguably, the most iconic tournament in tennis.

Djokovic Looking for Grand Slam 24

Novak Djokovic will go into the tournament looking for a record-extending 24th Grand Slam win. Djokovic won the French Open at Roland Garros to record his 23rd major win, moving ahead of Rafa Nadal. With only three weeks between Roland Garros and Wimbledon Djokovic has, as usual, opted not to play in any grass tournaments before heading to SW19, prefering to rest, train and play the odd exhibition match.

Djokovic usually has no problems in adapting to grass. A tournament victory in London will see him add an eighth Wimbledon title to his record, equalling Roger Federer’s record. However, due to Carlos Arcaraz’s superb victory at Queens Djokovic will go into Wimbledon as second seed and second in the world rankings, the Spaniard having leapfrogged him to move into number one spot. However, Djokovic, winner of the first two slams in 2023 and three of the last four overall, still goes into the event as favourite.

Alcaraz Reclaims Top Spot with Win at Queens

Alcaraz returned to the top of the world rankings with a thrilling victory at Queens Club. After initially struggling to get to grips with the surface in the first set of his first round match against Arthur Rinderknech, the 20-year-old Spaniard never looked back, producing some superb tennis. In only his third ever tournament on grass Alcaraz beat Australian Alex De Minaur in a high quality final. Alcaraz claimed his first Grand Slam victory in the US Open last year. After missing the Australian Open with injury and struggling with cramp in his French Open semi final loss to Djokovic he will have serious ambitions to claim the title.

Murray back in form

Two-time Wimbledon champion Andy Murray has been making every effort to overcome his injury problems. When he can stay fit Murray can still give anyone a run for their money. He has recorded back-to-back grass court successes in Surbiton and Nottingham, however, he found a third tournament, at Queens a bridge too far. Murray exited to the in-form De Minaur in the first round, however, despite this he could still be a threat at Wimbledon. SBK are offering 69/1 at the time of writing.

Kyriogos Returns

Last year’s runner up Nick Kyriogos returns to Wimbledon, having missed a lot of tennis since then through injury. Daniil Medvedev has had a good year so far and cannot be ignored. There are a number of young players of genuine quality looking to become the next generation of tennis after the years of Federer, Nadal and Djokovic dominating. Some, however, will adjust to the challenge of grass easier than others.

Swaitek favourite as Rybakina looks to defend her title

Iga Swaitek has been in great form this year, however last year’s champion Elena Rybakina and Aryna Sabalenka are well and truly in the mix for the women’s title. Swaitek has not been beyond the fourth round at Wimbledon and is playing in Hamberg in preparation for the event. Swaitek won her third French Open title in Paris this year and also won the 2022 US Open.

Rybakina is the defending champion at Wimbledon and will be looking to pick up her second Grand Slam on the anniversary of her first. An aggressive baseliner with a powerful serve, Rybakina is known for her high-risk playing style. Rybakina was runner-up at this year’s Australian Open. Rybakina had planned to prepare for Wimbledon by playing Eastbourne. However, she withdrew from the tournament due to a virus which caused her to miss the French Open. This, obviously, is a major concern leading up to Wimbledon.

Sabalenka beat Rybakina in the final of the 2023 Australian Open to claim her first singles Grand Slam. She previously won two doubles tournaments at the 2019 US Open and 2021 Australian Open. Sabalenka’s best performance at Wimbledon came in 2021 when she reached the semi-finals, where she was narrowly beaten by Karolína Plíšková. Another big server, Sabalenka has previously noted that her game is best-suited to grass and hard courts. In preparing for Wimbledon, Sabalenka reached the final in Berlin where she lost to Veronika Kudermetova, .

Wimbledon 2023 Odds

Novak Djokovic is favourite for the men’s singles ahead of Carlos Alcaraz, while Iga Swaitek is favourite to take the women’s title ahead of Elena Rybakina and Aryna Sabalenka.

Gentlemen’s Singles

Ladies Singles

Wimbledon Championships

The Wimbledon Championships, commonly known as Wimbledon, is the oldest tennis tournament in the world. It is generally rated as the most prestigious. It has been held at the All England Club in Wimbledon, London, since 1877. It is played on outdoor grass courts, with retractable roofs over the two main courts since 2019.

Wimbledon is one of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments, the others being the Australian Open, the French Open, and the US Open. Wimbledon is the only major which is still played on grass. Grass was the traditional tennis playing surface. It is the only Grand Slam that retains a night-time curfew, however, it is now possible for matches to continue until 11.00pm under the lights.

The tournament traditionally takes place over two weeks in late June and early July, starting on the last Monday in June and ending with the Ladies’ and Gentlemen’s Singles Finals, scheduled for the Saturday and Sunday at the end of the second week. Alternatively, as it has done in recent years, the tournament can start on the first Monday in July and end, once again, on the Saturday and Sunday of the second week.

In 2009, Wimbledon’s Centre Court was fitted with a retractable roof to lessen the loss of playing time due to rain. These delays massively impacted on the Wimbledon schedule down the years. A roof was operational over No. 1 Court from 2019.

Wimbledon traditions include a strict all-white dress code for competitors, and royal patronage. Strawberries and cream and PImms are traditionally consumed at the tournament. Unlike other tournaments and major sporting events, advertising is minimal and low key from official suppliers such as Slazenger and Rolex. The deal with Slazenger is the world’s longest-running sporting sponsorship. They have provided balls for the tournament since 1902.

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