Wimbledon

Tournament basics

Wimbledon 2026 dates: June 29 - July 12. Surface: grass (ryegrass, mown at 8mm). Draw size: 128 men's and 128 women's singles. Total prize pool: £53.5 million. The singles champions take home £2.7 million each; first-round losers earn £60,000.

Draw path watch

Defending men's champion: Carlos Alcaraz (won the 2025 final in five sets against Novak Djokovic). Defending women's champion: Barbora Krejcikova (won the 2025 final against Jasmine Paolini). The men's draw features Sinner, Djokovic, Medvedev and Zverev in the top eight seeds.

Grass-court form is the leading indicator. The All England Club's surface rewards low, skidding bounces; serve-and-volley still works on the back courts. The desk's grass-court model weights serve speed and first-strike points more heavily than baseline metrics.

Surface notes

Grass is the fastest surface in tennis. Average rally length at Wimbledon in 2025: 3.7 shots. Service holds: 82% (vs 76% on clay). The ball stays low; kick serves are less effective than on clay. Slice backhands and approach shots are the tactical keys.

Seeds and venues

Men's seeds: 1. Alcaraz, 2. Sinner, 3. Djokovic, 4. Medvedev, 5. Zverev, 6. Rublev, 7. Ruud, 8. Fritz. Women's seeds: 1. Swiatek, 2. Sabalenka, 3. Rybakina, 4. Pegula, 5. Gauff, 6. Jabeur, 7. Zheng, 8. Vondrousova. Main courts: Centre Court, Court 1, Court 2 (new retractable roof, capacity 4,000). Outside courts host R1-R3; Centre hosts R4 onward.

Editor's note

The desk's coverage starts two weeks before the tournament with seed-by-seed reads, then moves to daily draws from the Sunday before the first round. Refresh cadence: every 30 minutes during matches. Coverage note: the grass is cut and rolled daily; the white clothing rule is enforced (97% white minimum, including undergarments visible through perspiration).