Carlos Alcaraz, Iga Swiatek and Jack Draper among 10 to watch at Wimbledon
Alcaraz and Marketa Vondrousova are the reigning champions.
The world’s best tennis players are descending on SW19 hoping for success at Wimbledon.
Rafael Nadal is missing and Novak Djokovic battling to recover from knee surgery in time but a host of contenders remain.
Here, the PA news agency picks out 10 hopefuls trying to follow in the footsteps of Carlos Alcaraz and Marketa Vondrousova.
Iga Swiatek
Coco Gauff
Gauff has left her teenage years behind and returns to the scene of her breakthrough as a grand slam champion having lifted the US Open trophy last year. She followed that up with semi-final appearances at the Australian Open and in Paris, losing to the eventual champion each time. The 20-year-old suffered a shock first-round loss at Wimbledon last year.
Aryna Sabalenka
Mirra Andreeva
Andreeva only turned 17 in April but she has already racked up two grand slam fourth-round appearances and a semi-final, having beaten a poorly Sabalenka in the last eight at Roland Garros. The Russian, whose game is mature well beyond her years, will be seeded at a slam for the first time and will look to go further than last year’s run to the last 16.
Katie Boulter
Katie Boulter is a name no player will want to find in their section of the draw. The British number one has built brilliantly on her grass-court breakthrough last summer, winning a WTA Tour 500 title in San Diego and then successfully defending the trophy in Nottingham earlier this month. She will be seeded for the first time and will hope her powerful game can do some real damage.
Carlos Alcaraz
Jannik Sinner
Sinner has been the man of 2024 so far, winning his first slam title at the Australian Open and usurping Djokovic as world number one. The 22-year-old Italian has lost only three matches all season and began his grass-court campaign with a first title on the surface in Halle. It would be no surprise if the final was another clash between the sport’s two biggest young stars.
Alexander Zverev
Tommy Paul
Winning the Queen’s Club title on Sunday lifted 27-year-old Paul above Taylor Fritz to become the new American number one. He has already showed his capabilities at the slams, reaching the semi-finals at the Australian Open last year, while his solid groundstrokes and brilliant athleticism make him a hard nut to crack.
