Elena Rybakina won her first Grand Slam title at Wimbledon in 2022
Wimbledon is just around the corner, with the best players in the world already beginning their grass-court preparations.
BBC Sport rounds up all you need to know about this year’s tournament.
When is Wimbledon?
Wimbledon takes place from 3 to 16 July at the All England Club in London.
This year’s tournament will be the 136th edition of the Championships. The women’s singles final takes place on Saturday, 15 July, with the men’s final on the Sunday.
Who is playing?
Defending champion Novak Djokovic will be seeking an eighth men’s singles Wimbledon title to equal Roger Federer’s record.
The Serb is also on course for a calendar Grand Slam – where a player wins all four of the majors in the same year – having already won the Australian Open and French Open.
Challengers for the title could include last year’s runner-up Nick KyrgiosUS Open champion and world number one Carlos Alcaraz and rising star Holger Rune.
In the women’s draw, Elena Rybakina will be aiming to defend her title from last year, but she is still struggling with a viral illness and will face tough competition from Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka.
World number one and French Open winner Every Swiatek will also be in contention, along with 2022 runner-up Our Jabeur and American Coco Gauff.
Which British players are competing?
Cameron Norrie is the highest-ranked British player in either singles draw and made the semi-finals at the All England Club last year.
He is joined by two-time champion Andy Murraywho is enjoying some good grass-court form with back-to-back titles in Challenger events on the surface, and British number two Dan Evans.
There will be no Emma Raducanu in the women’s draw, with the Briton continuing her recovery from hand and ankle surgery.
Katie Boulter is the British women’s number one but, as she was outside the top 100 when the entry list was drawn up, has had to rely on a wildcard to compete at Wimbledon. Harriet Dart, Heather Watson, Jodie Burrage and Kate Swan have also received wildcards into the main draw.
There were also wildcards for Britons Liam Broady, Jan Choinski, Arthur Fery, George Loffhagen and Ryan Peniston in the men’s singles main draw.
A wildcard gives players direct entry to either the main draw or qualifying. To qualify, lower-ranked players need to win three matches to reach the main draw.
There will also be a strong British contingent in the doubles, with Neal Skupski, Joe Salisbury and Lloyd Glasspool ranked among the world’s top 10 men’s doubles players and Jamie Murray a seven-time Grand Slam doubles champion.
In the wheelchair events, Alfie Hewett and Gordon Reid will be seeking to reach a 16th successive Grand Slam final.
What are Andy Murray’s chances?
You never know…
Murray last won Wimbledon in 2016 but struggled with injury afterwards, and had career-saving hip surgery in 2019.
He lost in the second round last year but has enjoyed a good grass-court season so far, having won the Surbiton and Nottingham titles this month.
As a result of his good form, Murray has risen to 38 in the world rankings, but a first-round exit from Queen’s this week all but ended his chances of being one of the 32 seeded players at Wimbledon.
What are seedings in tennis?
Seedings are used to separate the top players and ensure they do not meet in the early rounds at a Grand Slam.
They are based on a player’s world ranking, which is determined by the points players pick up at tournaments.
As world number one, Alcaraz and Swiatek will be the top seeds in the men’s and women’s draws respectively. Norrie is seeded 12th, with Evans the 28th seed.
Only two unseeded players have won the men’s title before – Boris Becker in 1985 and Goran Ivanisevic in 2001 – while no unseeded player has won the women’s title before.
What is the prize money?
The total prize money for this year’s Wimbledon is a record £44.7m.
The men’s and women’s singles champions will receive £2.35m each.
How can I watch Wimbledon?
Every match from Wimbledon will be available on the BBC iPlayer, with fans able to choose which court they want to watch.
Clare Balding will lead TV coverage from the All England Club, with coverage on BBC One and iPlayer across the tournament.
BBC Radio 5 Live and Sounds will have daily coverage as well as the 6-Love-6 phone-in with John McEnroe and Tim Henman.
There will be a daily live text commentary on the BBC Sport website and app, as well as clips, live scores, reports, features and all the best content from Wimbledon.
If you miss any of the action, you can catch up with Today at Wimbledon every day from 21:00 BST on BBC Two and iPlayer.
2023-06-28 09:31:05
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