Wimbledon 2023: When is it, how to watch, who are the favourites?
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Everything you need to know about Wimbledon 2023!
When does Wimbledon 2023 start?
The 136th edition of the Wimbledon Championships, tennis’ oldest tournament, will start on Monday 3rd of June at 11am. Qualifying is currently underway, with players required to win three rounds to make the main draw, which will be made at 10am on Friday 30th June. Wildcards include five-time former champion Venus Williams, former world number three Elina Svitolina, British number one Katie Boulter and rising French youngster Arthur Fils.
Where will Wimbledon 2023 take place?
Wimbledon will take place at the world-renowned All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in London, SW19. Tickets are sold out online but on-day sales are available via ‘The Queue’, including up to 500 premium show court seats. The tournament runs for two weeks, with the Women’s Singles final on the second Saturday and the Men’s Singles final the following Sunday.
How to watch Wimbledon 2023
The BBC own broadcasting rights for the Wimbledon Championships with show-court matches shown on BBC One and BBC Two throughout the tournament. All Men’s and Women’s Singles matches will be available to watch online via the BBC iPlayer or BBC Sport website and app as well as selected Doubles, Wheelchair and Juniors matches.
Who are the defending champions at Wimbledon 2023?
World number two Novak Djokovic has won each of the last four Wimbledon Championships and he can draw level with Roger Federer’s record eight titles here if he is victorious on Sunday 16th July. The 36-year-old will play his first competitive match since setting a new Men’s Singles Grand Slam record by lifting his third Roland-Garros title, and 23rd overall, in Paris earlier this month and he is aiming to become the first man to win a calendar slam - holding all four major titles in the same season.
World number three Elena Rybakina caused a huge upset last summer by coming back from a set down to stun Ons Jabeur to claim her maiden Grand Slam title. The 24-year-old has since gone from strength to strength, finishing runner-up to Aryna Sabalenka at the Australian Open in January before lifting two Masters titles in Indian Wells and Rome. The Kazakh pulled out of the Eastbourne International this week as she aims to fully recover from a virus that saw her withdraw from Roland-Garros earlier this month but she will be one of a few title favourites at SW19 if she can play.
Who is a title contender at Wimbledon 2023?
Novak Djokovic looks the clear favourite in the Men’s draw to make it five titles in a row here as he faces perhaps his weakest resistance yet at Wimbledon. The Serb takes a 28-match winning streak into the first round with Tomas Berdych the last player to beat him, via an injury, in the quarter-finals back in 2017. Two-time former champion Andy Murray is the only player active at Wimbledon who has beaten the Serb, doing so to lift his first title here in 2013. However, world number one Carlos Alcaraz visibly evolved on grass last week to lift the Queen’s Championships title at a younger age than any of the ‘Big Three’ – Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer – to look an outside contender.
Elsewhere, Jannik Sinner took Djokovic to five sets last season before defeat in the quarter-finals and American trio Taylor Fritz, Frances Tiafoe and Sebastian Korda have impressive games for the surface. World number 13 Cam Norrie is Great Britain’s best hope this fortnight after taking Djokovic to four sets in the semi-finals here last summer but Andy Murray comes into SW19 as a considerable, if sentimental, dark horse in the best shape of his ‘second career’ since undergoing hip resurfacing surgery in 2019.
Watch out for Karen Khachanov, who has reached the semi-finals in two of his last three major tournaments, Daniil Medvedev, who has more wins (41) on tour than anyone this season and Hubert Hurkacz, who made the semi-finals here back in 2021 with one of the better games for grass on the ATP tour.
The Women’s draw looks by far the most interesting this fortnight with plenty of contenders to consider. Last season’s Women’s Singles finalists, Elena Rybakina and Ons Jabeur, both come into Wimbledon with question marks about their health and fitness but it would be a surprise to see either player fall. World number two Aryna Sabalenka looks set to enjoy a deep run here as a former semi-finalist in 2021 who has vastly improved her game this season. The 25-year-old was unable to play last season due to the Russian and Belarussian ban and she will be eager to make a statement here after lifting her first Grand Slam title in Melbourne back in January. World number one Iga Swiatek must never be ruled out of the running after lifting her fourth Grand Slam title at Roland-Garros, her third in Paris, but the Pole is certainly at her most vulnerable on grass.
Elsewhere, two-time former champion Petra Kvitova will come in hot on a five-match winning streak from her remarkable run at the Berlin Open last week and she should be considered a serious dark horse at her favoured tournament. Roland-Garros runner-up Karolina Muchova comes in cold on grass after taking the last few weeks off to manage her injury-prone body but the Czech is at her best on faster surfaces and she should take some beating as a former quarter-finalist here in 2019. World number seven Coco Gauff burst onto the scene here with a run to the round of 16 as a 15 year old in 2019 and she could better that with the right draw this fortnight.
Watch out for two-time ‘s-Hertogenbosch champion Ekaterina Alexandrova, Birmingham champion Jelena Ostapenko and recent Roland-Garros semi-finalist Beatriz Haddad-Maia as draws to avoid for any player here.
Be sure to check our betting tips for every match at Wimbledon 2023 in our tennis section!
