The Wimbledon 2026 main draw began on June 27, featuring top seeds Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka playing their opening matches against Serbian opponents [1, 2].
Jannik Sinner survived a five-set battle to defeat Miomir Kecmanovic 4-6, 6-3, 6-7(6-8), 6-2, 6-3 on the first day of the tournament [3, 4, 5]. During the third set, Sinner slipped and fell on the grass but emerged uninjured, calling himself "lucky" to avoid serious harm. He said, "One fall is a tough one because you can get injured. Grass courts are like this. Especially the first couple of matches when the grass is very new, you slip a bit more. I got lucky there because things can go wrong very quickly." [6]. He added, "I'm happy I turned it around because it was my first official match on grass this season which is also a very important factor." [5].
Sinner's victory marked his 94th Grand Slam match win, tying the Italian record held by Nicola Pietrangeli [4, 5]. Reflecting on his preparation, he said, "If you play a tournament before here, maybe it's not going the way you would like to, you come here with some doubts. If you don't play any tournament, you don't have these doubts, you just go and play." [2]
On the women's side, world number one and top seed Aryna Sabalenka won her first-round match in straight sets, beating Serbian qualifier Teodora Kostovic 6-2, 6-3 on June 27 [1, 7, 8]. Sabalenka has held the top ranking since late 2024 and is still seeking her first Wimbledon title after previous semifinal losses [2, 7]. She said, "I'm super excited to be back. I was happy I could close this match in straight sets. For the first match I feel pretty good, maybe eight out of 10." [7]
Elsewhere, Novak Djokovic, aged 39, is competing this year aiming for a record 25th Grand Slam title [1, 9, 2]. British hopes were hit hard early as several home players lost in opening rounds while Emma Raducanu and Jack Draper withdrew due to injuries [5, 1, 9].
Defending women's champion Iga Swiatek advanced on June 29 with a 6-1, 2-6, 6-3 win over Taylor Townsend in a tightly contested first round match [10].
