British No.1’s enter as seeded players for the first time

This year’s tournament will see both British No.1’s enter a Grand Slam as seeded players for the first time in their careers.

Britain's top female player Katie Boulter delivered a standout performance at the Rothesay Open Nottingham to earn successive crowns at her home tournament and will enter the Championships as the 32 seed. The 27-year-old defeated compatriots Harriet Dart and Emma Raducanu en route to the final before overcoming former Wimbledon runner-up Karolina Pliskova in the final and later reached the quarter-finals at the Rothesay International Eastbourne. With Boulter currently playing some of the best tennis of her career to date, will she be able to surpass her tournament best of third round?

Jack Draper is another British star who has made headlines on the grass in recent weeks. The 22-year-old made it third time lucky in tour-level finals when he wrapped his hands around a maiden ATP title at the Boss Open in Stuttgart. Off the back of this win, Draper rose to become British No.1 for the first time in his career before pulling off a watershed victory against defending champion Carlos Alcaraz at the cinch Championships.

With a first title under his belt and sitting at a career-high ranking of world No.29, Draper will be brimming with confidence as he makes his return to SW19 for the first time since 2022.

Alcaraz begins title defence while Sinner seeks a second major of the season

Last year’s men’s final saw 21-year-old Alcaraz stun seven-time titleholder Novak Djokovic in a pulsating five-set epic to claim his second major title and first at the All England Club. The victory marked the beginning of a new era in tennis, as the sport's new superstar announced his arrival on the world's biggest stage.

However, despite his fairytale run last summer, the world No.3 has only played two matches on the surface this year following his second round exit at Queen’s. With the pressures of defending the coveted trophy on his shoulders, will Alcaraz be able to find his feet in time and successfully defend his crown?

Aiming to prevent defending champion from securing successive victories at Wimbledon is world No.1 and Australian Open champion Jannik Sinner, who will be gunning to de-throne Alcaraz in his own quest for a second Grand Slam title. The Italian is in red-hot form at the moment having wrapped up his first title on the grass last week at the Halle Open and arrives as the favourite to take home the silverware.

The pair have formed one of the most captivating rivalries in recent years, with their latest meeting coming at the semi-final final of Roland Garros where Alcaraz edged the 22-year-old in five set. We could be set for another blockbuster viewing between the two stars should they both reach the final four at Wimbledon, in what could be one of the matches of the year.

Home advantage drives British hopes at Wimbledon

Former US Open champion Raducanu will make her long-awaited return to South West London as she contests her first Wimbledon since 2022. The 21-year-old was forced to watch from the sidelines last year after undergoing three surgeries but is already looking back to her best. The wild card entrant will face Ekaterina Alexandrova in the opening round and will look to carry forward the form that led her to the final four in Nottingham and quarter-finals in Eastbourne into the third Slam of the season.

Meanwhile the mens singles draw will see 12 Brits feature in main draw action – the highest number since 1978. Amongst the entrants are two players who have enjoyed breakthrough runs on the grass this year and will be ones to keep your eyes on.

Jacob Fearnley became the fourth British man in history to claim the Nottingham title – marking his first on the ATP Challenger circuit. The 22-year-old’s unbelievable week saw him be awarded a wild card into the main draw where he’ll face world No.189 Alejandro Moro Canada in the opening round.

Meanwhile, Billy Harris has been a name on everybody’s lips over the last few weeks following his exceptional form on the grass. The 29-year-old reached the semi-finals of the Lexus Surbiton Trophy, Rothesay Open and Rothesay International, as well as the quarter-finals at the Queen’s Club. Harris is set to make his Grand Slam main draw debut at Wimbledon and possesses the weapons to cause an upset after already defeating world No.31 Tomas Martin Etcheverry and 49 ranked Flavio Cobolli so far on the grass.

Doubles star Neal Skupski has also hit a purple patch on the grass – clinching back-to-back tour level titles at the Queen’s Club and in Eastbourne. The 34-year-old has joined forces with New Zealand's Michael Venus for the grass swing, with the pair currently embarking on an eight-match winning streak – placing them in great stead to go the distance in SW19 where Skupski will arrive as the defending champion.

Find out which Brits are competing at Wimbledon and keep a track of all of their results

WTA stars eager to steal the spotlight in South West London

The last six editions of Wimbledon has seen six different WTA stars lift the prestigeous Venus Rosewater Dish. Last year, Marketa Vondrousova became the first unseeded woman in the Open Era to join an illustrous roll of honour after she beat Tunisia's Ons Jabeur in straight sets - highlighting that anyone is can enjoy a winning run in SW19.

Heading into this year's championships, it could be argued there's no clear-cut favourite with Iga Swiatek yet to win a tournament on grass, and Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka and 2022 titlist Elena Rybakina struggling with recent injuries.

This could prove the perfect opportunity for another surprise victor to have their moment in the spotlight. The likes of 17-year-old Mirra Andreeva and Italy's Jasmine Poalini seized their moment at Roland Garros where they went on to reach the semi-final and final respectively.

Meanwhile, the last few weeks has crowned first time winners on the grass as Daria Kasatkina triumphed on the South Coast in Eastbourne, Jessica Pegula tasted title success at the Grass Court Championships, Berlin and Diana Shnaider etched her name on the trophy at Bad Homburg. All three women now enter the Championships in winning form and place themselves amongst some of the top contenders who could shock the field in SW19.