Main draw singles play at Wimbledon will begin on Monday, July 3 and run until Sunday, July 16. Let's take a closer look at the favorites, contenders and dark horses as we get ready for a fortnight of Grand Slam tennis action from the grass courts of the All England Club.
Men's Favorites
In the men's draw, 23-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic is favored against the rest of the field combined, with minus odds to win the title on leading betting apps such as BetMGM and Caesars Sportsbook. Djokovic has won each of the first two Grand Slams this year and has been especially dominant at Wimbledon in recent years, winning the last four times this event was held.
Carlos Alcaraz is easily the biggest threat to Djokovic's quest for a record 24th Grand Slam title. The 20-year-old Spaniard reclaimed the world No. 1 ranking by winning the title at Queen's Club in the leadup to Wimbledon. That was also the first grass-court title of Alcaraz's career, which will give him extra confidence heading into his third career appearance at the grass court Grand Slam. Alcaraz has a sparkling 40-4 record in 2023, but his most recent loss came at the hands of Djokovic in the semifinals of the French Open.
Tier 2 Contenders
Just two of the last 20 Grand Slam events have been won by somebody other than Djokovic, Alcaraz or Rafael Nadal, who will unfortunately miss this event as he continues to recover from a hip injury that will sideline him for the remainder of the 2023 season. Even with Nadal absent, the rest of the field faces an uphill battle, but Daniil Medvedev and Jannik Sinner are the best of the rest. Players representing Russia and Belarus will be playing in 2023 after being disallowed from participating at Wimbledon last year, so Medvedev will make his return. The 6-foot-6 Russian denied Djokovic's bid for the calendar slam at the US Open in 2021 and has made three other Grand Slam finals, but all of those results have come on Medvedev's preferred hard court surface. He hasn't replicated that success on clay or grass, having never made the semifinals or better at the French Open or Wimbledon.
Sinner had an injury scare at Halle last Friday when he had to pull out after hurting his adductor, but the 21-year-old Italian was spotted on the Wimbledon practice courts this week, suggesting he'll be healthy enough to give it a go. Sinner has made the quarterfinals at each of the four Grand Slams, and he had a two-set lead against Djokovic at that stage of Wimbledon last year. The world No. 8 also has one of the four victories over Alcaraz this season, so Sinner's one of the few players who has consistently gone toe to toe with the top contenders.
Dark Horses
Other players to keep an eye on include Nick Kyrgios, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Holger Rune, Casper Ruud, Alexander Zverev, Taylor Fritz, Frances Tiafoe, Andy Murray, and Cam Norrie. Kyrgios made the Wimbledon final last year but has been limited to one match in 2023 by a knee injury, and it's unclear if the big-serving Aussie will be healthy enough to compete here. Tsitsipas is 32-11 in 2023, and while his form has dipped since he made the Australian Open final in January, the 24-year-old Athenian is a contender to make a deep run at every event he enters. Rune has beaten Djokovic at two Masters 1000 events since November, and the sixth-ranked 20-year-old will be a tough out if he can master grass-court play. Ruud reached the final at three of the last five Grand Slams, but the world No. 4 prefers slower surfaces and is thus a prime early upset candidate. Zverev has made the semifinals or better at six Grand Slams since 2020, most recently doing so at the French Open less than a month ago.
Fritz and Tiafoe are the top two American hopefuls. They occupy the last two spots in the top 10 of the ATP rankings, and both have attacking games that translate well to grass, with big serves, big forehands and soft feel at net. Great Britain's Murray and Norrie will have the crowd's support, and both are comfortable on grass. Murray's far from what he once was at age 36, but the former World No. 1 and two-time Wimbledon champion is in strong grass-court form after back-to-back Challenger level titles in Surbiton and Nottingham. Norrie doesn't have Murray's cachet, but the lefty has been ranked in the top 15 continuously since Oct. 2021, and he reached the semifinals here last year.
Women's Favorites
While there's a clear hierarchy among the favorites in the men's draw, the women's draw is wide open. Iga Swiatek, Aryna Sabalenka and defending champion Elena Rybakina are essentially co-favorites, though each is a significant underdog compared to the rest of the field. These three have combined to win all five Grand Slams since Ashleigh Barty retired following her title at the 2022 Australian Open. Three of those five subsequent Grand Slams belong to Swiatek, but grass is by far the worst surface for the world No. 1. Rybakina's tremendous serve is especially effective on grass, while Sabalenka has been playing with newfound confidence in 2023 and captured her first Grand Slam title at this year's Australian Open. Swiatek and Sabalenka will be on opposite halves of the draw as the top two seeds, and whichever one avoids having Rybakina in her half will have a far easier path to the title.
Tier 2 Contenders
The next tier of contenders after the big three consists of Petra Kvitova, Ons Jabeur and Karolina Muchova. Kvitova's a two-time Wimbledon champion, and the 33-year-old won a WTA 1000 title in Miami this year. Jabeur has battled injuries for much of 2023, but last year's Wimbledon runner-up is finally enjoying a healthy stretch, and her elite slice is especially effective on grass. Muchova's one of the best volleyers on the WTA Tour and is coming off a runner-up finish at the French Open.
Dark Horses
Additional players to watch are Barbora Krejcikova, Jelena Ostapenko, Beatriz Haddad Maia, Karolina Pliskova, Jessica Pegula, Coco Gauff, Qinwen Zheng, Anett Kontaveit, and Katie Boulter. Krejcikova proved she has what it takes to win a Grand Slam at the 2021 French Open, and she defeated both Sabalenka and Swiatek en route to a WTA 1000 title in Dubai earlier this year. Ostapenko's also a former French Open champion, plus she's in good form, having just captured a grass-court title in Birmingham. Haddad Maia's coming off a breakthrough semifinal result at the French Open, and she won a pair of grass-court titles last year. Pliskova has one of the best serves on the WTA Tour, and the former world No. 1 made the final here in 2021.
Ranked fourth and seventh, respectively, Pegula and Gauff are the top two Americans. Pegula's been a staple in the second week of big tournaments, but she has yet to get over the hump in a major, with a 0-6 career record in Grand Slam quarterfinals. Gauff burst onto the scene with a fourth-round result at Wimbledon as a 15-year-old in 2019, and she returns as a 19-year-old contender in 2023, though the extreme grip on her forehand has kept the supremely athletic teenager from maximizing her sky-high potential up to this point.
Zheng has been in a bit of a rut, but the Chinese 20-year-old is one of the most talented players in the world, and it's only a matter of time until she breaks through with a deep run at a major. This will be the swan song for Kontaveit, who announced that she will be retiring after Wimbledon. The 27-year-old Estonian was ranked No. 2 at this time last year, but a degenerative back condition has kept her off the practice and match courts, dropping her ranking to No. 79. The 88th-ranked Boulter will be Britain's best hope, as former US Open champion Emma Raducanu is out of action after having surgeries on both wrists. Four of the eight quarterfinalists in last year's Wimbledon women's singles draw were unseeded, so perhaps Boulter – who recently beat compatriot Jodie Burrage to claim her first career WTA title in Nottingham – can ride the crowd's support into the second week.
