New Delhi: As the All England Club prepares to open its gates for Wimbledon 2025, the stage is set for another chapter of tennis history on the grass court of SW19. The energy is already building in London as the players, fans, and the tennis world prepare for two weeks of high-stakes battles, unexpected twists and moments that will be remembered for years to come.
The event will look a bit different this year, with no line judges for the first time in history, and changes in match timing. But before the players step onto the pristine grass courts, here are the storylines to follow up on at the upcoming tournament.
Sinner, Djokovic and Alcaraz ready for Wimbledon fight
Jannik Sinner, Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz are set to headline the fight for the third major of the year as Wimbledon gets underway. For Sinner, this is a chance to capture his maiden Grand Slam on grass, building on his consistent rise and confidence after a solid season. Meanwhile, Djokovic will have his eyes on equalling Roger Federer’s record of eight Wimbledon titles while also chasing a record 25th major overall, further cementing his place in tennis history.
The defending champion Carlos Alcaraz will look to become only the fourth man in the Open Era to win three consecutive Wimbledon titles, joining the likes of Federer, Pete Sampras and Bjorn Borg. Alcaraz appears to have a slightly smoother path to the final as Djokovic and Sinner are both placed in the same half of the draw, setting up a potential high-stakes semifinal clash, similar to their French Open meeting.
With all three determined to lift the Challenge Cup, this year’s Wimbledon promises high-quality tennis and fierce competition. Each player has something significant at stake, making the Championships a must-watch as they battle for supremacy on the grass courts of SW19.
Will Sabalenka finally shed hard-court queen tag?
Aryna Sabalenka has collected 12 match wins at the majors this year, yet a trophy has slipped through her fingers. She came heartbreakingly close at Roland Garros but lost in the final to Coco Gauff, missing out on what could have been her first major triumph other than hard court. Now, the World No.1 arrives at Wimbledon with another chance to silence the “hard court queen” tag that has followed her.
Grass has not always been kind to Sabalenka but seeded No.1 once again, she can change the fate. She has missed Wimbledon three times in the past five years including last year due to a shoulder injury. In 2021, she reached her first Wimbledon semifinal but fell to Karolina Pliskova in three sets. The following year, she was absent due to the ban on Russian and Belarusian players.
Despite these setbacks, Sabalenka’s game is well-suited for grass. Her powerful serve and groundstrokes can take the racket out of her opponent’s hands on fast surfaces. More importantly, her ability to regroup after tough losses has kept her in contention at every major.
With her confidence high after a consistent season, Wimbledon offers Sabalenka a genuine shot to add a fourth major and finally prove she can conquer more than just the hard courts.
Teenage trio ready for Wimbledon debut
For the first time in Wimbledon’s history, three British teenagers aged 17 and under will feature in the women’s singles draw, marking a milestone for British tennis. Mika Stojsavljevic, Hannah Klugman and Mimi Xu have all earned main-draw wildcards after impressing over the past year.
16-year-old Stojsavljevic caught attention by winning the US Open girls’ title last season, while Klugman, who is also 16, made headlines last month as the first British player in nearly 50 years to reach the French Open girls’ final. Xu is 17 years old and sits just outside the world’s top 300 and has already claimed wins over two top-100 players on grass this summer.
Now as they prepare for their opening games, all eyes are on their Wimbledon senior debuts. According to Iain Bates, the LTA’s head of women’s tennis, the trio represent a promising “pack of players” who can push each other to higher levels.
No line judges and time change
This year’s Wimbledon comes with a big shift as there will be no line judges on court for the first time. The tournament is moving to electronic line calling for all matches, a step that puts it in line with most ATP and WTA events and two other Grand Slams.
While the technology allowing players to challenge calls has been around since 2007, this year it will be used to call all outs, faults, and foot faults automatically. Wimbledon says the system is almost foolproof. During qualifying rounds at Roehampton, it only glitched once for a single point, which shows the confidence they have in this change. Still, they will have a backup team of reserve line judges ready to step in if the system faces a longer failure.
Apart from this, fans can expect another change as the men’s and women’s singles finals, which traditionally started at 2 pm will now begin at 4 pm. The finals will take place after the doubles finals instead of before them, following a schedule similar to other major tournaments.
Alongside these changes, around 80 match assistants will still help with tasks like player escorts for toilet breaks, ensuring matches run smoothly despite the absence of line judges on the court.