The scent of freshly cut grass and ripened strawberries, the feeling of palpitating prestige, and the presence of tennis royalty are taking over London, England the next two weeks.
Yes, Wimbledon has arrived.
The courts are ready for play at the lavish and picturesque All England Club as we’ve reached the halfway stage of the tennis calendar and prepare for the most prestigious event in the sport’s history.
Novak Djokovic will seek more records and try for an eighth major title in London, Iga Swiatek hopes to solve the puzzle that is grass, Milos Raonic returns to his favourite event after a long layoff, and Ons Jabeur will again vie for that elusive major crown.
Here are six storylines to follow from Wimbledon 2023:
Is 24 next for Djokovic?
He’s the men’s all-time leader in grand slam titles and one of the world’s greatest athletes.
As defending champion, Novak Djokovic arrives at the All England Club with more historic achievements in mind.
The 36-year-old has been exceptionally dominant at the event, having won the last four iterations of the tournament (2018, 2019, 2021, 2022), and seven championships overall.
He has not lost a match on the grass courts of Wimbledon since falling to Tomas Berdych in the quarterfinals in 2017.
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Djokovic has been a flawless 14-0 in majors this season with convincing victories in Australia and Roland Garros and can continue the pursuit of a calendar slam (winning all four majors in a year) with a triumph in London.
A title here would equal him with Roger Federer for most men’s Wimbledon crowns in tennis history.
With Federer retired and rival Rafael Nadal sidelined, there is only one active player outside of Djokovic who won Wimbledon before – two-time champion, Andy Murray.
Ons is back, Rybakina eager to defend
While Novak Djokovic is a clear-cut favourite on the men’s side, the women’s field looks notably more open at this year’s Wimbledon Championships.
Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur has one of the most beautiful games in the sport.
Her ability to change speeds and trajectories with her groundstrokes, a dynamic slice backhand, and heavy forehand wing all pushed her to a runner-up finish last season at the All England Club.
Jabeur has struggled with injuries and a bad patch form in 2023 but looked to have turned a corner at Roland Garros by reaching the quarterfinals.
She’ll have last year’s experience to build off for a potential magical run.
The woman who stopped her in the finals, Elena Rybakina, will have the tall order of defending her title as Wimbledon champion.
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While the Kazakhstani woman was a relative unknown to most of the tennis world when she broke through for her major title last season, she’s now well-established as one of the strongest players on the women’s circuit.
Rybakina has won two WTA 1000s this season in Indian Wells and Rome, finished as runner-up at the Australian Open, and also made the finals in Miami.
Don’t let Rybakina’s quiet demeanour deceive you – underneath lies a burning and intense competitor who relishes her chances in big matches.
Can Iga conquer Wimbledon?
Iga Swiatek is the best women’s player in the world, holding the title of world number one, a place she secured back in April of 2022 and hasn’t relinquished since.
Swiatek has racked up three French Open titles, one U.S. Open, four WTA 1000s, and 14 titles in all by the age of 22.
Her rapid ascent to greatness has revealed her ability to win just about anywhere except… grass.
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Swiatek has yet to win a title on the surface and Wimbledon has been somewhat of a hitch early in her career.
She reached the round of 16 last season before falling to Alize Cornet of France, a loss that would snap an astounding 37-match winning streak.
Landing in the recognizably easier top half of the draw could help Swiatek in this case.
American Coco Gauff is the next best-ranked player in her quarter, and while the teenager is remarkably talented, Swiatek leads their head-to-head 7-0.
Daria Kasatkina of Russia could pose a threat – she reached the finals of the Eastbourne International last week and made the quarterfinals at Wimbledon five seasons ago.
Australian Open winner and #2 seed Aryna Sabalenka will have her hands full in a stacked bottom half that features Maria Sakkari of Greece, two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova, and recent French Open finalist Karolina Muchova.
Alcaraz has clear path, Tiafoe and Fritz lead American hopefuls
After a stinging semi-finals defeat to Novak Djokovic at Roland Garros, Carlos Alcaraz promptly regrouped and recalibrated his body for a short grass court season.
The results came immediately – Alcaraz won the first title of his career on the surface, defeating Alex de Minaur in the finals to earn the victory at the Queen’s Club Championship.
The world number one is 40-4 on the season with five titles, leading the ATP in winning percentage and second only to Daniil Medvedev for most match wins on the year.
Alcaraz looks every part of a world-class, generational athlete.
He’s physically gifted with a complete skill set on the court, he has an irresistible swagger and charisma when he competes and will engage regularly with the crowd after his jaw-dropping displays of shot-making.
Carlitos is a major champion but still has one obstacle to climb – defeating Novak Djokovic in a best-of-five setting.
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Meanwhile, American men have not had a singles champion at the All England Club in 23 years.
With two players in Frances Tiafoe and Taylor Fritz inside the top 10, their chances now seem much improved.
Frances Tiafoe opened the grass court season with his first title on the surface, defeating Jan-Lennard Struff to win in Stuttgart.
The victory propelled him to the top 10 of the rankings for the first time in his career.
Tiafoe brings an entertaining brand of tennis to the sport with his outgoing and jovial personality, which is well documented in the popular Netflix series Break Point.
He also has great variety and flair in his game that can aid him to big-match victories and deep runs at majors.
His fellow countryman Taylor Fritz sits one place above in the rankings at #9 and returns to the site of his quarterfinals run.
Fritz played one of the most exhilarating matches at Wimbledon last year, losing a five-set marathon to 22-time major champion Rafael Nadal.
At age 25, Fritz should be closing in on his peak years as an athlete.
His towering and lanky 6’5 build, penetrating two-handed backhand, and punishing first serve can overmatch any opponent.
As he candidly revealed in Break Point, much of his success ahead will rely on the inner self-belief and conquering the mental side of the sport.
Felix and Denis lead Canadian men – how about Milos?
It’s been a trying season for Montreal’s Felix Auger-Aliassime, who has seen his ranking fall from sixth to 12th as he heads into the 2023 Wimbledon Championships.
For the talented 22-year-old, the main obstacle of late has been health. Felix dealt with a knee injury that he tried to manage during the clay season but noticeably affected his play and results.
The grass courts could be a perfect reprieve for the Canadian, where points will be a bit less physically demanding, and he can use his imposing serve and quick strike forehand to control play.
Auger-Aliassime arrived at the All England Club without any grass court lead-up events, but he’s also a former quarterfinalist just two years ago.
Meantime, his close friend Denis Shapovalov has had the benefit of more court time, competing in grass events in Stuttgart and Halle ahead of the grand slam.
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Shapovalov’s dynamic and electrifying left-handed game certainly excels on the low bouncing surface – he had the best slam result of his career reaching the semifinals in 2021.
Another familiar face also returns to the prestigious, manicured courts of Wimbledon at this year’s edition.
Milos Raonic is back after a two-year hiatus from a sport many feared he would have to leave after numerous, repeated injuries kept him off the tour.
The 32-year-old Canadian is one of the greatest players the country has ever produced.
Raonic is a former Wimbledon finalist, an eight-time titleist, and the highest-ranked Canadian singles player in history, reaching world number three back in 2016.
Bibi hopes to find grass court game, Carol Zhao makes main draw debut
Mississauga’s Bianca Andreescu is back on the grass and hungry to prove she can excel on the surface.
The former U.S. Open winner has yet to make a serious run at the All England Club with her best result coming last year, exiting in the second round.
Bibi is in a favourable section of the draw, facing world #50 Anna Bondar of Hungary in the opening round.
Leylah Fernandez sits in the second quarter of the women’s field, where she’ll face Ukraine’s Kateryna Baindl.
An opening-round win could set up a rematch with world number five Caroline Garcia. The two have played twice this season with the Frenchwoman getting the best of the Canadian on both occasions in tight affairs.
The veteran presence of the Canadian women’s field is Rebecca Marino, who often plays her best tennis on grass.
The 32-year-old’s potent serve is perfect for the Wimbledon courts – she’ll seek her first main draw win at the All England Club in 12 years.
Toronto’s Carol Zhao makes her main draw debut and at age 28 qualified for a major for the first time in her career.
She meets lucky loser Tamara Korpatsch of Germany in the first round Tuesday morning.
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