Key events
Fognini has broken back…hold off the curse writing off. He’s 40-15 up….but then it’s back to deuce. Alcaraz shows off that recovery expertise. His opponent is now cursing himself but then the Spaniard plays the kind of shot you might see in your local park. Then is a little slow in the next point. Then there’s some Wimbledon waggery in the crowd. No crowd easier to please on the comedy circuit. But Fognini holds.
Alcaraz has a break on Fognini in the second set. The champion’s curse seems unlikely to trouble him, though the Italian has played very well. Norrie, by the way, serves to mean his opponent must hold serve to win the set.
Cam Norrie is sticking his racket back together. It’s hot, and the ump is allowing added time between breaks. Agut serves to go 5-3 up, Norrie having held. But he’s struggling with Agut’s serve. 5-3 comes up with an ace. A five-setter appears almost certain.
Let’s stick with Norrie for the moment in the fourth set. He’s been broken in the fourth set by Agut. Uh oh, at 3-2. Agut’s serve, with its slapping sound, is held, for 4-2.
Others in the Royal Box today – Sue Barker, natch, and Richard Osman, not bad for a lad from Haywards Heath. Tan chinos are in, apparently.
Cam Norrie, these days not quite the greatest living Englishman, has a tough draw, facing Roberto Bautista Agut, but he’s in with a chance. It’s 6-3 3-6 6-4 2-1 and he’s just held his serve.
You may have heard about M&S’s new limited edition Strawberry & Creme dessert sandwich, which has gone viral on social media. But getting hold of one of the Japanese-inspired concoctions in the nearest store to the All England Club this morning proved easier said than done
When the Guardian arrived at M&S in Southfields at 9.05am there were only six left on the shelves, with the company appearing not to anticipate that with over 40,000 people arriving for the first day of Wimbledon there might be significant demand for what it calls “the ultimate strawberries and creme experience”.
“We had over 300 of them at 8am this morning and that’s all that’s left,” said a stacker with Ash on his name tag. By the time the Guardian had bought one of the sandwiches, which are filled “with sweetened fat soft cheese and creme fraiche on brioche style bread” they were all gone.
The verdict? Not bad. Although I’ve had sweeter treats. However it will be interesting to see what the tax authorities think too. Under HMRC rules, most cold food, including sandwiches, is zero rated for VAT, but many sweet treats are counted as luxuries, and are subject to a 20% levy.
Gregory Phillips gets in touch: “Something felt off, and I couldn’t put my finger on it until you just reminded me about the absence of the line judges. Not only toes the court look empty, but I’m surprised to fine I also miss their shouts and shrieks, like a supply teacher trying to assert authority. This feels like a minor tournament without them, and it’ll take some getting used to.”
Fabio Fognini seemed to have a winner, only for the electronic liner call it out.
Most importantly, the culling of 300 line judges means fewer part-time opportunities for trained officials and it will affect the pathway of aspiring chair umpires. Many chair umpires started off as line officials.
And then Alcaraz breaks the Italian and serves out the set. The second continues rather like the first. Both serving well.
The No 1 seed, Aryna Sabalenka has beaten Carson Branstine 6-1 7-5. Nice and easy despite some plucky play from the Canadian.
The court looks resplendent, by the way, though a little empty without the line judges. They’ll be missed, though it was a job unforgiving on the old back. It continues to be back on serve. Alcaraz is not finding this at all easy and now must serve to stay in the first set, it’s 5-4.
Sir David Beckham is there as Alcaraz rides out the latest Fognini storm, and holds serve. Back on serve at 3-3.
Good afternoon from a sweltering London. The first lunchtime of the tournament is in session and there’s been a run on strawberries and cream, washed down with aperol spritz, and the odd glass of shampoo. Water much needed to. Phew, what a scorcher as they used to say on Fleet Street.
I’m going to go and grab a bite, so will hand this over to John Brewin for the next couple of hours. Enjoy!
Back on Centre Court, Fognini has made a great start against Alcaraz! The Italian has held both of his serves and has a break point on Alcaraz’s second serve … but the Spaniard sends down a 110mph serve to the body, and the defending champion survives, closing out the game. The players are all square in the first set, 2-2.
Britain’s Cam Norrie has just lost the second set to Roberto Bautista Agut, so the pair are now all square at one set apiece.
Having won the first set against Mattia Bellucci, another British male in Oliver Crawford is now staring down the barrel of defeat. The 26-year-old trails 7-6 (2), 3-6, 4-6, 3-4. Bellucci is a break up in the fourth set, serving for 5-3 and closing on victory.
A little quirk in the rules over the player’s use of towels. On the general tour, ballboys and ballgirls can help players wipe their brow by bringing them towels between points. But in grand slams, including Wimbledon of course, players must fetch their own towels between points.
It has been confirmed that Britain’s Sonay Kartal, who earlier shocked Ostapenko, will face Viktoriya Tomova in the second round. The Bulgarian progressed after her opponent, former finalist Ons Jabeur, retired hurt.
Elsewhere, No 9 seed Daniil Medvedev is in trouble, 2-1 in sets down to unseeded Frenchman Benjamin Bonzi, who has won two tie-breaks and now is just one set away from the second round.
World No 1 Aryna Sabalenka is in no mood to hang around. She is already one set to the good against Canadian Carson Branstine, winning 6-1. The Belarusian is keen to put her French Open final disappointment behind her.
Andy Murray told Sean Ingle last week that he has no plans to watch Wimbledon as a fan …
… but the BBC commentary team have just told us that the Scot played golf with Alcaraz yesterday. Perhaps Murray is here, although the Brit’s primary residence is just a short drive from Wimbledon, in Surrey.
Heeeeeeeere comes Carlos Alcaraz. The first match on Centre Court this year will be between the Spaniard and Fabio Fognini, the Italian veteran who is a former top 10 player.
Alcaraz is the defending champion and aiming for his third straight title. His last defeat at SW19 was – listen to this – three years ago, in the fourth round to Jannik Sinner. But this is still a dangerous first-round meeting for Alcaraz, who lost the first set to Fognini when they last met in 2023 (Alcaraz won in three sets).
The winner of this match, remember, will play Oliver Tarvet in the second round.
A reminder of the rules of prize money for US college athletes. As mentioned in Tumaini Carayol’s piece on Sunday, Tarvet spends most of his time playing tennis in college for the University of San Diego, something that has had a direct effect on the prize money he can claim.
Players that qualify for the first round normally bag £66,000 but college rules in the US mean that under NCAA rules, players are restricted in how much they can claim from professional tournaments. On Friday, Tarvet explained players are allowed $10,000 (£7,290) in profit every year, as well as any expenses incurred during the events. Tarvet would normally make a £99,000 just for making the second round. Ouch.
Oliver Tarvet speaks!
A lot of emotions! All the hard work I have put it has clearly paid off. To have a chance to maybe play Carlos [Alcaraz] on Wednesday is phenomenal. I’m so thankful to the crowd, to the University of San Diego, my coaches. I’m so overjoyed.
I’m not here for the money. I’m just here for the crowd and the experience and to stamp my mark on the ATP circuit.
Tarvet, the lowest ranked man at Wimbledon, beats Riedi 6-4, 6-4, 6-4!
The Brit has done it. Tarvet beams broadly and looks to the heavens, before running over to embrace his family and team, who are all wearing University of San Diego clobber. A reminder that the 21-year-old will not take home any prize money owing to his amateur status in college tennis, but he won’t care about that one jot right now. The The Wimbledon debutant is through to the second round!
Perhaps a little unsportsmanlike but Tarvet is cheering every Riedi error and cursing every error of his own. He’s living every shot, and frankly, who can blame him? Tarvet sends down his seventh ace of the match, and second of the game, to to 40-0. Three match points …
Riedi, by the way, is no mug. He won the Australian Open as a junior and plays Davis Cup for Switzerland, but must break Tarvet to survive. Both players have won their service games since my last update. Tarvet is 6-4, 6-4, 5-4 up, and serves now for the match.
Yara is there for us on court four, and I should say that Tarvet is just two games away from victory over Riedi. He is 6-4, 6-4 and serving to go 5-3 up in the third set. That is some going for the young man ranked No 719 in the world.
If the British No 33 does win this match he will face in the second round … Carlos Alcaraz (assuming the Spaniard wins his first-round match against Fabio Fognini).
Yara El-Shaboury
The sun has not let up on court four but spectators are in full voice for Oliver Tarvet, who is two sets up against Leandro Riedi. Tarvet is the lowest ranked player at the tournament and made it through qualifiers to earn his debut appearance at a grand slam. Despite the heat, the Briton is animated and has played well, finding Riedi’s weaknesses quickly and trying to exploit them. He has just hit a wild forehand winner in the third set which took so much power he somehow landed lying down on his back, much to the appreciation of the crowd.
Kartal speaks to the cameras!
That was one of the toughest matches I have played. I struggle against the big hitters, she beat me easily last week [at Eastbourne]. Thank you for everyone for coming out.
After the year I had last year [reaching the third round at Wimbledon last year], I am happy to put myself under pressure to succeed. Last year I left this tournament feeling a different player. I want to see how far I can go this week.
It would be easy and understandable for the Brit to be excitable in that interview but she seemed icy cool. Last year, Kartal went into Wimbledon ranked No 298. Now she is No 51 and could easily break into the top 50 come the end of this tournament.
Kartal beats Ostapenko 7-5, 2-6, 6-2!
An ace for the British No 3 puts her 40-0 up, and a cross-court backhand secures victory over the former French Open champion, Ostapenko, in truth, didn’t look like she had the heart or the mobility to stay in the longer rallies, but you have to hand it to Kartal to raises her fist triumphantly as the crowd on Court No 3 go wild!
Kartal is on the verge of a historic victory over Ostapenko! The Brit, ranked 51 in the world, was 5-0 up in the deciding third set, but Ostapenko is rallying and got the score back to 5-2. So Kartal has a second chance to serve for the match … can she hold her nerve? The home crowd are roaring her on as Kartal takes to the baseline, looking a little nervous.
Bad news for Oliver Crawford. The British qualifier lost the second set to Mattia Bellucci and is now a break down in the third set. Crawford is 3-1 down and searching for rhythm in his first ever grand slam appearance.
Cam Norrie, a semi-finalist here in 2022 remember, is out on court 18 and on serve against Spanish veteran Roberto Bautista Agut. It’s 3-2 to the Brit.
I really didn’t see this momentum change after Ostapenko won the second set, but following a game where the No 20 seed was broken to love with a double fault, Kartal is now 3-0 up and serving to make it 4-0 in the deciding third set!
Two other results to tell you about, the first of these championships not affected by injury.
No 14 seed Elina Svitolina is through after a straight sets win over Anna Bondar, while No 22 seed Donna Vekic has beaten Kimberly Birrell 6-0, 6-4.
Ons Jabeur retires hurt!
The two-time Wimbledon finalist had a medical timeout in the first set, which she lost 7-6 (5) to Viktoriya Tomova, before bowing out with an injury when 2-0 down in the second set. I’m not sure of the cause of Jabeur’s injury, but that is a huge shame. Tomova progresses to the second round.
This is the first year where there are no line judges, as Wimbledon gets it in line with the majority of ATP and WTA tournaments, along with two of the other three grand slam tournaments is using electronic line calling.
The technology allowing challenges was first introduced in 2007, but will now be utilised to automatically call all outs, faults, and foot faults. Wimbledon say the system is almost failsafe, and that in the qualifying at Roehampton this year it broke just once for one point.
For more info on that, click here for Connor Myers’s handy article on what new things to watch out for this year, from more expensive strawberries to the total prize money pot rising 7% to £53.5m.
Having lost the first set to Kartal, Ostapenko looks visibly peeved and on a mission to put things right in the second, with some thunderous returns that are just too powerful for the Brit. The Latvian is 4-1 up in the second set and has another break point to make it 5-1.
Three matches in the men’s draw to update you on.
Two Brits, the aforementioned Oliver Tarvet, at No 719 the lowest-ranked player at Wimbledon, and Oliver Crawford are both a set up against their respective opponents, Leandro Riedi and Monica Mattia Bellucci. Tarvet leads 6-4 and is a break up in the second set, 3-2. Crawford won the first-set tie-break 7-6 (2) and is on serve in the second set, 1-2.
Elsewhere, No 12 seed American Frances Tiafoe is cruising against Elmer Møller, 6-3, 3-1.
Jabeur left the court for a medical timeout during her first set against Viktoriya Tomova. The Tunisian looked visibly upset in her chair and spent about 14 minutes off the court. It’s unclear what the issue is, or if it is just the heat – let’s hope she’s OK. Regardless of the cause, Jabeur is back out there, it’s 5-5 and Tomova’s serve.
Kartal beats Ostapenko to the first set, 7-5!
From 3-0 down to now 6-5 up, Sonay Kartal now has a chance to serve for the first set against Jelena Ostapenko, the former French Open winner and Wimbledon semi-finalist! The British No 3 is really hitting his cleanly and looks very mobile at the back of the court, with Ostapenko visibly frustrated.
In the set’s deciding game, Kartal sends an ace down the T to move to 40-0 up, and after a wayward forehand, an unforced error from Ostapenko gifts the first set to the Brit. She is halfway to a real shock here!
Another player who has previously gone very deep into the women’s draw is Elina Svitolina, twice a semi-finalist in 2019 and 2023. She is giving the Hungarian Anna Bondar a bit of a pasting on court 18, 6-3 and a break up in the second set, 1-0.
Ons Jabeur, who was a beaten finalist here in both 2022 and 2023, has had a rocky start against a fellow unseeded player, Bulgarian Viktoriya Tomova, but after going a break down, has brought things back to 2-3. The Tunisian is back on serve, out on court 14.
Answers to my game. Thank you all for playing.
1) Wimbledon! The Southfields sign in the background and Waitrose plastic bag in the foreground were a bit of a giveaway.
2) Glastonbury, 2008.
3) I don’t need to tell you the answer, do I?
4) A tougher one but this is Rufus the Harris’s Hawk, used to keep pigeons away from the Wimbledon courts, pictured with handler Donna Davis.
5) Wimbledon. My Spanish is poor but “Cabeza, corazon, cojones” translates to “Head, heart, balls”. I assume they are off to see defending champion Carlos Alcaraz, who starts his campaign on Centre Court against Fabio Fognini at 1.30pm BST.
“The grass looks simply amazing and people dressed as strawberries are daft but endearing,” emails Carrie Ilbrey. “So looking forward to the next two weeks.”
Another Brit wildcard, the 5ft3in Sonay Kartal, has had a tough start against the formidable Jelena Ostapenko on Court No 3. The former French Open champion had raced into a 3-0 lead in the first set but Kartal slowly clawed her way back into the match. Kartal held serve and now has two break points to get things back to 3-2, on serve but blows a forehand return wide and sends another forehand just wide to allow Ostapenko to get back to deuce. From there, the Latvian holds. A chance missed for the Brit, alas.
Out on Court 4, the lowest-ranked player in the men’s draw is 21-year‑old British qualifier Oliver Tarvet, who is currently on serve in the first set against Leandro Riedi.
As mentioned in Tumaini Carayol’s piece on Sunday, the No 719 in the world spends most of his time playing tennis in college for the University of San Diego, something that has had a direct effect on the prize money he can claim. Players that qualify for the first round normally bag £66,000 but college rules in the US mean that under NCAA rules, players are restricted in how much they can claim from professional tournaments. On Friday, Tarvet explained players are allowed $10,000 (£7,290) in profit every year, as well as any expenses incurred during the events.
“I know there have been complaints about it but I don’t want to speak too much about it and overstep the mark,” he told the BBC. “But in my opinion, I’ve worked hard to get this money. I don’t feel like it’s undeserved the money that I’ve got. I think it would be good to see a change in the rules of the NCAA, but at the same time, I don’t want to get involved. It’s not really my place. But I’ve done well this week. I think I deserve this money.”
Wimbledon is officially underway!
Play has begun on the outer courts!
This wouldn’t be a Wimbledon liveblog without us mentioning the weather. Today’s weather is … scorchio! That’s bad news for the planet and bad news for the players.
The latest heatwave is expected to push temperatures close to record levels for June and result in the hottest ever start to Wimbledon.
Amber heat alerts remain in place until Tuesday evening for all of southern, western and eastern England with a warning of excess deaths particularly among those over 65, and increased demand on health and social care services.
Meanwhile, the London fire brigade has highlighted a “severe” risk of wildfires.
After the temperature rose to more than 30C (86F) in parts of southern England this weekend, it is forecast to hit 34C on Monday. This would make it the hottest day of the year so far, and just short of the UK’s record temperature for June of 35.6C, recorded in Southampton in 1976.
Allow Instagram content?
This article includes content provided by Instagram. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. To view this content, click ‘Allow and continue’.
Here’s what some of the favourites in the women’s and men’s draw have had to say for themselves in the lead up to the tournament.
Wimbledon and Glastonbury are two English institutions on the complete opposite ends of the spectrum, yet they do share some similarities. I wonder if anyone has travelled from Worthy Farm directly to the queue at SW19. Hopefully they have had a shower.
Let’s play a game. It’s a simple one, where you guess whether the image is from Glastonbury or Wimbledon. Answers to come a little later, if they are not too obvious. Get yours in to michael.butler@theguardian.com.
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
To get you in the mood before the action starts, why not have a read of some preview content.
First, Simon Cambers on Emma Raducanu, who admitted her first-round battle with the 17-year-old Welsh player Mimi Xu that “truthfully I don’t expect much from myself this year.”
Next, Tumaini Carayol on Carlos Alcaraz. At just 22, he is seeking to become only the fifth man in the open era to win three consecutive Wimbledon titles. He would also become the fourth man to win the French Open and Wimbledon back‑to-back on multiple occasions in the open era, after Rod Laver, Björn Borg and Rafael Nadal. Ooooof.
Preamble
Here we go again. The first day of Wimbledon is here. The sun is out, the grass is so green it looks like it has been dyed (for the first week at least), the strawberries are prepped, the hamstrings are stretched, the players’ white uniforms and patrons’ red trousers have each been perfectly ironed, the ballboys and ballgirls have been trained to within an inch of their lives and here I am, dressed like Luke Wilson in the Royal Tenenbaums (minus the magnificent beard and arm bandages), sitting in my front room, on the edge of my seat, ready to bring the latest updates from SW19.
The live action starts at 11am BST on the outer courts, with notable seeds Frances Tiafoe, Daniil Medvedev, Elina Svitolina, Jeļena Ostapenko among those first up in action against their lesser-ranked opponents. Others like this year’s Australian Open winner Madison Keys and British male Cameron Norrie are due to begin just after midday, while the show courts will start at 1pm/1.30pm. Carlos Alcaraz kicks things off on Centre Court against Italian veteran Fabio Fognini, which is a particularly tasty encounter. World No 1 Arnya Sabalenka, Emma Raducanu, Alexander Zverev, teenage upstart João Fonseca and American hopeful Taylor Fritz are all in action on a bumper opening day.
Here is an order of play, for your perusal.
Quick Guide
Wimbledon 2025: day one order of play
Show
Centre Court (1.30pm BST start)
F Fognini (It) v C Alcaraz (Sp, 2)
P Badosa (Sp, 9) v K Boulter (GB)
A Rinderknech (Fr) v A Zverev (Ger, 3)
No.1 Court (1pm BST start)
A Sabalenka (Blr, 1) v C Branstine (Can)
J Fearnley (GB) v J Fonseca (Bra)
E Raducanu (GB) v M Xu (GB)
No.2 Court (11am BST start)
B Bonzi (Fr) v D Medvedev (Rus, 9)
E Ruse (Rom) v M Keys (US, 6)
J Paolini (It, 4) v A Sevastova (Lat)
T Fritz (US, 5) v G Mpetshi-Perricard (Fr)
No.3 Court (11am BST start)
S Kartal (GB) v J Ostapenko (Lat, 20)
H Rune (Den, 8) v N Jarry (Chi)
M Berrettini (It, 32) v K Majchrzak (Pol)
K Siniakova (Cz) v Q Zheng (Chn, 5)
Court 12 (11am BST start)
E Moller (Den) v F Tiafoe (US, 12)
V Royer (Fr) v S Tsitsipas (Gr, 24)
L Fernandez (Can, 29) v H Klugman (GB)
M Vondrousova (Cz) v M Kessler (US, 32)
Court 18
A Bondar (Hun) v E Svitolina (Ukr, 14)
C Norrie (GB) v R Bautista Agut (Sp)
M McDonald (US) v K Khachanov (Rus, 17)
N Osaka (Jpn) v T Gibson (Aus)
Do get in touch with me today with your thoughts, predictions, musings or reflections: michael.butler@theguardian.com.
