Sinner hurts, but survives

Day 1 of 14 Monday 29 June 2026 · First round

Sinner gets hurt before he prevails, as the British retreat gathers pace

The opening day of any Wimbledon is a curious affair, equal parts garden party and provider of shock upsets, and the 2026 edition wasted little time in living up to the billing. The defending champion was made to bleed, quite literally, before he prevailed; the leading lady of the women’s draw went about her work with rather more serenity; and the home contingent, already depleted before a ball was struck, suffered further losses that will have sent the host nation reaching for something stronger than barley water.

The day’s talking points

Jannik Sinner, the top seed and defending champion, opened proceedings on Centre Court and promptly found himself in altogether more trouble than the form book had any right to predict. Pushed the full five sets by the obdurate Miomir Kecmanović and hampered first by an awkward early fall and then, more alarmingly, by a shoe stained red from a troublesome blister, Sinner looked, for a set or two, decidedly mortal. He gathered himself to win 4–6, 6–3, 6–7(6), 6–2, 6–3, struck thirty-one aces to his opponent’s solitary one, and insisted afterwards that the examination would do him good in the long run. One rather hopes, for the sake of the fortnight, that he proves to be right.

Aryna Sabalenka, by happy contrast, could scarcely have asked for a smoother afternoon, easing past Teodora Kostović 6–2, 6–3. After a chastening grass swing and a difficult time of it in Paris, it was precisely the confidence-builder the world No.1 required and a quiet, early answer to those of us who had wondered aloud about her wavering. Novak Djokovic, meanwhile, in pursuit of his own slice of history, was made to labour for a four-set win over Wu Yibing, while Félix Auger-Aliassime and Daniil Medvedev advanced with considerably less fuss.

Seeds down

The seeds fell in clusters. Casper Ruud and Andrey Rublev both departed at the first hurdle; the American Ethan Quinn dismissed Luciano Darderi in straight sets; and, in the cruellest blow of all to the home crowd, the qualifier Michael Zheng outlasted Cameron Norrie across five sets to remove Britain’s leading seeded man. The ladies’ draw produced its customary opening-day carnage — Fernandez, Potapova, Li and Chwalinska all seeded and all sent home while the former US Open champion Bianca Andreescu was edged out in a pair of tie-breaks by the redoubtable Zhang Shuai.

For the home supporter, it was a thoroughly miserable Monday. With Emma Raducanu already lost to a stress fracture on the eve of play, Jack Draper was forced to withdraw with injury, Norrie was beaten in five, and Harriet Dart joined the procession to the exit. British interest, it must regretfully be said, is thinning at an alarming rate.

Vera’s form calls — marked to market

• Men · BankerHeldJannik Sinner came good, though he gave us all palpitations in doing so. A five-set scare is not the serene progress one envisaged, but the banker is through — and a stern examination on day one rarely does a champion any lasting harm.
• Men · ValueEasedTaylor Fritz is yet to appear, but the draw has smiled upon him: Draper’s withdrawal removes the most awkward opponent on his side of the sheet. He begins on day two.
• Men · Dark horseTo playFrances Tiafoe opens on day two — our first sight of whether the Halle form travels to SW19.
• Women · BankerTo playIga Świątek begins on day two, against Taylor Townsend.
• Women · ValueTo playElena Rybakina opens on day two, against Lois Boisson.
• Women · Dark horseTo playAlex Eala awaits her turn in the second wave of first-round matches.