Wimbledon 2026 Draw: Raducanu and Draper Face Tough
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- Emma Raducanu (30th seed) was drawn against Croatia's Antonia Ruzic in round one and could meet world No 1 Aryna Sabalenka in the third round — a rematch of last year's 7-6 (8-6), 6-4 defeat — but the Brit is an injury doubt after wearing a protective boot on her right foot Wednesday and skipping a scheduled Thursday practice session.
- Jack Draper drew No 6 seed Taylor Fritz in round one; Draper leads their all-time ATP Tour head-to-head after five previous meetings.
- Serena Williams, accepting a singles wild card at age 44 for her first Slam since the 2022 US Open, opens against world No 53 Maya Joint, who debuted at the All England Club last year; the Williams sisters also received a doubles wild card and face Colombia's Camila Osorio and Argentina's Solana Sierra in round one.
- Novak Djokovic (seven-time Wimbledon champion) faces China's Yibing Wu in round one and could meet Stefanos Tsitsipas in round two; Djokovic is on the same side of the draw as defending champion and world No 1 Jannik Sinner, Daniil Medvedev, and third seed Felix Auger-Aliassime, setting up a potential Djokovic-Sinner semi-final.
- Defending women's champion Iga Swiatek opens against Taylor Townsend, while French Open champion Alexander Zverev landed on the more favourable side of the men's draw and could meet Ben Shelton, Fritz, or Alex de Minaur deeper in the bracket.
- Other British draws: 17-year-old wild card Mika Stojsavljevic was handed No 12 Belinda Bencic, Cameron Norrie meets 17-year-old qualifier Michael Zheng (a 2026 Australian Open second-round qualifier), Katie Boulter faces Tyra Grant, and Toby Samuel drew No 15 seed Jakub Mensik.
Why it matters: Raducanu enters Monday as a genuine injury doubt rather than just a tough underdog — a protective boot and missed practice three days out changes the calculus on her Sabalenka rematch and a potential all-British tie with Harriet Dart in round two. Djokovic and Sinner sharing one half of the men's draw means a blockbuster semi-final is locked in regardless of upsets, while Serena's first Slam singles match since September 2022 makes her opener against the unheralded Joint a broadcast moment.
