Sinner begins Wimbledon defense, Sabalenka seeks first title

LONDON: Wimbledon begins on Monday, with defending champion Jannik Sinner ‌chasing a fifth Grand Slam title and women’s top seed Aryna Sabalenka chasing her first major of the year.
In the absence of rival and two-time Wimbledon winner ​Carlos Alcaraz, Sinner is the clear favorite this year, but the Italian may have to contend with the hot weather and his own lack of preparation as he seeks to defend his title. After his second-round defeat at the French Open from a near-winning position when he cramped up in sizzling conditions, the 24-year-old skipped the warm-up tournaments ahead of the grasscourt slam.
He said this could work to his benefit, however, ahead of his opening clash with Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic on Monday.
“If you play a tournament before here, maybe it’s not ‌going the way ‌you would like to, you come here with some ​doubts,” ‌he ⁠told reporters ​on ⁠Saturday.
“If you don’t play any tournament, you don’t have these doubts, you just go and play.”
Sabalenka has been at the top of the WTA rankings since late 2024, but the Belarusian has only won one Grand Slam title in the past 18 months, despite reaching four finals.

She also suffered a collapse against Diana Shnaider in the French Open quarter-finals last month, losing the last 10 games in a row. She said after ⁠that she wanted to “quit tennis” but has since worked with a ‌psychologist and said she was not affected as much by ‌losing to Jessica Pegula in this month’s Berlin Open ​semifinals.
“I felt really good throughout the tournament ‌there.