The beautiful game? Not here
Before you pack your England shirt for SW19, be warned: Wimbledon is staying firmly in its own sporting lane. The All England Club confirmed that no World Cup matches would be shown anywhere on site. Centre Court, yes. Centre-forward, absolutely not. The football faithful, however, are nothing if not resourceful.“We are here to watch Senhor João Fonseca,” said Luis Suassuna, attending his first tennis tournament with his brother and cousin, all three donning bright canary yellow Brazil tops. “Hopefully he gives us some good tennis but also no need for him to drag it out too much because the Seleção kick-off against Japan at 6pm. No time for us to get back to our Airbnb so we will be watching on Henman Hill.” Elsewhere, a group of German fans admitted they had not realised how far Wimbledon was from central London and were already plotting an escape to find a pub before Paraguay at 9.30pm. “We have been Googling German fan groups in south London all day,” said Karl Weber. “No luck so far!”
Game, set, algorithm
As fans streamed through the gates on day one, Wimbledon offered the tennis and so much more. Visitors can make keyrings, blend perfumes, re-string tennis rackets and – because it is 2026 – let AI decide what kind of fan they are. Tucked behind Centre Court, IBM’s AI Fan Experience scanned faces before dropping visitors into computer-generated Wimbledon scenes, from the Royal Box to Henman Hill. Ironically, almost every backdrop recreated something you could simply walk over and photograph yourself (Royal Box access still reserved for the David Beckhams of the world). Even at the home of tradition, AI has slithered its way on to the grass.
British blues
The tournament was barely under way before two crushing blows to British hopes. First came Emma Raducanu’s withdrawal with a stress fracture, then 24 hours later Jack Draper announced he too would miss the Championships after a recurrence of the arm injury that has troubled him over the past year. “There have been a lot of painful moments in the last 12 months but this one is definitely the absolute worst as there is no greater honour for a British player than playing at Wimbledon,” Draper said. Early British casualties on the opening day were the 17-year-old Mika Stojsavljevic, who lost 6-2, 6-1 against the 2025 semi-finalist Belinda Bencic, and Max Basing who went out 6-3, 6-0, 6-0 against the fellow qualifier Shintaro Mochizuki. The wildcard Felix Gill also lost 6-3, 6-3, 7-5 against Rafa Jodar and Harriet Dart fell 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 against Jelena Ostapenko.
A champion’s empty seat
The sun was shining over SW19 but a cloud lingered over this year’s Championships with the absence of the 2023 champion Marketa Vondrousova, who received a four-year ban for refusing an out-of-competition anti-doping test. Vondrousova said months of physical and mental stress, along with concerns for her safety, influenced her decision not to provide a sample when doping officials visited her home. The case has divided opinion, with world No 4 Jessica Pegula questioning whether the punishment fits the offence. “I don’t think that’s fair. The sentencing is so harsh,” Pegula said. “You’re ruining someone’s career over something that could have been a complete misunderstanding. I don’t quite understand the difference between that and what happened with [Jannik] Sinner and Iga [Swiatek].”
