Wimbledon Day 1 schedule: Sinner and Djokovic begin campaigns amid relief from heat

The pristine grass courts of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club are ready for action as Wimbledon 2026 gets underway on Monday 29 June. Day 1 features a star-studded line-up packed with definitive title contenders, structural shift stories and intriguing opening round tests. All eyes will be on Center Court and Court No. 1 as the top half of the men’s draw and the bottom half of the women’s draw begin their campaigns on SW19’s historic lawns.

Wimbledon’s premier courts will host some of the biggest names in modern tennis. The action on Center Court starts at 13:30 BST, while the matches on Court No. 1 will start a little earlier at 13:00 BST.

Here are the confirmed draws for the first two courts in chronological order

Center Court (from 18:00 IST)

Match 1: Jannik Sinner (1) vs Miomir Kecmanovic

match 2: Aryna Sabalenka (1) vs Teodora Kostovic

match 3: Yibing Wu vs Novak Djokovic (7) No.1

Court 1 (from 17:30 IST)

Match 1: Antonia Ruzic vs Emma Raducanu (30)

match 2: Marin Cilic vs Daniil Medvedev (8)

match 3: Magda Linette vs Mirra Andreeva (5)

Court 2 (from 15:30 IST)

Match 1: Jessica Pegula (4) vs D Vidmanova

match 2: Cameron Norrie (26) vs. Michael Zheng

match 3: Felix Auger Aliassime (3) vs. Aleksandr Shevchetsenko

match 4: Coco Guaff (7) vs. Tamara Korpatsch

WHAT TO EXPECT FROM THE BIG GUNS

Reuters photo

Big expectations rest on the shoulders of the three main players of the day: Jannik Sinner, Novak Djokovic and Aryna Sabalenkova.

Jannik Sinner

Defending champion Jannik Sinner carries the unique pressure of opening a fortnight on Center Court, a privilege that tests a player’s nerves as much as their baseline rhythm. The world number one comes to London and tries to exorcise the ghosts and a physically demanding exit from the semi-finals of the French Openwhere grueling five-hundred conditions eventually revealed a rare vulnerability in his otherwise flawless season.

Against a stubborn Miomir Kecmanovic in his opener, the Italian’s main task will be to build his sliding defense and hyper-aggressive groundstrokes on the pristine grass surface, which remains notoriously slippery during these opening encounters.

Novak Djokovic

For Novak Djokovic, entering SW19 as the seventh seed represents a fascinating shift in the narrative, placing the seven-time champion in the rare position of being the hunted predator rather than the hunted favourite.

The Serbian maestro has already sounded the alarm about how the recent heat wave in London has “totally transformed” the living surface at the All England Club, warning that the baking ground is changing the bounce of the ball and altering footwork mechanics. Opening his campaign against the unpredictable Yibing Wu, Djokovic’s unique grass IQ and unrivaled ability to navigate the changed surface characteristics will be heavily relied upon by Djokovic as he faces a tough road to the quarter-finals, having been drawn in the same half as Sinner.

Aryna Sabalenka

Top seed Aryna Sabalenková enters center court with a point to prove and a game built around dismantling the grass defense. Her tremendous serving power and punishing, flat hitting make her a natural favorite on this surface, but the real test for Belarus will be in mastering the tactical nuances of the evolving conditions in the opening week. Facing qualifier Teodora Kostovic in the first round, Sabalenka will need to maintain intense focus through potentially harder moisture-softened balls to ensure her high-octane game finds its target without the erratic baseline spells that have occasionally derailed her deep slam runs.

HOW HOT WILL LONDON BE?

In addition to their opponents, players must contend with brutal atmospheric conditions as an unprecedented heat wave has gripped Europe.

But there is some relief.

Londoners are bracing for a much-needed break from the punishing heatwave that has gripped the capital over the past week.

An unprecedented series of back-to-back Red Extreme Heat warnings, triggered by sweltering humidity and daily highs soaring to a brutal 38C to 39C, has officially broken the UK’s all-time June temperature record. Along with sleepless “tropical nights” where temperatures refused to drop below 20 degrees Celsius, the city’s infrastructure and residents were pushed to their limits.

– The end

Issued by:

Akshay Ramesh

Published on:

June 29, 2026 10:45 AM IST