Sir Gareth Southgate, Sir David Beckham and Princess Beatrice were among the well-known faces in the Royal Box as Wimbledon got under way.

They watched defending champion Carlos Alcaraz take on Italy’s Fabio Fognini on Centre Court, joined by Sarah, Duchess of York, and Princess Beatrice’s husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi.

The front row also featured Beckham’s mother Sandra and All England Club chair Deborah Jevans.

The Royal Box hosts invited guests each day of the Championships, typically including members of the royal family, sporting stars and high-profile figures from public life.

READ MORE: Traffic warning issued ahead of prestigious event

Sporting a cream suit, Sir David’s appearance comes just days after he had surgery to repair issues relating to a playing injury from his England career.

The former England captain broke his wrist in May 2003 in a friendly match between England and South Africa in Durban.

Last week Lady Victoria Beckham captioned the post on Instagram Stories, which shows Sir David lying in bed wearing a brace on his arm, with the words “Get well soon Daddy”.

A second image posted by the former Spice Girl shows what appears to be Sir David’s hand with a bracelet also carrying a get well soon message.

On Monday (June 30) Emma Raducanu smiled and waved as she entered Court One to cheers, while Xu had her ears covered by large headphones.

Mingge Xu made a nervous start and Ms Raducanu immediately broke serve but holding a long third game settled Xu down and she began to show why she is considered such a good prospect.

Mingge Xu during her match against Emma Raducanu (Image: John Walton/PA Wire) Ms Xu sent down serves close to 120mph and troubled Ms Raducanu on occasion with her powerful ground strokes but a missed second serve return at 4-3 30-30 showed her inexperience, and the first set disappeared in a slew of errors.

READ MORE: Football club appeals for help after finding ‘devastating surprise’ at stadium

While Ms Xu left the court to change, Ms Raducanu showed she is not above a bit of mid-match litter picking, collecting a champagne cork that had flown from the stands on to the court with a chuckle and putting it in a bin.

Ms Xu’s best moments came early in the second set when she twice broke the Raducanu serve, earning her reward for staying on the front foot and going for the lines.

She could not hold her own delivery, though, and Ms Raducanu clinched her first match point after an hour and 25 minutes to maintain her record of never having lost in the first round.

With Hannah Klugman also losing, hopes of a breakout teenage star rested on the shoulders of US Open junior champion Mika Stojsavljevic.