That was special from Carlos Alcaraz (James Gheerbrant writes). Having carved out break point, he seems to be on the back foot in the ensuing rally when Cam Norrie forces him into the corner, but he whips a glorious forehand which arcs over the head of Norrie at the net, dips, and lands on the baseline. An awed ‘woah’ sweeps around Centre Court, and Alcaraz has a double-break. He has his foot on the gas pedal, and he keeps it there by rattling through a love service game to lead 5-1.
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A see-sawing first three games on Centre (James Gheerbrant writes). Cam Norrie brings up triple break point in Carlos Alcaraz’s first service game with a stunning forehand, but Alcaraz saves them all, and one more for good measure. Alcaraz then nails a backhand return in the next game to earn two break points of his own. Norrie aces, then double-faults to hand over the first break of this quarter-final.
Norrie puts early pressure on Alcaraz
Impressive start for Norrie who holds well, then races to a 0-40 lead on the Alcaraz serve and has three break points. The world No2 doesn’t panic and saves them all, but finds the net with a backhand slice and Norrie has a fourth chance to break. He fails to convert and a deft drop shot gives Alcaraz the advantage and he holds after Norrie goes long. Good start for the Brit.
Khachanov: AI line calls are very questionable
Karen Khachanov, the player involved in the latest controversy over the automatic line calling system, has said there were other “questionable” calls during his match with Taylor Fritz (David Brown writes).
“It looks like AI and electronic line calls has to be very precise and no mistakes, but we’ve seen a couple,” said the Russian following his defeat.
“That’s questionable why this is happening. Is it just like an error of the machine or what’s the reason? I think there were a few calls. I don’t know, very questionable if it’s really touching the line or not.
“At the same time during one point, the machine call it just ‘out’ during the rally. Sometimes it’s scary to let machine do what they want”
Alcaraz vs Norrie up next on Centre
Aryna Sabalenka’s victory means that we’re not far away from seeing Carlos Alcaraz and Cam Norrie on Centre Court (James Gheerbrant writes). It’s a huge ask for Norrie, of course, to beat the two-time defending champion, who has lost just one of his last 30 matches on grass. But Norrie has beaten Alcaraz twice before and speaking a couple of days ago, Alcaraz described Norrie’s game-style as “almost a nightmare” for him. Only four men — Alexander Zverev, Novak Djokovic, Jannik Sinner and Felix Auger-Aliassime — have beaten the Spaniard three times.
Ballgirl steps in as Hewitt’s doubles partner
High drama here on Court 18 where Lleyton Hewitt’s playing partner in the invitational doubles is one of the ballgirls (Owen Slot writes). The score tells us that Hewitt’s partner is in fact Mark Philippoussis, which makes sense because I saw them playing together earlier. The ballgirl, however, is making a pretty decent fist of it, even though her serve isn’t quite hitting the speeds that Philippoussis’s did.
I am guessing that Philippoussis has gone for a toilet break. In the meantime, the ball girl has just played a neat passing shot beating Xavier Malisse down the backhand tramline.
Here is the line-call system malfunction from earlier
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Enable cookiesAllow cookies onceMore on that line-calling error on No1 Court
The problem with the automatic line calling system during Taylor Fritz’s match was caused because a ballboy was retrieving a ball from the middle of the court while the American was preparing to serve, a Wimbledon official has said (David Brown writes).
The rally continued for three strokes before the “fault” call when Fritz hit the ball outside the serving box on No1 Court.
A Wimbledon spokeswoman said: “The player’s service motion began while the BBG [ballboy or girl] was still crossing the net and therefore the system didn’t recognise the start of the point,” she said. “As such the chair umpire instructed the point be replayed.”
Sabalenka: Siegemund’s game is smart, not annoying
Sabalenka hailed the performance of her opponent post-match.
“She played an incredible match, and I am super happy with the win,” the world No1 said. “Thank you so much for your support. You don’t understand how much you really helped me to stay in game and keep fighting.
“It’s a smart game she plays, not annoying. She really makes your work for every point, big server, big hitter, everyone has to run and earn the win. I was trying not to give her that energy, I didn’t want her to see I was annoyed even if I definitely was at some points!”
Sabalenka survives scare on Centre
Sabalenka breaks to win. What a match (Rick Broadbent writes). It was a clash of contrasts with the top seed’s power against the slice, blocks, drop shots and all-round guile of Siegemund. Both deserve enormous credit. Siegemund led 4-3 with a break in the third set and had made the favourite look ungainly and exasperated, but the best players have a way of dragging victories from the jaws of defeat. A final deep forehand and a winning volley gave her a victory that hung by a thread for a time. Credit to Siegemund for presenting Sabalenka with a different sort of challenge, but it’s the Belarusian who gets through. “I need some time to cool down and recover. She pushed me so much. After the first set I was looking to my box [thinking] book the tickets [home].”
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Enable cookiesAllow cookies onceSiegemund having to dig deep
The umpire berates a fan for applauding between serves for spoiling the game for everyone (Rick Broadbent writes). Everyone applauds. Sabalenka waits. She makes easy work of this game. A rare ace takes her to 40-0. Two points later another gives her the game. It’s 5-4 and after all this work, Siegemund will have to dig deeper than ever to serve to stay in the match.
I’ve just been at the Aorangi Park practice courts to run the rule over Jannik Sinner’s practice session in order to see what sort of shape he is in following last night’s drama and all the uncertainty over his wounded elbow (Owen Slot writes).
Sinner was due to start practice at 4pm. However, at just after the appointed hour, we were told that his practice session had been cancelled.
That, of course, is an intriguing fact. The most obvious assumption is that his elbow is still causing him too much pain to get back to practice before his next match tomorrow. And that sounds like bad news for Sinner and good news for Ben Shelton, his quarter-final opponent.
There is, of course, the possibility that he has gone to train elsewhere in private where he will not be giving away possibly crucial insights into his fitness. And he may also just need one more day’s rest to get the elbow right again.
Forced to generate her own power with Siegemund blocking and slicing, Sabalenka has struggled for most of this match (Rick Broadbent writes). Guts and nerves are coming into it now and after both players exchange a flurry of slices, the top seed gets a break back point. Siegemund’s overhead gives Sabalenka a passing chance but she misses. Then Siegemund goes long by an inch. Another opportunity. And another block goes narrowly long. It’s 4-4.
Sabalenka appears to be breaking down as Siegemund closes in on a routine hold of serve. The world No1 mistimes a backhand into the tram lines, and then hits the net with a seemingly simple forehand drive. But out of nowhere, Sabalenka changes her approach as the pair exchange slice after slice, with the world No1 comes out on top and has a break back point. She can’t see it out first time of asking but Siegemund goes long second time round and we are back on serve at 4-4 in the final set.
Yet another twist as Siegemund breaks
Errors on both sides of the net now, which is understandable after 154 minutes (Rick Broadbent writes). From a half-court ball Sabalenka makes a costly one and fires a backhand into the net, letting out a cry of anguish. Siegemund has hung in and now leads 4-3 with a break. I suspect that in a match of twisty-turny fare they will contrive more drama yet, but what chance for a woman ranked outside the world’s top 100.
All square at 3-3 as Sabalenka breaks (Rick Broadbent writes). Siegemund found the wrong time for a double fault in that game. Buckle up.
Crunch time in Sabalenka vs Siegemund
Siegemund misses the biggest sitter you will see this summer with a 3-1 lead (Rick Broadbent writes). That helps Sabalenka to a simple hold. We are getting towards the crunch. It’s been a cracker. 3-2 to Siegemund with a break.
Deuce, 2-1 and Siegemund gets a time violation on her serve (Rick Broadbent writes). I imagine she is surprised it has taken so long and she is unfazed. She wins the next two points with comfort and leads 3-1.
At one point in this game Sabalenka is on her knees, berating herself, the tennis gods, AI or an even higher authority. She needs to show real grit now because this could unravel quickly.
Fritz through after third-set scare
Taylor Fritz is through to his first Wimbledon semi-final courtesy of a gutsy performance in the fourth set tie-break (Alyson Rudd writes). There were two malfunctions on No1 Court. The first was Fritz’s dramatic dip in form in the third set which he lost 6-1. The second was an erroneous call from the electronic line judge that meant a point had to be stopped mid way through. Neither had a material effect on the match, however.
“I’ve never had a match that flipped so quickly” Fritz said of the third set. “I gave him a lot of hope.
“I started making a ton of mistakes.”
Having lost in five sets twice before at the quarter-final stage he was mightily relieved to get the job done in four sets this time.
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Enable cookiesAllow cookies onceAre the robots reliable enough?
Wimbledon’s automatic line judging system is now shouting out calls apparently randomly (David Brown writes).
This time the Hawk-Eye system announced “fault” mid rally in American Taylor Fritz’s match against Karen Khachanov on No.1 Court.
The umpire, Louise Azemar-Engzell, stopped the match during the first game of the fourth set and made a call to the referees’ office. There was slow clapping from spectators before a chorus of boos as the umpire announced: “Ladies and gentleman, we will replay the last point due to a malfunction with the system.”
The All England Club is looking into the cause.
Fritz, who went on to win the march, had said on Sunday about problems with the system: “It’s frustrating when you mess up in a match, and then you have to get over it.”
Wimbledon blamed “human error” for problems with the system during the match between Britain’s Sonay Kartal and Russia’s Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova on Sunday. A point had to be replayed when the line call system’s cameras were accidentally switched off on part of Centre Court.
Sabalenka break down in decider
Brilliant from Siegemund who gives Sabalenka the runaround to break her to love (Rick Broadbent writes). The last point is a gem, with clever shot selection, a lob and a winner. Sabalenka has never got to grips with the blocked return and the drop shot. A big game coming up for the German who leads 2-1.
In the words of a former great commentator: “Oh I say”. Siegemund is pegged back from 40-0 to 40-30 in her opening service game but her low, flat forehand hits the very top of the net and crawls over (Rick Broadbent writes). Siegemund offers the customary insincere apology and it’s 1-1.
Arévalo and Pavic through to semi-finals
Marcelo Arévalo and Mate Pavic, the top seeds in the men’s doubles, are through to the semi-finals, after surviving a tight three-setter against the 10th seeds Hugo Nys and Édouard Roger-Vasselin (James Gheerbrant writes). They’ve prevailed 10-5 in a match tie-break, and will go through to face Rinky Hijikata and David Pel, the unseeded pair who weren’t even in the initial draw. Incidentally, Pavic’s record of having won his seven grand-slam doubles titles (four in men’s, three in mixed) with seven different partners, which I personally think is quite cool, is under threat, as he and Arévalo won last year’s French Open together. He has not, however, won one before with Timea Babos, his partner in the mixed: and they’ll be in semi-final action against Sem Verbeek and Katerina Siniakova later today.
Who’s in the Royal Box today?
Acting royalty Ian McKellen, left, and Sienna Miller, centre, enjoy the action on Centre Court…
TIMES PHOTOGRAPHER MARC ASPLAND
… And Jodie Foster, right, also joins them for Sabalenka vs Siegemund
TIMES PHOTOGRAPHER MARC ASPLAND
No room for complacency from Sabalenka
Computer says no. At least in terms of an upset (Rick Broadbent writes). The IBM stats folk now give Siegemund a miserly 12 per cent chance of a win. That seems harsh. You would expect Sabalenka to come through now and she has certainly upped her game, but Siegemund has caused her enough problems to warrant a bit more doubt than that.
Sabalenka going to decider
Another drop shot and Sabalenka throws her hands in the air in disgust (Rick Broadbent writes). She is getting more accurate with her forehand, though, and Siegemund is soon hanging on. Another drop shot hits the net to bring up the first set point. It drifts long. Sabalenka let out her biggest roar yet and that forehand brings her another chance. Siegemund makes an unforced error. It’s a set each. Good Tuesday afternoon fare, this — 6-4, 2-6.
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That’s a big hold for Sabalenka. Her opponent pulled out all the stops but the Belarusian responded by piling on the power with a huge volley to save break point and lets out her biggest roar yet (Rick Broadbent writes). She gets to 5-2. It is still evenly contested but momentum may just be moving in the expected direction.
Another AI line-calling malfunction
Fritz received treatment from the physio at the end of what was a very sorry third set for him (Alyson Rudd writes). He had his toes strapped. At 15-0 on the Fritz serve in the opening game the umpire stopped play due to a system malfunction. It did not much bother the Russian who broke serve then held. Fritz stopped the rot by holding to trail 2-1. The so-called malfunction was not as dramatic as that seen in the Sonay Kartal match. But another incident to make us wonder about the reliability of robots.
You know it’s bad for Sabalenka because people are shouting for her in the way they do for an underdog (Rick Broadbent writes). The novelty of seeing her in trouble has segued into genuine concern that she may be going out in straight sets. It seems to work. Siegemund tosses in a double fault, fluffs a drop shot, and then loses an exchange at the net. That takes them to deuce and a flurry of big groundstrokes give Sabalenka the break. She leads 4-2 in the second. We could be going the distance here.
Huge moment in the second set, as Sabalenka breaks Siegemund to take a 4-2 lead. The world No1 pounces on Siegemund’s second serve and puts the German under pressure with some powerful groundstrokes. Siegemund miscues a backhand and Sabalenka gets the break and has brought herself some breathing space with new balls in play.
Cruz Hewitt, son of Lleyton, has had his run in the boys’ singles abruptly terminated by the Finnish 11th seed Oskari Paldanius, by a score of 6-3, 6-0 (James Gheerbrant writes). And in the men’s doubles, the final set between the top seeds Marcelo Arévalo and Mate Pavic and the 10th seeds Hugo Nys and Édouard Roger-Vasselin is going the distance: it’s currently 5-5.
Alarm bells for world No1
Okay, we thought this was maybe that turning point. Sabalenka does not have to do much and breaks to go 2-0 up, via a drop shot (Rick Broadbent writes). Take that. Sabalenka has been letting her emotions show here and would be a terrible poker player, but that’s better. And then what? Siegemund plays a drop shot off a serve again and has break back points. She sees it through. A phone has been ringing for the past few points. An alarm bell maybe.
Disinterested Fritz throws third set
Did anyone ever mention that tennis can be… weird (Alyson Rudd writes). Fritz, having been broken early in the third set, seems disinterested and clearly of the opinion that breaks matter too much to do anything about them. Out of nowhere Khachanov raced to a 5-0 lead playing inspired, confident strokes. Fritz claws it back to 5-1 but there is a fine line between being relaxed and underpowered. The Russian serves out to take the third set with ease.
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There is still a long way to go and the greats generally find a way back, but all those slices and drop shots have exposed Sabalenka’s Harry Maguire-esque pace around the court (Rick Broadbent writes). Siegemund gets another chance in the opening game but lets Sabalenka off the hook. Murmurs all around Centre Court.
Taylor Fritz seems to be having a bit of a wobble on No1 Court. After a business-like first two sets, he finds himself 4-0 down in the third and has lost his mojo a little. Maybe he had his mind on an afternoon in the sun a little early? Karen Khachanov has other ideas. He breaks the American straight away at the start of the third and follows that with a double break. It has unsettled Fritz to say the least.
Sabalenka drops first set
Trailing 5-4 on the Siegemund serve, Sabalenka nets on the first point and lets out a huge roar of frustration (Stuart Fraser writes). Then she loses an entertaining exchange at the net, followed by a miscue off a second serve. Three set points for the 37-year-old. She takes the second as Sabalenka makes a hash of another return. Siegemund has played a blinder here. Can she keep it up?
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Enable cookiesAllow cookies onceQuestions over Sinner’s fitness
Aside from the awfully unfortunate injury that Grigor Dimitrov suffered at two sets up on Centre Court last night, there was also a clear physical issue for his opponent Jannik Sinner (Stuart Fraser writes). After walking off the court as the winner through retirement, the world No1 from Italy revealed to reporters that he required an MRI scan on his right elbow.
No details of the MRI have been released by his team but Sinner is down on the practice sheet at Aorangi Park for a 4pm start, which suggests that it isn’t too serious an issue at this stage. We shall see how he hits the ball later.
Siegemund misses chance for set
Funny old game (Rick Broadbent writes). Having played a clever match to get to 5-2, serving for the set proves far harder for Siegemund. A double fault does not help and the game goes quickly. Is that a turning point?
Fritz believing in the process
It is very hard to see how Khachanov turns this around (Alyson Rudd writes). In the ninth game of the second set Fritz broke to love and not even the Russian’s willpower could do anything about his opponent’s clinical returns and point management. Fritz served out for the second set as if on the practice court. This is a masterclass from the American in believing in the process — as they say.
Top seeds taken to decider
On No12 Court, the top seeds in the men’s doubles, Marcelo Arevalo of El Salvador and Mate Pavic of Croatia, have been taken to a decider by the Franco-Monegasque pairing of Édouard Roger-Vasselin and Hugo Nys, who have just stormed through the second-set tie-breaker, taking it 7-2 (James Gheerbrant writes). Arévalo and Pavic won last year’s French Open but haven’t reached a grand slam final since then, and they’ve got work to do now.
There are a few signs that Sabalenka is getting to grips with Siegemund but she is still struggling to impose her power game on the wily German who plays as if it’s the 1970s with her slice, loops and guile (Rick Broadbent writes). Sabalenka has not lost a set at Wimbledon yet but is on the brink. Siegemund uses all her doubles skill to conjure up a break point with a brilliantly constructed point and winning volley. And she breaks yet again to go to 5-2.
Sabalenka set for date with Kyrgios (no, not that kind of date)
I think it’s fair to say Siegemund is annoying Sabalenka now (Rick Broadbent writes). She breaks her again to go 3-0 up.
This is good news for Nick Kyrgios too. He has revealed he is planning a ‘Battle of the Sexes’ Ultimate Tennis Showdown with Sabalenka in Hong Kong later this year.
The match will be played in eight-minute quarters rather than sets, on a smaller court and with only one serve permitted. A grand final is planned for London later this year. Kyrgios said: “This is going to be something that I’m really nervous for, to be honest, because she’s in her absolute prime and she’s getting the wooden legs of me, but I’m still feeling confident that I’ll get her.”
Back to the real stuff and Sabalenka gets one of those breaks back, but the slice and drop shots are troubling her. She trails 3-2.
The crowd on No1 can see how hard it is for the Russian to keep pace with Fritz and are giving him more support than he probably imagined he would receive (Alyson Rudd writes). But the spectators here like stoicism in the face of tough battles. Khachanov has struggled to hold serve in the second set (after losing the first set) but keeps pulling through. Fritz, meanwhile, is brimming with quiet self confidence.
Taylor Fritz has opened his quarter-final clash against Karen Khachanov with a commanding performance, taking the first set 6–2 on No1 Court. He broke Khachanov twice early, showcasing aggressive serving and crisp groundstrokes, and wrapped it up in 33 minutes. Fritz looked in control throughout the set, flashing the kind of power and precision that earned him his early edge.
There have been four games on Centre Court so far and only one of them has been a held service game. Siegemund has broken Sabalenka twice to lead 3-1 and is proving a nightmare for the world No1, who certainly has her voice on her today.
Siegemund breaks Sabalenka
Well there you go (Rick Broadbent writes). Siegemund did what she said she would in that first game. She played three drop shots, one off a serve, and then powered two winners off either flank to get the break in the opening game. It’s a good tactic as Sabalenka is not the best mover. The top seed said she would show Siegemund that she could not annoy her. Let’s see.
Siegemund a tricky customer
Could be an interesting start on Centre Court today (Rick Broadbent writes). Common sense says Aryna Sabalenka will have far too much for Laura Siegemund, ranked 104 in the world, but her frustrating style could add some spice. Certainly, the German’s pre-match comments suggested she might try to get inside the No1’s head.
“I don’t necessarily like or seek to make trouble. You know, that’s not my goal. But I know that I have some very controversial habits, let’s say. The only thing that I can say about them, they are really about me. I don’t try to disturb anyone, although that might be interpreted like that. I have my weird stuff going on. I’ve been doing it all my life. I was always slow, talking about time violations and stuff.”
Let’s hope she makes it weirdly competitive.
On No5 Court, Cruz Hewitt, the 16-year-old son of 2002 Wimbledon champion Lleyton is about to get underway in the second round of the juniors against Oskari Paldanius, a Finn who reached the semi-finals of the boys’ singles at the Australian Open this year (James Gheerbrant writes).
With his backwards baseball-cap and war-paint smear of zinc sunscreen across his face, Cruz bears an undeniable resemblance to his father. Whether he has also inherited his dad’s signature battle cry of “Come awwwwnnnnnn!”, we wait to see.
At 37, Germany’s Laura Siegemund has penned an inspiring late-career chapter.
Born in 1988 in Filderstadt, she turned pro in 2006 and earned a psychology degree in 2016.
A doubles powerhouse, she reached world No4 in January 2024 and boasts 14 WTA doubles titles, including the 2020 US Open and the 2023 WTA Finals. In mixed doubles, she’s a two-times grand-slam winner: the 2016 US Open and the 2024 French Open.
Although singles success was rarer, she claimed WTA titles in 2016 and 2017, peaking at No 27 in August 2016.
Wimbledon 2025 has marked a remarkable milestone—she has become the oldest woman to reach her first Wimbledon singles quarter-final in the Open Era, overcoming Madison Keys and Solana Sierra. Coached by partner Antonio Zucca, Siegemund is celebrated for her tactical variety, creative shot-making, and resilience.
A true late bloomer, she’s proving that timing and grit can defy the odds. Despite her titles, beating Aryna Sabalenka today would surely be the most impressive win of her career.
Babe, wake up. Tomorrow’s order of play has just dropped
Centre Court (from 1.30pm)
[7] Mirra Andreeva vs Belinda Bencic
[22] Flavio Cobolli vs [6] Novak Djokovic
No1 Court (from 1pm)
[8] Iga Swiatek vs [19] Liudmila Samsonova
[1] Jannik Sinner v [10] Ben Shelton
Rumour has it I have tipped Taylor Fritz to win the championships (Alyson Rudd writes). This is not strictly accurate but he is one of those big servers who, on their day, certainly could pull it off. The American had already broken serve against Karen Khachanov on No1 court and is serving beautifully and with confidence.
What a start for Taylor Fritz over on No1 Court. The American has never been beyond the quarter-finals at SW19, having reached the last eight both in 2022 and last year but he has started like he intends to stay at Wimbledon for another few days at least. He opens the serving and then breaks Karen Khachanov at the first time of asking. Fritz has won more grass-court matches this year than any other player (12) — will this be lucky No13?
Sabalenka nearing first Wimbledon crown
Aryna Sabalenka’s journey at Wimbledon has been a compelling tale of power, patience, and progress. Known for her explosive groundstrokes and fierce intensity, Sabalenka initially struggled on grass, often exiting in early rounds.
But in 2021, she made a major breakthrough, reaching her first grand-slam semi-final at Wimbledon — finally proving her game could thrive on the slick surface. She fell just short to Karolina Pliskova, but it marked her arrival as a true all-court threat.
Sabalenka missed the 2022 edition due to the ban on Russian and Belarusian players but returned with vengeance in 2023, again reaching the semi-finals before being halted by Ons Jabeur. Each appearance has seen her grow more comfortable with the surface’s unpredictability, adapting her power to grass’s demands.
Now she is the top seed and favourite. In her way today stands Laura Siegemund.
What happened on day nine last year?
Day nine of Wimbledon 2024 delivered drama with a dash of déjà vu and plenty of Centre Court swagger. Daniil Medvedev finally exorcised his Sinner demons, coming from behind to oust top seed Jannik Sinner in a five-set thriller—ending a five-match losing streak and silencing the Italian’s grass-court charge. Carlos Alcaraz, not to be outdone, dropped a set to Tommy Paul before shifting into turbo mode to win in four, reminding everyone who the defending champ was. On the women’s side, Jasmine Paolini bulldozed past Emma Navarro 6–2, 6–1 in a match that barely gave the crowd time to unwrap their strawberries. Meanwhile, unseeded Donna Vekic played giant-killer yet again, taking down surprise package Lulu Sun in three sets to book her first-ever Slam semi. Elena Rybakina, cool as ever, breezed past Elina Svitolina with a crisp 6–3, 6–2 win. Sunshine, upsets, and star power—Wimbledon served up the goods.
Massive shock in the doubles
Quite a story on No2 Court. The Australian-Dutch doubles pairing of Rinky Hijikata and David Pel were not even placed in the draw at the start of the championships — they only got in as one of the alternate pairs when another team withdrew. They’d never played together at a grand slam before and Pel, a 33-year-old who plays mainly on the Challenger circuit, had only ever won three grand slam matches in doubles in his career. But they’ve just put out the Brazilian duo of Rafael Matos and Marcelo Melo to reach the semi-finals, where they’ll play either the top seeds, Marcelo Arevalo and Mate Pavic, or the 10th seeds, Hugo Nys and Édouard Roger-Vasselin.
Last mum standing in bid to end 45-year wait
There is a gap on Wimbledon’s CV (Alyson Rudd writes). Forty-five years ago, Evonne Goolagong Cawley won Wimbledon as a mother, which ought to have meant that mums flooded through the gates reaching the latter stages here on a regular basis — but no mother has won the Championships since.
That there is a collective desire to see a woman who has started a family prevail was evident on No1 Court where Belinda Bencic, the last remaining of the nine mothers who started out in the singles draw, defeated Ekaterina Alexandrova, the No 18 seed, 7-6 (7-4), 6-4. It was a tense, high-quality affair and afterwards Bencic beamed at the spectators and told them she was “juggling a lot — just like any mum — so yeah, props to the mums”.
This went down very well indeed. Not everyone can identify with being an elite sports star but lots of us understand all too well the challenges of balancing work and family and everyone has a different take on how to do it while keeping guilt to a minimum. The 28-year-old from Switzerland says it is largely about the ability to compromise.
● Read more: Belinda Bencic: Last mum standing wins hearts in bid to end 45-year wait
Ruddy channels inner Buddy
There is a scene in the film Elf where Buddy is testing jack-in-the-boxes and is shocked that every single time one bursts out (Alyson Rudd writes). In a similar vein, every day of the tournament I have failed to prepare myself for the second of panic I experience when I open my desk locker to see that someone has stolen my laptop. They haven’t of course. It is just that it is black and the locker is black so it is briefly invisible. It will happen again tomorrow.
Now that is how you Hewett
And just like that, Alfie Hewett is through. He has been all business against Dani Caverzaschi and finishes with a flurry to rip through the Spaniard in 54 minutes. The defending champion wins 6-1, 6-2 and only conceded on his own serve once. Ruthless.
Hewett underway in wheelchair singles
Alfie Hewett is starting his 2025 Wimbledon campaign today, facing Dani Caverzaschi of Spain in the first round of the men’s wheelchair singles. This is their first meeting at a grand slam but are no strangers to each other outside of the major tournaments. Hewett cruised to victory in the first set, winning 6-1 in little over 30 minutes, and the second set is with serve at present.
As the No2 seed, Hewett enters the tournament with a refreshed mindset, aiming to build upon his previous successes. He has expressed a desire to adopt a different approach to his tennis this year.
In the doubles draw, Hewett and his long-time partner Gordon Reid are aiming for another grand-slam title together. Hewett has secured a total of 32 grand-slam titles—ten in singles and 22 in doubles. Fair to say he’s pretty good.
Hearing over Wimbledon expansion delayed
A legal challenge to Wimbledon’s expansion plans has been delayed as more than 100 protestors tried to get into the High Court hearing. The Save Wimbledon Park campaign is challenging the Greater London Authority’s approval of planning permission for an 8,000 seat stadium and 37 practice courts on a former golf course opposite the All England Club.
The judicial review hearing was meant to start at 10.30am but dozens of people could not enter the court room. The hearing is scheduled to last two days with a ruling expected after the summer break.
Just as Djokovic looked his age, he roared
The heart kind of goes out to Alex De Minaur (Owen Slot writes). At least it would have done if there was much heart left. If you spent your tennis life extending sympathy to those who thought flickeringly that they were getting one up on Novak Djokovic, then you’d look as broken as De Minaur looked afterwards.
Beaten 6-1, 4-6, 4-6, 4-6, in a thrilling encounter against the preposterously evergreen Serb, De Minaur’s last show of impressive pace was the speed with which he made it up to do his media duties. That always tells a tale: get it done, get out, go home.
De Minaur sat there politely answering questions that he really had no care for. The weight of the world was such that he could just about hold his head above the table.
● Read more: Just as Novak Djokovic looked his age, he roared his defiance yet again
Sinner through after injury denied tearful Dimitrov
Jannik Sinner was the most fortunate man in Wimbledon last night after his inspired opponent, Grigor Dimitrov, was forced to retire for a fifth consecutive grand-slam while leading by two sets (Rick Broadbent writes).
The 19th seed from Bulgaria had dominated the world No 1 to go 6-3, 7-5 up in their fourth-round match when he clutched his chest after serving an ace to make it 2-2 in the third. He collapsed to the turf in clear distress with an apparent muscle injury. Sinner vacated his end of the court to check on him.
● Read more: Jannik Sinner through after injury denies tearful Grigor Dimitrov
Before we crack on with previewing today’s action, let’s revisit yesterday’s drama.
Wimbledon day nine order of play
Here are the selected highlights of today’s action.
Centre Court (from 1.30pm)
Aryna Sabalenka [1] vs Laura Siegemund
Cameron Norrie vs Carlos Alcaraz [2]
No1 Court (from 1pm)
Taylor Fritz [5] vs Karen Khachanov [17]
Amanda Anisimova [13] vs Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
No2 Court (from 11am)
Rinky Hijikata / David Pel vs Rafael Matos / Marcelo Melo (Men’s Doubles QF)
Olivia Gadecki / Desirae Krawczyk vs Caroline Dolehide / Sofia Kenin [16] (Women’s Doubles QF)
Bob Bryan / Mike Bryan vs Tommy Haas / Feliciano López (Men’s Invitational Doubles RR)
Good morning, tennis fans!
Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, children of all ages, The Times proudly brings to you the business end of Wimbledon 2025. That’s right, we’re at the quarter-final stage. Can you believe we’re already on day nine? Crazy right. It’s been a wild ride so far and we’re very much getting into the nitty gritty. We have a banger of a day, featuring Britain’s last singles hope after the three peat-chasing defending champion: Cameron Norrie v Carlos Alcaraz. Aryna Sabalenka is the heavy favourite to win her first Wimbledon crown. She is also in action today against 37-year-old world No104, Laura Siegemund. And there is more.