Some Eastbourne residents were stunned during their Saturday walks to discover Serena Williams practising at Meads Tennis Club. The 23-times grand-slam singles champion opted to hold her first training sessions on British grass courts away from the glare of publicity at Devonshire Park, the venue for this week’s Eastbourne International. The night before she was also spotted having dinner in one of the town’s Indian restaurants.
It is hard to gauge what we should expect from Williams as she returns to the tour at the age of 40. She is only playing doubles in Eastbourne, with Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur, so her game is unlikely to receive a thorough examination. While she is within one grand-slam singles title of equalling Margaret Court’s all-time record, one theory being floated is that she is treating her Wimbledon appearance as part of a last hurrah, which will also take in the US Open. We await her first press conference with interest.
Raducanu feels lucky
Emma Raducanu is still attempting to recover from a side strain in time for Wimbledon but it is now clear that the US Open champion, who was unable to take up a wild card at Eastbourne, will not be at full fitness. On Saturday, the 19-year-old curiously posted a social media photo of a Chinese fortune cookie with a message that read: “Your troubles will cease and fortune will smile upon you.”
The better news for British fans is that Andy Murray has resumed practising at the All England Club, which suggests that his recovery from an abdominal strain is going well. His coach, Ivan Lendl, is in town to oversee the on-court training and there could also be a match for him to watch at the Hurlingham Club if Murray decides to play in the exhibition event there.
Form horses
As well as the Queen’s champion Matteo Berrettini, there are other in-form players to keep an eye out for. Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz, who defeated Roger Federer to reach last year’s Wimbledon semi-finals, claimed his first ATP title on grass at the Halle Open by defeating the world No 1, Daniil Medvedev, 6-1, 6-4.
In the absence of the defending champion Ashleigh Barty — the 26-year-old Australian quit professional tennis in March — Jabeur is highly fancied. She won the Berlin Open after her opponent, Belinda Bencic, retired with an ankle injury at 6-3, 2-1 down. There was also a retirement in the final of the Birmingham Classic where Zhang Shuai decided at 5-4 down in the first set that she could not continue because of a neck injury, giving Brazil’s Beatriz Haddad Maia a second straight grass-court title after her win in Nottingham.
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The missing list
Fears of mass Wimbledon withdrawals because of the inability to earn ranking points have proved unfounded. Naomi Osaka removed her name from the entry list, although she cited an “achilles injury”, while the world No 2, Alexander Zverev, has also pulled out after hurting an ankle during his French Open semi-final against Rafael Nadal this month. Organisers will be delighted to have Novak Djokovic and Nadal as the top two seeds in the men’s singles. Friday’s draw is one to watch as Murray and Nick Kyrgios are among the unseeded floaters, meaning a potential blockbuster first-round match. Iga Swiatek leads the women’s field as she looks to add seven more wins to her 35-match unbeaten streak.
Roehampton hopefuls
Qualifying starts today for those who could not get into the main draw, either via their world ranking or a wild card. The action at the Bank of England Sports Ground in Roehampton is always intense, as 128 men and 128 women battle for coveted spots at Wimbledon and a guaranteed cheque of £50,000. Three matches must be won to secure entry.
Jack Sock and Gilles Simon, both former top-ten players, will be in action alongside other hopefuls including Billy Harris and Aidan McHugh. Two Scots are worth looking out for in the women’s singles: the in-form Anna Brogan and Maia Lumsden, who recently returned after a bout of long Covid.
Break in tradition
One notable change to the practice arrangements before Wimbledon this year is the availability of pre-tournament slots on the two main show courts. Competitors will be allowed to hit on Centre Court and No 1 Court in order to ensure that the lush grass is not quite as slick as last year when several players slipped on the first few days of the tournament.
Until this year the only people allowed to hit on Centre Court during the build-up were four female members in a traditional doubles match to test that everything was in order, such as the officiating systems and scoreboards.
Wimbledon seedings
Men: 1 N Djokovic 2 R Nadal 3 C Ruud 4 S Tsitsipas 5 C Alcaraz 6 F Auger-Aliassime 7 H Hurkacz 8 M Berrettini 9 C Norrie 10 J Sinner 11 T Fritz 12 D Schwartzman 13 D Shapovalov 14 M Cilic 15 R Opelka 16 P Carreño Busta 17 R Bautista Agut 18 G Dimitrov 19 G Monfils 20 A de Minaur 21 J Isner 22 B van de Zandschulp 23 N Basilashvili 24 F Tiafoe 25 H Rune 26 M Kecmanovic 27 F Krajinovic 28 L Sonego 29 D Evans 30 J Brooksby 31 T Paul 32 S Baez.
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Women: 1 I Swiatek 2 A Kontaveit 3 O Jabeur 4 P Badosa 5 M Sakkari 6 K Pliskova 7 D Collins 8 J Pegula 9 G Muguruza 10 E Raducanu 11 C Gauff 12 B Krejcikova 13 J Ostapenko 14 B Bencic 15 A Kerber 16 S Halep 17 E Rybakina 18 J Teichmann 19 M Keys 20 A Anisimova 21 C Giorgi 22 M Trevisan 23 B Haddad Maia 24 E Mertens 25 P Kvitova 26 S Cirstea 27 Y Putintseva 28 A Riske 29 A Kalinina 30 S Rogers 31 K Kanepi 32 S Sorribes Tormo.
