First round singles action continues on Tuesday.
A year ago, an injured Marketa Vondrousova became the first defending ladies’ singles champion to lose in the opening round of Wimbledon in 30 years. A year later, defending champion Barbora Krejcikova, who has spent much of the past year injured, faces a tough opening round draw in Alexandra Eala. The 20-year-old was a surprise semifinalist this past March in Miami, and on Saturday was just one point away from winning the title in Eastbourne.
Another ladies’ champion, Petra Kvitova, makes her return to Wimbledon on Day 2, in what she has announced will be her last season on tour. Kvitova plays 10-seeded Emma Navarro, who reached the quarterfinals here last year when she upset Coco Gauff. Meanwhile, Gauff also makes her Wimbledon 2025 debut on Tuesday. She’s coming off her second Major singles title three weeks ago in Paris, but she’s drawn a tricky opening round opponent in Dayana Yastremska.
In gentlemen’s singles, Day 2 sees both Novak Djokovic and Jannik Sinner play their first rounds, as does British No.1 Jack Draper. But the day’s most compelling gentlemen’s matchup may be a battle between two Frenchmen, as Ugo Humbert takes on Gael Monfils.
Throughout the tournament, this preview will analyze the day’s four most prominent matches, while highlighting the other notable matches on the schedule. Tuesday’s play begins at 11:00am local time.
Barbora Krejcikova (17) vs. Alexandra Eala – 1:30pm on Centre Court
Despite already being a Major champion in both singles and doubles, it was a huge surprise to watch Krejcikova win this title a year ago. After claiming her first singles Major at Roland Garros in 2021, injuries forced Barbora off the court for extended periods of time, and she arrived at this tournament last year having lost seven of her last nine matches. And now as the defending champion, she again arrives with little form, after missing most of this season due to a back injury. Krejcikova is just 3-3 in 2025.
Eala started the year ranked 147th in the world, but cut her ranking in half with her semifinal run as a wild card in Miami, where she upset three seeded players (Ostapenko, Keys, Swiatek). And just last week, she advanced all the way to the final in Eastbourne, ever-so-narrowly losing that championship match in a final-set tiebreak. Alexandra is now 25-15 this season at all levels, as she plays just her second Major, and vies for her first victory at a Slam.
Facing a confident, in-form player is a tough first round draw for Krejcikova, who is seriously lacking in match toughness. While Barbora certainly has fond memories on Centre Court, an upset over the ladies’ singles defending champion for the second consecutive year feels like a somewhat likely occurrence. And Eala has already shown she is comfortable playing on big stages, as she did inside Hard Rock Stadium in Miami.
Petra Kvitova (WC) vs. Emma Navarro (10) – Second on No.1 Court
Two-time champion Kvitova returned just a few months ago from giving birth to her first child, and rather quickly announced the upcoming US Open would be the last event of her sure-fire Hall Of Fame career. She has struggled since her return, with a record of only 1-6. And after her sole victory, she had to retire from her next match due to a leg injury.
Navarro had a breakout season in 2024, with a record of 54-24 at all levels. She achieved her first Major quarterfinal here at Wimbledon, then went all the way to the semis at the US Open. But during 2025, she’s suffered from the dreaded sophomore slump, with a record of only 21-16. At the last Major, she experienced a shocking first-round loss to Jessica Bouzas Maneiro by a score of 6-0, 6-1.
Kvitova’s serve remains a threat on this surface, though she is not the same player she once was, and hasn’t advanced beyond the fourth round here since her last title over a decade ago. Navarro’s steadier, more defensive style should be rather effective, and should propel her to the second round. Regardless, it will be touching to watch Petra play on the grass of the All-England club for likely one final time.
Gael Monfils vs. Ugo Humbert (18) – Third on Court 12
Monfils got off to a great start this year, winning the title in Auckland, and advancing to the second week of the Australian Open. However, he arrives at SW19 having lost five of his last six matches. And this has always been Gael’s weakest Major, where he is just 19-13 lifetime.
By contrast, his fellow Frenchman plays some of his best tennis on grass. Humbert won Halle back in 2021, and has twice advanced to the round of 16 at The Championships, including last year. Yet like Gael, Ugo has been struggling to win matches of late, following a title run this past Februrary in Marseille, though he did reach the semis last week in Eastbourne.
Humbert leads their head-to-head 3-2, which includes a win at this same event in 2019, when Monfils retired midway through the fifth set. With his formidable lefty serve, and his willingness to come to net, Ugo should be favored to prevail again on Tuesday, perhaps after another extended battle.
Dayana Yastremska vs. Coco Gauff (2) – Last on Centre Court
Following her Major triumph in Paris, Gauff lost her only grass court match leading up to this tournament, to 49th-ranked Xinyu Wang in Berlin. And while Coco’s first big impression on tour occurred at this event six year ago, when she upset Venus Williams in her Major debut and advanced to the fourth round, she’s yet to advance farther at Wimbledon. Grass has proven to be Gauff’s worst surface.
Yastremska is coming off a run to the final on the grass of Nottingham, and also won two matches last week in Eastbourne. She’s also been to the fourth round at The Championships, and is 23-14 on the year, having reached another WTA final back in February.
Coco is 3-0 against Dayana, though in their most recent meeting, this past April in Madrid, Yastremska took the first set off her 6-0, before Gauff came back to prevail 7-5 in the third. I expect another tight encounter on Tuesday, one in which Coco cannot afford a letdown following Roland Garros, as Dayana possesses enough power to dictate play if the American is off her game. However, I still favor Gauff to advance, as she’s been the considerably better and more confident player this season.
Other Notable Matches on Tuesday:
Elisabetta Cocciaretto vs. Jessica Pegula (3) – Pegula is coming off a grass court title just a few days ago in Bad Homburg, where she defeated Iga Swiatek in the final. Two years ago at this same event, she easily beat Cocciaretto 6-4, 6-0.
Jannik Sinner (1) vs. Luca Nardi – Sinner arrives having lost two of this last three matches: that epic final in Paris to Carlos Alcaraz, and his second match in Halle to Alexander Bublik. This is his first career meeting against Nardi, a 21-year-old fellow Italian who notably upset Djokovic last year at Indian Wells.
Alexandre Muller vs. Novak Djokovic (6) – By his lofty standards, Novak is a modest 21-8 on the year, and as usual did not play a warmup tournament on grass prior to this fortnight. Two summers ago at the US Open, he defeated Muller in straights.
Iga Swiatek (8) vs. Polina Kudermetova – This remains the worst Major in Swiatek’s career, as she’s yet to fully figure out how to excel on grass, but her aforementioned run to the final last week in Bad Homburg definitely provided her with some confidence. She’s never before faced Polina, the younger and lower-ranked of the Kudermetova sisters.
Jack Draper (4) vs. Sebastian Baez – How will Draper perform in his first time playing Wimbledon as a top seed, with all the expectations the British press will force upon him? Jack is 28-8 this season, and advanced to the semifinals of Queen’s Club two weeks ago. And Draper is 2-0 against Baez.
Tuesday’s full Order of Play is here.
