Alcaraz, Sabalenka in action on day one at sizzling Wimbledon
World number one Aryna Sabalenka with an ice pack on her head during a training session at Wimbledon (HENRY NICHOLLS)
Carlos Alcaraz launches his bid for a third straight Wimbledon crown on Monday while Aryna Sabalenka seeks to banish a season of Grand Slam final misery as temperatures soared on the opening day of the championships.
With London sweltering in a summer heatwave, Alcaraz will aim to maintain his red-hot form in the opening match on Centre Court against 38-year-old Italian Fabio Fognini.
Advertisement
Having vanquished seven-time champion Novak Djokovic in the past two Wimbledon finals, Alcaraz is looking to join an elite group at the All England Club.
The 22-year-old has won 29 of his 32 Tour-level matches on grass, with his last defeat at Wimbledon coming against world number one Jannik Sinner in the last 16 in 2022.
Alcaraz is bidding to become the fifth man in the Open Era to win at least three consecutive Wimbledon titles after Bjorn Borg, Pete Sampras, Roger Federer and Djokovic.
"I really want to lift the trophy. I'm not thinking about how many players have done it, winning three Wimbledons in a row," said the Spaniard, who beat Sinner in an epic French Open final earlier this month.
Advertisement
"I'm just thinking that I want to prepare myself in the best way possible. Obviously, I feel a lot of confidence right now."
Former England captain David Beckham will watch the action from the royal box on Centre Court, alongside ex-England manager Gareth Southgate.
- Mercury soars -
Temperatures on Monday are expected to climb to at least 33 degrees Celsius (91 degrees Fahrenheit).
According to the Met Office, it is provisionally the hottest start to Wimbledon on record, with 29.7 Celsius being recorded nearby.
The tournament has a heat rule that it is ready to activate to safeguard the health of the players.
Advertisement
The rule allows a 10-minute break to be taken between the second and third sets for women's matches and between the third and fourth sets for men's matches, when the heat stress index is at or above 30.1 degrees Celsius.
"The obvious point to make is that the athletes compete in temperatures like this all year on the Tour so for us Brits here at the championships it feels very hot," said Wimbledon chief executive Sally Bolton.
"We do have the heat rule available to us which again is well used on the tour so we will be taking heat stress monitor readings."
Sabalenka will be determined to keep her cool when the women's top seed starts her campaign against Canadian qualifier Carson Branstine on Court One.
Advertisement
The 27-year-old Belarusian is a three-time Grand Slam champion but has suffered agonising three-set defeats in this year's Australian Open and French Open finals.
Sabalenka was beaten by Madison Keys in Melbourne and Coco Gauff in Paris, with the latter defeat triggering a frustrated outburst from the loser.
She was heavily criticised for claiming the Roland Garros loss was due to her own mistakes rather than Gauff's performance.
"I didn't really want to offend her (Gauff). I was just completely upset with myself, and emotions overcame me. I just completely lost it," Sabalenka said.
Advertisement
"It was a tough time for me. The lesson is learned. I was able to sit back and be open to myself, not just to ignore some things.
"I really hope it will never happen again."
Elsewhere on Monday, German third seed Alexander Zverev faces France's Arthur Rinderknech, while Italian women's fourth seed Jasmine Paolini, beaten by Barbora Krejcikova in last year's final, opens against Anastasija Sevastova of Latvia.
There are 23 British players in the men's and women's singles, the most since 1984, with former US Open champion Emma Raducanu and Katie Boulter among those in action on Monday.
Advertisement
A significant change this year will be the absence of line judges after a switch to electronic line calling.
"It will be a little bit different and I think it'll take us a little bit of time to get used to that but we felt very much that it was time to move on," said Bolton.
With thousands of people in the queue for tickets on Monday the All England Club is advising people not to travel.
smg/jw/pi
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Wimbledon 2025: Today's order of play, when will Emma Raducanu play and how to watch
The world's best tennis players have arrived at Wimbledon, with the championship starting today. Carlos Alcaraz will bid for a third men's title in a row after beating Novak Djokovic in the past two finals. Meanwhile, world No 1 Jannik Sinner will hope to bounce back from losing to Alcaraz in one of the all-time great French Open finals. Advertisement Top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka and French Open champion Coco Gauff are among the favourites for the women's title. World No 1 Sabalenka has reached the final in five of the past six majors she has contested, but is yet to reach the Wimbledon showpiece. Meanwhile, Jack Draper, former US Open champion Emma Raducanu and Katie Boulter lead Britain's hopes of home success in the singles competition. Skip to: Today's order of play Centre Court From 1.30pm BST Fabio Fognini (Ita) vs (2) Carlos Alcaraz (Esp) Paula Badosa vs Katie Boulter (GB) Arthur Rinderknech vs (3) Alexander Zverev (Ger) No 1 Court From 1pm BST (1) Aryna Sabalenka vs Carson Branstine (Can) Jacob Fearnley (GB ) vs Joao Fonseca (Brz) Emma Raducanu (GB) vs Mimi Xu (GB) No 3 Court From 11am BST Sonay Kartal (GB) vs (20) Jelena Ostapenko (Lat) Holger Rune (Den) vs Nicolas Jarry (Chl) Matteo Berrettini (Ita) vs Kamil Majchrzak (Pol) Katerina Siniakova (Cze) vs (5) Qinwen Zheng (Chn) Court 12 Elmer Moller (Den) vs (12) Frances Tiafoe (USA) Valentin Royer (Fra) vs (24) Stefanos Tsitsipas (Gre) (29) Leylah Fernandez (Can) vs Hannah Klugman (GB) Marketa Vondrousova (Cze) vs (32) McCartney Kessler (USA) Court 17 From 11am BST (23) Jiri Lehecka (Cze) vs Hugo Dellien (Bol) (16) Francisco Cerundolo (Arg) vs Nuno Borges (Por) Harriet Dart (GB) vs Dalma Galfi (Hun) (31) Ashlyn Krueger (USA) vs Mika Stojsavljevic (GB) Court 18 From 11am BST Anna Bondar (Hun) vs (14) Elina Svitolina (Ukr) Cameron Norrie (GB) vs Roberto Bautista Agut (Esp) MacKenzie McDonald (USA) vs (17) Karen Khachanov Naomi Osaka (Jpn) vs Talia Gibson (Aus) Draw details? How to watch Wimbledon on TV and streaming in the UK The BBC is broadcasting the event on BBC One, BBC Two and iPlayer. Isa Guha (in the morning) and Clare Balding (in the afternoon) will lead the presenting team. They will be joined by John McEnroe, Martina Navratilova, Billie Jean King, Pat Cash, Tracy Austin, Tim Henman and Annabel Croft. Advertisement Every match is available to stream live on the iPlayer. The popular highlights show, Today at Wimbledon, has been moved to a graveyard slot on BBC2 – at 11.55pm on day one and a similar time thereafter. For viewers who want to watch the highlights show earlier, it will still be available at 8pm or 9pm on the iPlayer. Nick Kyrgios will not be returning as a BBC pundit at Wimbledon this year after being hired in 2024. The corporation caused outrage 12 months ago by hiring the 'bad boy' of tennis just over a year after he admitted assaulting an ex-girlfriend. Kyrgios said the BBC's decision not to include him is 'their loss more than mine'. By UK law, Wimbledon is a 'Category B' television event, meaning that although the men's and women's finals must always remain free-to-air, there is no guarantee that the rest of the tournament will not one day be shown on pay-TV. TNT Sports has the rights to show the men's and women's finals as well as a nightly highlights show at 10pm every day of the tournament. How to watch Wimbledon on TV in the US ESPN has the rights to show 140-plus hours of coverage from Wimbledon in the United States. In 2021, ESPN signed a 12-year agreement to broadcast the event. Coverage begins each day at 6am Eastern Time. Where is Wimbledon held? The tournament takes place, as ever, at the All England Lawn Tennis Club on Church Road, Wimbledon. The competition has been held on this site since 1922, when The Championships were moved from their previous location on Worple Road. How to buy Wimbledon tickets The public Wimbledon ballot is closed, meaning that most tickets for the show courts are unavailable. However, one of the traditions of Wimbledon is 'the Queue'. Every day fans can queue for a ticket to one of the show courts or for a grounds pass, depending on what is available by the time they reach the front of the queue. Advertisement Each day 500 tickets for Centre Court (excluding the last four days), No 1 Court, and No 2 Court are sold. A grounds pass entitles fans to access all courts apart from the show courts. Resale tickets for Centre Court, No 1 Court and No 2 Court are available from 3pm each day, from the ticket resale kiosk north of Court 18. For more ticket information, click here. What is the Wimbledon prize money? In 2025, total prize money is £53.5 million, up 7 per cent from last year and is double the figure awarded 10 years ago. The men's and women's singles champions will take home £3 million each. First-round losers in the singles will receive £66,000. When do the Wimbledon finals take place? The women's final takes place on Saturday, July 12, and the men's final the following day, Sunday July 13. Latest news: Draper ready to carry post-Murray Wimbledon mantle Jack Draper is ready to channel his inner Andy Murray and feed off the hopes of a nation to prove he can be a genuine contender for the Wimbledon crown. Advertisement Despite having only won two matches at the All England Club in his career, the 22-year-old fourth seed is brimming with confidence as action begins. Draper, who goes into his home grand slam as the world No 4, is one of 23 British competitors in the singles draws – the most since 1984. Were he to go all the way, Draper would become the first British winner at Wimbledon since Murray triumphed for the second time nine years ago, and Draper even hinted that he is ready to echo those famous moments on Centre Court by being more demonstrative, feeding off the energy of a partisan support. 'I've always been someone who's not too over the top with things, but it's a great opportunity here at Wimbledon, and a great chance to hopefully show the British public what I'm able to do on a tennis court, and the type of personality I am,' he said. Advertisement Draper, whose first-round opponent is Argentina's Sebastian Baez, added he is '100 per cent' ready to gee up an expectant home crowd and acknowledged he is 'quite an intense player, so I'm always thinking about myself'. 'But I think at Wimbledon, especially, it's a great chance to get the crowd involved, and that's a real asset against these players,' he added. Jack Draper with Emma Raducanu before his practice session at Wimbledon - PA/John Walton Draper was beaten in the second round last year by compatriot Cameron Norrie in what was Murray's final appearance at Wimbledon. His prospects have been hugely enhanced since then, however, as he reached the US Open semi-finals and won his first Masters 1000 title in Indian Wells. When asked whether he could be less conservative in his celebrations than he had in the US tournaments, he added: 'We'll have to find out.' Advertisement Play gets under way in what is expected to be the hottest ever start to Wimbledon, with temperatures to hit 35 degrees Celsius by Tuesday. None of Britain's top hopes have been handed ideal draws, however Emma Raducanu, also a British No 1, has former champion Marketa Vondrousova and the world No 1 Aryna Sabalenka blocking her route to a place in week two. Raducanu finds herself up against the Welsh teenager Mimi Xu in round one. Sabalenka could await in what would be a daunting third-round encounter. Draper, meanwhile, is in the same half of the draw as the top-seeded Jannik Sinner, seven-time champion Novak Djokovic and Americans Ben Shelton and Tommy Paul. He could play Lorenzo Sonego in round two. Djokovic, chasing a 25th slam at the age of 38, would be a likely quarter-final opponent. Advertisement Katie Boulter and Sonay Kartal, both rivals to Raducanu's British No 1 ranking, also face tricky first rounds. Boulter plays the former world No 2 Paula Badosa while Kartal, whom like Fearnley recently cracked the world's top 50, faces the former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko. The hottest ever day at Wimbledon was on July 1 2015, when temperatures reached 35.7C. The warmest opening day on record was on June 25 2001, when temperatures hit 29.3C. New for 2025 No line judges In a major break from history for the Championships, an automated electronic line calling (ELC) system will be adopted this year, consigning line judges to the past. Advertisement The technology will be in place across all Championships and qualifying match courts, with more than 450 cameras installed across the two venues to facilitate its operation. A contingent of the former line umpires will return to the tournament in the new role of match assistants. Change to finals weekend The men's and women's singles finals will start at 4pm, two hours later than usual, to appeal to global broadcasters, with both matches now beginning on the west coast of the United States at the more generous time of 8am, rather than 6am. The All England Club said the decision to move the singles finals to later slots, with doubles showpieces starting at 1pm 'makes for a better conclusion to the Championships'. Wimbledon court and stadium guide Wimbledon has six show courts: Centre Court, No 1 Court, No 2 Court, No 3 Court, Court 12 and Court 18. Centre is the largest court at the All England Club and features the famous Royal Box. The court capacity on Centre is 14,974 while Court No 1 can hold 12,345. Advertisement There are 12 other grass courts in use throughout the tournament. Court 8 was where an 18-year-old John McEnroe made his SW19 bow against Egypt's Ismail El Shafei in 1977. In 1995, on Court 14, Tim Henman became the first player to be disqualified from Wimbledon when playing in a doubles match with Jeremy Bates against the United States' Jeff Tarango and Sweden's Henrik Holm. Henman was punished for whacking a ball in anger, accidentally hitting 16-year-old ball girl Caroline Hall in the head. Tim Henman makes amends after his disqualification for hitting ball girl Caroline Hall with a tennis ball on Court 14 in 1995 - Allsport/Gary M. Prior British players at Wimbledon Men's singles Qualified automatically Jack Draper Cameron Norrie Jacob Fearnley Billy Harris Wildcards Dan Evans Jay Clarke Oliver Crawford George Loffhagen Johannus Monday Jack Pinnington Jones Henry Searle Arthur Fery Qualified Oliver Tarvet Women's singles Qualified automatically Emma Raducanu Katie Boulter Sonay Kartal Wildcards Hannah Klugman Mika Stojsavlevic Mimi Xu Heather Watson Jodie Burrage Harriet Dart Fran Jones Who are the defending champions? Carlos Alcaraz retained his title last year, beating Novak Djokovic in straight sets 6-2, 6-2, 7-6. Advertisement Barbora Krejcikova claimed her second grand slam singles title when she beat Jasmine Paolini 6-2, 2-6, 6-4. Past Wimbledon winners The Wimbledon trophies The men play for the Gentlemen's Singles Trophy, which is 18 inches high and has a diameter of 7.5 inches. The women play for the Venus Rosewater Dish, which is a silver salver with mythological decoration. The champion at the end of the tournament receives a three-quarter size replica of their respective trophy, which bears the names of all past winners. The Gentlemen's Singles Trophy and the Venus Rosewater Dish - Getty Images/Thomas Lovelock Latest odds Men's title Carlos Alcaraz 5/4 Jannik Sinner 2/1 Novak Djokovic 6/1 Jack Draper 16/1 Women's title Aryna Sabalenka 3/1 Elena Rybakina 11/2 Coco Gauff 8/1 Madison Keys 14/1 Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Business Upturn
2 hours ago
- Business Upturn
FIFA Club World Cup: Fluminense shock and knock Inter out of the competition
Inter Milan have been knocked out of the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 after being defeated by Fluminense FC in the last night's Round of 16 fixture. By Ravi Kumar Jha Published on July 1, 2025, 08:28 IST Inter Milan have been knocked out of the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 after being defeated by Fluminense FC in the last night's Round of 16 fixture. The 2-0 scoreline was enough to beat the Champions League runner-ups as Fluminense move forward to the Quarter-finals of the competition. Inter couldn't score a single goal in the game despite creating good amount of chances. Inter Milan's FIFA Club World Cup 2025 journey came to an early end after a 2-0 defeat to Brazilian side Fluminense FC in the Round of 16 clash on Monday night. The Italian giants, who entered the tournament as UEFA Champions League runners-up, failed to find the back of the net despite creating several promising opportunities throughout the match. Fluminense capitalized on their chances with clinical precision, netting twice to secure a place in the quarter-finals. Their disciplined defense and sharp counter-attacks proved too much for Inter, who struggled to convert possession into goals. The defeat marks a disappointing exit for Inter Milan, who had high hopes of making a deep run in the expanded tournament. Meanwhile, Fluminense continue their impressive run and will look to carry this momentum into the last eight. Ahmedabad Plane Crash Ravi kumar jha is an undergraduate student in Bachelor of Arts in Multimedia and Mass Communication. A media enthusiast who has a strong hold on communication and he also has a genuine interest in sports. Ravi is currently working as a journalist at
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Red Sox's Wilyer Abreu makes history with grand slam, inside-the-park home run in blowout win over Reds
Wilyer Abreu made history on Monday night with a ridiculous outing at the plate at Fenway Park. The Boston Red Sox outfielder hit both an inside-the-park home run and a grand slam in their blowout win over the Cincinnati Reds, which made him just the sixth player in Major League Baseball history to accomplish both of those things separately in the same game. That hasn't been done since 1958, either. Advertisement Abreu's inside-the-park home run came first in the fifth inning, when the Red Sox were already up by three runs. He hit a deep shot that went 423 feet and almost cleared the center field wall in Boston on its own, but instead awkwardly bounced off the wall and back over Reds outfielder TJ Friedl's head. By the time that happened, however, Abreu was already rounding second base — which gave him plenty of time to make it home safely. That was the first inside-the-park home run from a Red Sox player since 2018, and the first in Boston since 2011. According to Abreu actually made it around the bases in less than 17 seconds, which put him at a top seed of 28.8 feet per second. Then in the eighth inning with the bases loaded, Abreu got one to clear the outfield wall. He hit a grand slam into the Red Sox's outfield bullpen, which sent the Red Sox up by eight runs and pushed them to the 13-6 win. In total, Abreu had five RBI and two hits in his five at-bats in the win. He holds a .256 batting average with 16 home runs and 45 RBI on the season, his third with the Red Sox. Advertisement According to MLB's Sarah Langs, Abreu's combo has only been done five other times in league history. It had been nearly 67 years, however, since Roger Maris last did the same thing in a game. Abreu is the first Red Sox player to do this since 1939, too, when Jim Tabor pulled it off. Jocko Fields did it first in 1890. The win for the Red Sox moved them to 42-44 on the season, though they still sit in fourth in the AL East standings. They've lost seven of their last nine games, too. The two teams will run it back on Tuesday night for the second game of their three-game series.
