Wimbledon's first week has proved it's not just about the tennis

Forbes

a day ago

The first week at Wimbledon has been emotional. There have been more subplots than Love Actually, including Taylor Fritz finding his inner superhero, the AELTC changing tradition in honor of the late Diogo Jota, and Ons Jabeur pulling up lame on the first morning.
LONDON, ENGLAND - JULY 04: Emma Raducanu of Great Britain congratulates Aryna Sabalenka at the net ... More following her victory in their Ladies' Singles third round match on day five of The Championships Wimbledon 2025 at All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on July 04, 2025 in London, England. (Photo)
The opening of Wimbledon was a manic Monday rather than a gentle stroll in the English garden for Carlos Alcaraz. After defeating Fabio Fognini over five sets and almost four and a half hours, the defending champion probably felt like another three days in Ibiza.
For a clay court specialist, Fognini did a good impression of Roger Federer.
This was a memorable starter in the men's singles between a 22-year-old and a 38-year-old. All credit to Fognini that the 38-year-old wasn't Novak Djokovic.
Taylor Fritz had his first Superman moment in 2022 when the world No. 5 played a remarkable point against Britain's Alastair Gray. Fritz eventually reached the quarter-finals where he met his kryptonite, Rafael Nadal.
He beat the serve bombs of Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard after trailing by two sets to one and 1-5 in the fourth set tiebreak, repeating the five-star entertainment against Gabriel Diallo in another late-night thriller. Taylor Fritz is now certified popcorn viewing.
On Independence Day, the Californian only had to engage Clark Kent mode with a functional win over Alejandro Davidovich Fokina on Friday. Watch this space to see if the American dream of winning Wimbledon for the first time in 25 years comes true. That would elevate Fritz above Swift for a few hours at least.
"It definitely sucks,' said Coco Gauff after her first-round Wimbledon exit to Dayana Yastremska, the world No. 42. Grass kind of sucks for the French Open champion who has never been beyond the last 16 at SW19. The lack of preparation on the surface showed up after a similarly ugly exit in Berlin. Gauff announced herself on Centre Court as a 15-year-old back in 2019 when she beat Venus Williams. She needs to feel the love for nature again.
Once upon a time, Ons Jabeur had a picture of the Venus Rosewater Dish on her mobile phone. That's how much she wanted it. In 2022 and 2023, there was only one player better than the Tunisian at Sw19. Now, there are officially 58 above her in the rankings.
Jabeur's 2025 Wimbledon ended anonymously on Court 14 against Viktoriya Tomova. Jabeur was in tears and had to leave the court for a medical timeout within half-an-hour. The loss of a first-set tiebreak melted her body and spirit as she retired early in the second.
"I'm trying to repeat some positive words to myself. I don't want to carry the disappointment that happened before and then hopefully I can move on with it,' said the three-time major runner-up before the match. She looked like she was carrying a backpack of despair.
Alexander Zverev isn't the most demonstrative of players at the best of times, but the German is going through the worst of times. After losing to world No. 72 Arthur Rinderknech in the first round - his earliest ever Grand Slam exit - the third seed was very transparent about his feelings.
'I've never felt this empty before. Just lacking joy, just lacking joy in everything that I do. It's not necessarily about tennis. Just lacking joy outside of tennis, as well.' Naomi Osaka felt down after her third-round loss and that prompted the bad thoughts to resurface. 'I'm just going to be a negative human being today. I have nothing positive to say about myself, which is something I'm working on. '
Tennis press conferences really aren't the best environments for a man or woman struggling with demons.
The sporting world was shocked on Thursday after the tragic death of Liverpool FC's forward Diogo Jota and his brother Andre. Sensing the weight and emotional turmoil of the story, Wimbledon relaxed its 148-year all-white rule to allow players to wear armbands to pay their respects to Jota.
Doubles world No.40 Francisco Cabral wore a black ribbon in his match and paid tribute to the Portuguese national striker. "Very, very sad news, not only in the sports world but in Portugal overall, because he's such an idol, such an icon, such a good person,' said Cabral, who hails from Porto.
Portugal's best singles player, Nuno Borges, contacted Wimbledon officials to ask if he could wear a national football shirt on to the court for his thrilling match against Karen Khachanov. The request was declined.
LONDON, ENGLAND - JULY 04: Taylor Fritz of United States dives to play a forehand against Alejandro ... More Davidovich Fokina of Spain during the Gentlemen's Singles third round match on day five of The Championships Wimbledon 2025 at All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on July 04, 2025 in London, England. (Photo by)
The words 'Emma Raducanu and Wimbledon' get the natives going and her match against Aryna Sabalenka showed that women deserve the prime time Friday evening slot. The French Open might want to take note.
It was a sumptuous two hours, pitting the golden girl of British tennis against the battle-hardened warrior of Belarus. Sabalenka kept her nerve with a dinked drop shot at 5-6 in the first set tiebreak. Raducanu was great value, a far better version of her real self but still lost in straight sets. Sabalenka switched to blitzkrieg mode from 1-4 down in the second set.
The last orders bar was full to the brim in the first week at Wimbledon as punters got full value for their dollar. There was Fritz's late night rendezvous with Mpetshi Perricard, which was stopped at two sets all because of Wimbledon's late night curfew. Ben Shelton couldn't dig being stopped by bad light on Thursday, especially as it only took him 59 seconds to serve it out the following day.
Even Novak Djokovic couldn't get away until 10.30 pm British time on Tuesday. That would have given him enough leeway to meet Nick Kyrgios in the Dog and Fox.