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Defending champion Jannik Sinner needed five sets to beat Miomir Kecmanovic in his Centre Court opener.

Sinner slipped and fell at 2-2 in the third set but avoided serious injury, admitting he felt tight on grass.

Seventh seed Andrey Rublev became the tournament's highest-profile first-round casualty, losing in five sets to Roman Safiullin.

Novak Djokovic also struggled in his opener, needing four sets to defeat Yibing Wu.

Carlos Alcaraz (wrist) and both British hopes Jack Draper and Emma Raducanu were absent through injury before a ball was struck.

For the first time in Wimbledon's 139-year history, players can request video reviews of disputed incidents such as double bounces or hindrance calls.

The system operates separately from electronic line calling — players cannot use it to challenge ELC line decisions.

Unlike the old Hawk-Eye challenge system, there is no limit on the number of reviews a player can request and no penalty for an incorrect challenge.

Video review is available on Centre Court and Court One throughout the Championships, plus four other show courts during singles matches.

The chair umpire — not a separate official — watches the replay and makes the final determination.

Defending champion Jannik Sinner defeated Miomir Kecmanovic 4-6, 6-3, 6-7(6), 6-2, 6-3 in a drama-filled opener on Centre Court.

Sinner had a worrying slip and fall mid-match and committed 52 unforced errors, having skipped all grass tune-up events.

Seven-time champion Novak Djokovic beat Wu Yibing 6-4, 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 to set up a second-round meeting with Tsitsipas.

No. 12 seed Andrey Rublev was upset by qualifier Roman Safiullin, who saved two match points in a marathon deciding tiebreak.

No. 11 seed Casper Ruud was eliminated in straight sets by Hubert Hurkacz on an upset-heavy opening day.

Carlos Alcaraz (world No. 2, two-time defending champion) withdrew weeks before the tournament due to a lingering right wrist injury.

Emma Raducanu pulled out on the eve of the event with a lower leg stress fracture; Jack Draper withdrew on opening day with a recurrence of a left arm bone injury.

2023 champion Markéta Vondroušová was ineligible after receiving a four-year anti-doping ban, while Lorenzo Musetti withdrew due to a thigh injury.

Victoria Mboko (seeded 10th in the women's draw) suffered a knee injury at Eastbourne and was also ruled out.

The wave of withdrawals created a record number of lucky losers entering both draws, reshaping the tournament picture significantly.

Top seed Aryna Sabalenka dominated Teodora Kostovic 6-2, 6-3 on the opening day of the women's singles.

French Open champion Mirra Andreeva (No. 5 seed) beat Magda Linette 7-5, 6-4, while Coco Gauff (No. 7) won 6-2, 6-1.

Naomi Osaka, seeded 14th, defeated Elsa Jacquemot 6-1, 7-5 in a confident display on her return to Grand Slam action.

No. 20 seed Maja Chwalinska, French Open finalist, was upset by Thai qualifier Mananchaya Sawangkaew in three sets.

Leylah Fernandez (No. 22) was also beaten in the first round by Janice Tjen, adding to a day of seeded upsets in the women's draw.

The 139th Wimbledon Championships began on June 29, running through July 12 at the All England Club.

Jannik Sinner is the defending men's champion and top seed for the third consecutive year.

Iga Swiatek defends her women's title and aims to become the first woman since Serena Williams to successfully defend at Wimbledon.

Aryna Sabalenka is the women's world No. 1 seeking her first grass-court Grand Slam crown.

Prize money stands at £64.2 million, a record for the Championships.

Alexander Zverev arrives at Wimbledon as the French Open champion, creating buzz around a potential Clay-to-Grass Grand Slam double.

Zverev is seeded No. 3 at Wimbledon, behind defending champion Sinner and absent Alcaraz.

The 'Channel Slam' — winning the French Open and Wimbledon in the same year — is among the rarest feats in tennis.

Zverev has never previously reached the Wimbledon final, making the grass his least proven major surface.

His run at Roland-Garros was boosted by the early exits of Sinner, Djokovic, and Alcaraz's withdrawal.

Venus Williams, 46, and Serena Williams, 44, accepted a wild card into the Wimbledon women's doubles draw.

The sisters hold a combined 14-0 record in Grand Slam doubles finals, including six titles at Wimbledon.

Serena's knee injury from her singles loss raised concerns over whether the doubles appearance would go ahead.

Their doubles reunion came after Serena also returned to singles competition, her first since the 2022 US Open.

Serena had previously played doubles at the Queen's Club Championships and Berlin Open ahead of Wimbledon.

The All England Club announced a record £64.2 million ($88m USD) prize fund, a 20% increase over 2025 and the biggest single-year rise in the tournament's history.

Singles champions each receive £3.6 million — up from £3 million — with equal pay maintained across men's and women's draws.

For the first time in Wimbledon's 149-year history, video review technology (VRT) was introduced, available on Centre Court, No. 1 Court, and four other show courts.

VRT allows players to challenge specific chair-umpire rulings such as double bounces, not line calls — those remain decided by electronic line calling.

Some top players continued a prize-money protest started at Roland Garros by limiting media commitments during the opening week.

Two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz is absent with a wrist injury (tenosynovitis) sustained at the Barcelona Open in April, also causing him to miss the French Open.

Britain's Jack Draper withdrew due to a recurrence of an arm injury; he had played only 15 matches since Wimbledon 2025.

A total of 18 players — 10 men and eight women — pulled out of the singles main draws, with Emma Raducanu and Lorenzo Musetti among other notable absentees.

Draper publicly warned tennis authorities that injury levels in the men's game are 'pretty worrying' and urged governing bodies to review the tour schedule.

Alcaraz remains world No. 2 despite not competing since mid-April, and has posted social-media updates showing him gradually returning to hitting.