Carlos Alcaraz will begin his bid for a third Wimbledon title in a row when the Grand Slam begins on Monday.
The question is – can anyone stop him?
The Spanish world number two defeated seven-time champion Novak Djokovic in the previous two men’s finals on Centre Court at SW19.
The 22-year-old could follow Bjorn Borg, Pete Sampras, Roger Federer and Djokovic as only the fifth player in the Open era to win three straight Wimbledon men’s singles titles.
Following his epic French Open final triumph over world number one Jannik Sinner, Alcaraz clinched the Queen’s title to start his grass-court season on a high.
While Jack Draper leads Britain’s hopes of a home champion, BBC Sport takes a look at who else could challenge Alcaraz over the coming fortnight.
Djokovic had won four Wimbledon titles in a row before losing a five-set thriller to Alcaraz in 2023.
Alcaraz swept Djokovic aside a year later to again deny the former world number one a record-equalling eighth men’s title.
Djokovic continues to pursue an outright-record 25th major singles title since drawing level with Margaret Court at the 2023 US Open.
A new era in men’s tennis has dawned, with Alcaraz and Sinner sharing the past six slams between them – and seven of the past eight since Alcaraz’s first Wimbledon title two years ago.
But Djokovic, behind only Roger Federer for men’s titles won at SW19, remains an ever-present threat on the sport’s biggest stages – not least on grass – as he pursues yet another historic feat.
Sinner was devastated by his loss to Alcaraz at Roland Garros, after taking a two-set lead and missing three championship points in the fourth set of what became a five-and-a-half-hour epic.
He has reached at least the quarter-finals at Wimbledon in the past three years, with his best run ended by a semi-final defeat by Djokovic in 2023.
But a surprise second-round loss to Alexander Bublik at the Halle Open this month cut short the world number one’s latest competitive preparations.
Sinner has maintained his stranglehold on the top ranking for 12 months, despite serving a three-month doping suspension earlier this year.
It means he can only meet second seed Alcaraz in the final – something that would be eagerly anticipated after their Roland Garros thriller.
The Kazakh’s career had stagnated to the point that he considered quitting tennis after losing in the Wimbledon third round last year.
Bublik lost eight of his first 10 matches in 2025 as he fell to 82nd place in the rankings, but his coach’s suggestion of a Hangover-style reset in Las Vegas – a reference to the 2009 comedy film – appears to have worked wonders.
After reaching his first Grand Slam singles quarter-final with a superb run at the French Open, the unpredictable Bublik won the Halle Open to rise to 30th in the world.
His victory over Sinner was one of four wins over top-eight seeds on the way to an emotional title triumph – proving that, on his day, he is a match for anyone.
A Wimbledon semi-finalist in each of the past two years, can Medvedev take the next step this time?
Medvedev is one of just six active men’s players to win a singles major, having triumphed at the 2021 US Open – but he has lost his five other major finals.
The former world number one is a hard-court specialist – his six major finals have been split between the Australian Open and US Open – but he has a solid recent record at Wimbledon.
He was stopped by eventual champion Alcaraz in the last four in both 2023 and 2024, winning the first set in last year’s meeting on Centre Court before being overpowered.
He prepared for this year’s tournament by reaching the Halle final, losing to Bublik in straight sets, and will expect another deep run at Wimbledon.
Age: 23 Country: Czech Republic Ranking: 25 Strength: Forehand
Lehecka crashed the party at Queen’s by beating Draper en route to the final, where he offered admirable resistance in a three-set loss to Alcaraz.
The 23-year-old reached a career-high rank of 22 in February after winning his first eight matches of the year, clinching the Brisbane title before losing to Djokovic in the Australian Open fourth round.
A run to the Madrid Open semi-finals last year – where he beat the great Rafael Nadal and Medvedev – was ended by an unfortunate back injury, which ultimately ruled him out of Wimbledon.
Back to full fitness this year, he demonstrated his grass-court pedigree at Queen’s and will look to maintain that momentum to improve on his fourth-round appearance at Wimbledon in 2023.
