Venus Williams suffered a nasty fall as her emotional Wimbledon return ended in Centre Court defeat to Elina Svitolina.
The 43-year-old, whose first outing at SW19 came in 1997, was absent from the singles draw last year but was handed a wild card into this year’s tournament.
However, the five-time champion’s stay did not make it past the opening afternoon as she went down 6-4 6-3 to the Ukrainian having been injured in the opening moments of the match.
It remains to be seen whether this will be her Wimbledon swansong, as it was for her sister Serena 12 months ago, but time is obviously ticking on one of the all-time great tennis careers.
Williams, who only had two warm-up events in the run up to the tournament having previously not played since January, briefly gave hope that she could roll back the years as she broke Svitolina in her first service game.
But a slip as she approached the net in the third game saw her fall to the ground and shriek loudly in agony, and it looked like that might be the end of her return.
She was able to be patched up but, although she proved she still has the power to match anyone with some searing winners, her movement was hampered and Svitolina broke again on a run of four successive games.
That was enough for her to claim the first set and she strengthened her grip on the contest by immediately breaking at the start of the second to leave Williams facing an uphill task.
The veteran has overcome some obstacles in her time but this one proved too much.
Svitolina, who is making a return of her own after missing last year’s tournament following the birth of her first child, proved she is still a top-class player as she raced to a 5-1 lead and served for the match at 5-2.
Much to the delight of the Centre Court crowd, though, Williams displayed her fighting spirit as she claimed one break back.
It only delayed the inevitable, though, as the Ukrainian closed it out on Williams’ serve to book her place in the second round.
Liam Broady made French magician Constant Lestienne disappear to reach round two at Wimbledon.
Lestienne is a part-time conjurer who performs at weddings and parties, but was unable to pull a rabbit out of the hat against British wild card Broady.
The 29-year-old from Stockport produced a spellbinding display to win 6-1 6-3 7-5.
Broady broke the world number 74 twice, either side of a brief rain delay, to race away with the first set in 27 minutes.
A pair of winners gave Broady another break and the advantage in the second.
Lestienne’s hopes vanished when Broady edged a nip-and-tuck third set to book his place in the second round in just over two hours.
Jodie Burrage made it third time lucky as she registered her first Wimbledon win by beating American Caty McNally.
British wild card Burrage had suffered first-round exits in the previous two years at SW19.
But the 24-year-old, who reached the final of the Nottingham Open last month, swept aside world number 67 McNally 6-1 6-3 to march into the second round.
Victory also means Burrage has likely broken into the top 100 for the first time.
McNally was clearly hindered by a problem with her right thigh, which was heavily strapped.
Ruthless Burrage broke her three times as she wrapped up the first set in only 22 minutes.
McNally received treatment on her thigh at the changeover and instantly improved, forcing a break after Burrage stopped to challenge a call which had clearly hit the baseline.
But Burrage hit back with a double break, and converted a match point at the sixth time of asking to wrap up victory in an hour and four minutes.
Novak Djokovic eased into the second round of Wimbledon amid farcical scenes on Centre Court.
The four-time defending champion defeated Argentinian debutant Pedro Cachin 6-3 6-3 7-6 (4) but the clash was delayed for nearly an hour and a half after the first set because of a damp court despite the roof being deployed.
Djokovic had begun to complain about the surface but officials waited until the end of the set to cover the court, which proved to be a major error.
While play resumed under the roof on Court One, Djokovic and Cachin came out to inspect the court with referee Gerry Armstrong, but it was clear the world number two in particular was not happy.
Playing in his first official match on the surface since last year, it was no surprise that Djokovic, who described trying to move on grass in the early stages of the tournament as “like walking on eggs”, was being extremely cautious.
The Serbian maintained good humour about the situation and re-emerged with a towel, which he proceeded to rub on the court to laughter from the crowd, before members of the ground staff used leaf blowers to try to dry the surface.
But it was not until the skies cleared and the roof was opened again that play was able to resume, rendering the expensive covering redundant.
Had it not been for the delay, this would have been pretty much the ideal start to Djokovic’s campaign for a record-equalling 24th grand slam singles title and eighth Wimbledon crown.
Cachin only played his first tour-level match on grass in Majorca last week and was never likely to prove too much of a test.
There was some early rust from Djokovic, who double-faulted to give Cachin a break for 2-1, but he hit straight back and manoeuvred himself into a 5-3 lead.
Djokovic is on a 28-match winning streak on grass having not lost on the surface since a final defeat at Queen’s Club back in 2018.
He convincingly won the second set but Cachin earned applause from his opponent for his efforts in the third, which he pushed to a tie-break.
Djokovic had won all his tie-breaks at the French Open without making a single unforced error. That streak ended with a double fault here, and he netted a backhand on his first match point, but he took his third chance, winning it 7-4.
Stiffer tests will surely await, perhaps in the second round against Australian grass-court lover Jordan Thompson, but the defending champion is off and running.
Andrey Rublev believes Wimbledon was wrong to ban him and his fellow Russians last year and said the only loser was the event itself.
The All England Club this year overturned its controversial decision to not allow players from Russia and Belarus to compete in the wake of the invasion of Ukraine.
“I think that, I mean, we were talking, and I think we could find the solution,” said world number seven Rublev after becoming the first man into the second round at this year’s Championships.
“Yeah, if we really want to help or do what is better for tennis and for the people, I think obviously there were better options. Not just to ban. Because in the end, (there) was no difference. They did only worse to themselves.
“So in the end, I think that there were options to do much better for everyone.
“Now we are here, I’m really happy to be back and to compete.”
The ATP and WTA tours subsequently stripped Wimbledon 2022 of ranking points in response to the ban.
This year, Russian and Belarusian players have all signed declarations stating they will not express support for either regime and that they are not receiving any direct or indirect government support.
Rublev, 25, recovered from 2-5 down in the second set on his way to beating Australian Max Purcell 6-3 7-5 6-4.
His victory set up an all-Russian clash with Aslan Karatsev in the second round.
Harriet Dart was gutted she saved her worst for Wimbledon after becoming the first British casualty of this year’s tournament.
Dart was beaten 6-7 (4) 6-0 6-4 by Frenchwoman Diane Parry in a disappointing display on Court 12.
It was a bitter blow considering the 26-year-old’s excellent form in the build-up to her home grand slam, having reached the quarter-finals in Nottingham and Birmingham.
She was not able to produce her best when it mattered on the big stage, though, and she was left with regrets.
“I felt pretty poor out there,” she admitted. “What’s amazing was I had a chance to win playing not great tennis.
“I still feel like I have so much to improve on.
“I’ve had a really good grass-court season. It’s just disappointing that my worst match of the grass-court season came here.
“Naturally being British, you want to play well here.
“I just didn’t really get going. She also made it tricky for me. Credit to her, she played better tennis than me today.”
Dart, who reached the third round here in 2019, was up against it from the start in tricky conditions on Court 12, where the wind was causing issues, as she fell 3-0 down in the opening set.
But she found her feet and levelled at 5-5 after an impressive long rally ended in her firing a superb cross-court backhand winner.
That seemed to turn the tide as Dart went on take the set in a tie-break and the Briton would have been eyeing a straight-sets win.
But the wheels soon came off as Parry raised her level with some heavy forehand hitting and breezed to the second set in just 33 minutes without letting Dart win a game.
The writing was on the wall when Parry broke early in the decider to take a 3-1 lead, but to Dart’s credit she immediately hit back to stay in the match.
However, the world number 96 struck again at 5-4 to clinch her place in the second round and send the first home hope packing.
Dart played the match with strapping on her shoulder, though that played no part in her defeat.
She added: “We’ve just been managing it. It’s not been a serious problem. But, yeah, since Birmingham I’ve had some issues with it. I’ve been fine to play on it.”
Wimbledon fans witnessed farcical scenes on Centre Court as Novak Djokovic and opponent Pedro Cachin waited for the grass to dry in order to resume their match.
Light drizzle saw the court covered and then the roof deployed after Djokovic wrapped up the opening set 6-3 but, unlike on Court One, play did not then resume as scheduled.
Djokovic and Cachin came out to inspect the grass but the defending champion was clearly unhappy with the slipperiness of the surface and they headed back to the locker room.
Djokovic then re-emerged with a towel, which he proceeded to rub on the court to laughter from the crowd, before members of the ground staff used leaf blowers to try to dry the surface.
Play had not resumed by the time the rain stopped and the decision was taken to reopen the Centre Court roof before playing the second set.
Iga Swiatek did not take long to get her Wimbledon campaign off to a winning start as she easily disposed of Zhu Lin.
The world number one is looking to add to the French Open and US Open titles she has won in the last 10 months and made a convincing opening on Court One, winning 6-1 6-3.
The Pole does not have the best pedigree at SW19, having never made it past the fourth round, but signs are positive that this will be the year she has a proper crack at winning the title.
Chinese Zhu – ranked 34th in the world – was no match for her, with a routine victory only slightly delayed by a rain shower that saw the roof on Court One closed.
Fourth seed Jessica Pegula also made it through to the second round, but she was made to work hard against her fellow American Lauren Davis.
After comfortably winning the opener, Pegula was pegged back as it went to a decider only for her to regain control and seal a 6-2 6-7 (8) 6-3 victory.
Two-time US Open champion Victoria Azarenka also needed three sets to beat Yuan Yue 6-4 5-7 6-4.
Russian Liudmila Samsonova did not have the best return to Wimbledon as the 15th seed went out 7-6 (1) 7-6 (4) to Ana Bogdan, making her the biggest casualty on day one.
Harriet Dart was the first home player to be knocked out as she lost in three sets to Frenchwoman Diane Parry.
Harriet Dart became the first British casualty at Wimbledon after she lost in three sets to Frenchwoman Diane Parry.
The British number four had an impressive build-up to her home grand slam, reaching the quarter-finals in Nottingham and Birmingham, but fell 6-7 (4) 6-0 6-4 to Parry.
Dart, who reached the third round here in 2019, was up against it from the start in tricky conditions on Court 12, where the wind was causing issues, as she fell 3-0 down in the opening set.
But she found her feet and levelled at 5-5 after an impressive long rally ended in her firing a superb cross-court backhand winner.
That seemed to turn the tide as Dart went on take the set in a tie-break and the Briton would have been eyeing a straight-sets win.
But the wheels soon came off as Parry raised her level with some heavy forehand hitting and breezed to the second set in just 33 minutes without letting Dart win a game.
The writing was on the wall when Parry broke early in the decider to take a 3-1 lead, but to Dart’s credit she immediately hit back to stay in the match.
However, the world number 96 struck again at 5-4 to clinch her place in the second round and send the first home hope packing.
Wimbledon will celebrate Roger Federer’s achievements at the All England Club with a special ceremony on Centre Court on Tuesday.
The eight-time champion, who announced his retirement last September, will visit the scene of many of his greatest moments and be honoured before the start of play.
Chief executive Sally Bolton announced the news, saying: “I’m pleased to say that Roger will be with us tomorrow and we will have a special celebratory moment on Centre Court before play starts just to honour him as the man holding the most gentlemen’s singles titles here at Wimbledon.
“For those lucky enough to have a seat on Centre Court tomorrow I’d encourage them to get into their seats about 1.15pm and we’ll have a moment just to celebrate his achievements and to say thank you for all the memories.”
Federer has mostly stayed away from tennis since bowing out in emotional scenes at the Laver Cup in London but was similarly honoured at the grass-court event in Halle, Germany last month.
His last match at Wimbledon came in 2021 when, struggling with knee trouble, he lost to Hubert Hurkacz in the semi-finals. He also visited the club last year as part of the celebrations to mark 100 years of Centre Court.
Bolton revealed that Serena Williams, who bowed out a few weeks earlier at the US Open, had also been invited but was unable to travel.
“We invited Serena similarly this year but as you’ll know she’s pregnant so understandably couldn’t travel,” said Bolton. “We of course wish her lots of luck with the remainder of her pregnancy and we hope maybe we might see her next year.”
Novak Djokovic is capable of reaching 30 grand slam titles amid his "scary" run of major success, according to Mark Philippoussis.
The Serbian is a record 23-time grand slam champion, having already won the Australian Open and French Open this year.
And Djokovic will open his Wimbledon title defence on Centre Court against Argentine Pedro Cachin on Monday as he continues his pursuit of a calendar Grand Slam.
Djokovic is looking to match Roger Federer's records of eight Wimbledon titles overall and five consecutive wins at the tournament.
His seventh title at All England Club and his fourth straight success arrived last year with a four-set win over Nick Kyrgios in the final.
Philippoussis, who lost a Wimbledon final to Federer 20 years ago, sees no signs of Djokovic slowing down.
"What is he on, 23? I mean, if he stays healthy, could he break 30? Let's see if he plays for another few years, and he gets two a year, I mean, he's getting close to that, which is scary to think," Philippoussis said to Stats Perform.
"It's incredible and not only that, he's there two hours before he practices, he warms up properly, does all the right things, he's got his team around him.
"And [after] he finishes practising, he warms down, he's there two to three hours even after he finishes practising, again with his team, which is a strong unit.
"He does all the right things and still doesn't take the foot off the pedal.
"He's still looking to improve in any way he can, looking for the one per cent here, one per cent there, whether it's on or off the court, or his eating, or his fitness, it really is incredible."
Philippoussis believes Djokovic, who is 36, will break every significant tennis record before his career comes to an end.
Carlos Alcaraz has emerged as a huge threat to his dominance and is looking to end his Wimbledon winning streak, but the Australian still finds it difficult to bet against Djokovic.
"Djokovic is only slightly in front of Alcaraz, but it is impossible to look past him after what he's done at the Australian Open and the French Open," Philippoussis added.
"To beat Djokovic physically and mentally in five sets, you're going to have to be on in every department and that's if you find an opening from him, which is very, very difficult to find.
"What he's continuing to do in the game and the sport is incredible.
"I don't follow all the numbers, but if he's not past everything already, by the time he's done, I think he would be leading in pretty much all of the them.
"Maybe Jimmy Connors is still ahead as far as [ATP] tournaments won, but I believe that by the time he's done, I think he will be leading all those departments."
French Open champion Iga Swiatek is the favourite in the women’s singles, although she has never previously made it past the fourth round at Wimbledon.
Philippoussis thinks the women’s draw is far more open than on the men’s side.
He said: "Swiatek is going to be a slight favourite but, again, grass is a different thing, it's completely different to other surfaces.
"Even though it has slowed over the years, it's still grass and you need to make those adjustments out on there.
"You've got Rybakina, who hasn't had the best preparation, but she's definitely, as Wimbledon champion, going to have to be one of the favourites, and Sabalenka is definitely one of the favourites as well.
"But, in my opinion, I think the women’s is a little more open in the field, so I think a few girls have some opportunities."
On this day in 2010 Serena Williams won her fourth Wimbledon title with a 6-3 6-2 win against Vera Zvonareva.
It took just over an hour for the world number one to scoop her 13th grand slam title after sealing victory against the Russian 21st seed.
Zvonareva was appearing in her first grand slam final but had no answer for Williams, who took the first set in 36 minutes.
With Zvonareva 4-1 down in the second, the American showed her ruthless streak to see out victory, taking her past Billie Jean King to sixth in the all-time list of female grand slam singles champions.
“Hey Billie, I got you, it’s number 13 for me,” Williams said after her win.
“It means a lot because it is 13 and that’s kind of cool because I was able to beat Billie. To have four Wimbledon titles is amazing.
“It’s funny, I didn’t think I was playing that well, especially in practice.
“Just wasn’t hitting the ball that cleanly, but when I got on the court, it was good.
“I served really well and to win the tournament without losing a set is pretty cool.”
Now 41, Williams has won a mammoth 23 grand slams, more than any other player in the Open era, and is one behind Margaret Court.
Her last Wimbledon singles title came in 2016, beating Angelique Kerber 7-5 6-3.
Reigning men’s champion Novak Djokovic will kick things off on Centre Court as Wimbledon gets under way on Monday.
There will also be an emotional return to the big stage for five-time women’s champion Venus Williams as well as plenty of British players hoping for some home glory.
Here, the PA news agency takes a look at the opening day of action.
Rivals reunited
Djokovic begins the pursuit of an eighth title – which would draw him level with record-holder Roger Federer – against Pedro Cachin.
But he probably had a bigger test as he resumed rivalries with Andy Murray in practice over the weekend.
The pair enjoyed a competitive encounter out on the Aorangi Park courts on Saturday, almost 10 years to the day from when Murray beat Djokovic to win his first Wimbledon title.
That victory in the 2013 final gives Murray the distinction of being the only player in this year’s draw to have beaten Djokovic at Wimbledon.
Iga to prove herself
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World number one Iga Swiatek begins her quest for a first Wimbledon title, fresh from another success at the French Open last month.
The Pole, Aryna Sabalenka and defending champion Elena Rybakina are the ‘big three’ in the women’s game at the moment but grass is not the former’s strongest surface.
Swiatek has not made it past the fourth round at SW19 before but should get a nice gentle opening to the tournament as she is first up on Court One against China’s Zhu Lin, who has won just one singles match in four Wimbledon appearances.
Match of the day
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Venus Williams returns to SW19 in singles competition for the first time since 2021 and will be looking to add to the five titles she has won here, the last being in 2008.
However, that is highly unlikely and, aged 43, this may be more of a swansong, 12 months on from her sister Serena bidding farewell to the championships.
She gets a Centre Court date with Ukrainian Elina Svitolina, who is making a good return following the birth of her baby in October.
Brit Watch
Six home players are in action on the opening day and all will have hopes of getting through.
Katie Swan perhaps has the toughest task as she was drawn against 14th seed Belinda Bencic, but she has been playing well this summer.
Dan Evans takes on Frenchman Quentin Halys, Liam Broady is up against Constant Lestienne and Jan Choinski plays Dusan Lajovic.
Jodie Burrage got to the final at Nottingham so will be confident against American Caty McNally while Harriet Dart, who made back-to-back quarter-finals at Nottingham and Birmingham, goes up against Diane Parry.
Order of playWeather
Nick Kyrgios has withdrawn from this year’s Wimbledon on the eve of the tournament due to a wrist injury.
The Australian, who was beaten in last year’s final by Novak Djokovic, had earlier conceded there were “some question marks” over his participation.
In a statement posted on his social media accounts, Kyrgios wrote: “I’m really sad to say that I have to withdraw from Wimbledon this year.
“During my comeback, I experienced some pain in my wrist during Mallorca. As a precaution I had it scanned and it came back showing a torn ligament in my wrist.
“I tried everything to be able to play and I am disappointed to say that I just didn’t have enough time to manage it before Wimbledon.”
Kyrgios had been scheduled to begin his campaign against Belgian former quarter-finalist David Goffin on Court One on Monday.
The 28-year-old has been unable to build on his sole grand slam final appearance after withdrawing from the Australian Open in January due to a knee injury which required surgery.
He had played only one match since, a defeat to Wu Yibing in Stuttgart last month, and admitted during his pre-tournament media rounds on Sunday that he was “almost dreading” his return.
“I’m just going to try to do everything I can, prepare, go out there and play some good tennis,” Kyrgios had said. “I feel probably as good as I could feel at the moment.”
Katie Swan is hoping a strong performance at Wimbledon might encourage Elton John to visit SW19 to support her.
The 24-year-old recently signed with Rocket Entertainment, the management company co-founded by the music superstar, and has already been enjoying the benefits.
“I am feeling really good off court,” said Swan. “It is a really exciting time. I have signed for Rocket. I got to go and see Elton John playing in London, which was fun.”
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Swan, who was formerly with Andy Murray’s 77 agency before the Scot decided to close its tennis division, took mum Nicki with her to The O2.
“She is a huge fan of Elton,” said Swan. “My favourite song is Don’t Go Breaking My Heart, but he didn’t do it. So Your Song was my other favourite one. It was unreal. His voice is a joke, it’s so powerful – I am so glad I got to see him live before he finishes.”
John’s farewell tour is set to finish in Sweden on Saturday, so Swan would need to reach at least the fourth round in order to have a chance of tempting him to Wimbledon.
“I haven’t met him yet,” she said. “I am hoping I will get the chance to at some point. I’ve heard he is a big tennis fan so hopefully, if I can get some good results, then maybe he’ll want to come and watch me.”
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Another treat before the tournament came on Thursday when Swan hit with Venus Williams on Court One.
“It was an incredible opportunity,” she said. “Laura Robson messaged my coach saying, ‘Venus is looking for a hit on Court One to open it if you’re interested’.
“And I was like, ‘OK, let’s not turn that down’. For me, that’s something I wouldn’t have even dreamed of as a kid. It was unbelievable and something I’ll never forget. She was really friendly.”
Ill-timed injuries have so far prevented Swan reaching the potential she showed as a junior.
She made her Wimbledon debut back in 2016 and reached the second round in 2018, securing what is so far her only victory at the All England Club.
There have been positive signs this year, though, with Swan pushing towards the top 100 and reaching the final of the warm-up tournament in Surbiton, beating last year’s Wimbledon semi-finalist Tatjana Maria along the way.
“I think this year is more exciting than normal,” she said. “I feel in probably the best form that I have been in coming into this week. I’m excited to get going.”
The draw did not appear to be kind to Swan, who will take on 14th seed Belinda Bencic on Monday.
The Swiss has twice reached the fourth round at Wimbledon but she has not won a match here since 2019 while she has only played one match – a first-round loss at the French Open – since the beginning of April because of injury.
“Everyone here is tough but obviously she’s an Olympic gold medallist and she’s achieved so much in her career,” said Swan.
“I was excited when I saw the draw. Court Two is the biggest court I’ve played on here so I’m really pumped for it. I back myself and I think having the home support will be a lot of fun out there.”
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