Wimbledon 2022 Guide – Everything you Need to Know

It’s now time for Britain’s grass-court season to get into full swing and people are already enjoying some Queens’ action. However, really most tennis fans and tennis bettors are looking forward to the main event – the Wimbledon Championship. This will be the third Grand Slam of the year and will be held at the All England Club starting on Monday 27th June up to Sunday 10th July.

Wimbledon 2022 Guide - Everything you Need to Know

This will be exciting because finally, it will see a return to full-capacity crowds for the first time in three years since the emergence of the coronavirus changed the world. What’s more, this is the very first time that they have scheduled games to be played on the middle Sunday of the two-week tournament, which has traditionally been a day off.

Who to Watch?

We very much expect that there will be a lot of attention given to Emma Radacanu, the young British superstar who blew the audience away last year by unexpectedly reaching the fourth round. The 19-year-old player, who lifted the US Open trophy in 2021 is battling to be fit and ready for the tournament after she was forced to retire from the Nottingham Open after receiving an injury to her side. She will obviously have to face off competition from the World No. 1, Iga Swiatek, as well as 23-time Grand Slam winner, Serena Williams who has won Wimbledon 7 times. She has been granted a wildcard entry to the tournament.

Of course, we will also be looking at a solid performance from Rafael Nadal who has been victorious in the first two Grand Slams of the year. However, there will certainly be some fearsome competition from the current defending champion, Novak Djokovic who will be headlining the men’s singles draw. 

The Tournament Everyone Wants to Win

Wimbledon has grabbed headlines this year because of the stripping of ranking points. In essence, this has downgraded the event to nothing more than an “exhibition event in the tennis ecosystem”. They have been penalised by both the WTA and ATP because of their ban on Russian and Belarusian players in response to the invasion of Ukraine. The men’s number one player, Daniil Medvedev is one of the players that this ban has affected.

However, although there aren’t any ranking points up for grabs in the tournament, Australian player Nick Kyrgios has stated that he doesn’t think that will have any impact at all on player participation. Ultimately, every tennis player wants to play Wimbledon – and every tennis player wants to win Wimbledon, no matter what. Every person that plays or follows tennis knows about Wimbledon, even those that don’t…

Home Court Dreams

Historically, the British players at Wimbledon desperately crave the win but very rarely achieve it. However, this year the grass-court season has started with a real sense of optimism over British tennis, which is pretty unusual. Britain looks likely to have at least three seeded players this year: Daniel Evans, Cameron Norrie and, of course, Emma Raducanu. What’s more, after having a pretty tough year, Andy Murray has also hit some form.

Last week, the Scottish two-time Wimbledon winner beat both Nick Kyrgios and Stefanos Tsitsipas in straight sets to reach the final of the Stuttgart Open. However, he narrowly lost out in the final to last year’s Wimbledon runner-up, Matteo Berrettini. However, he has withdrawn from Queen’s Club with an abdominal injury although still intends to play at SW19 at the end of the month.

In addition, there have been a fair few wildcards handed to British players including Jay Clarke, Liam Broady, Paul Jubb, Alastair Gray and Ryan Peniston who will have a place in the Men’s singles tournament. Meanwhile, Jodie Burrage, Katie Coulter, Yuriko Miyazaki, Katie Swan and Sonay Kartal will be in the women’s singles lineup.

Who Will Win?

The beauty of tennis – and sports, in general, is the unpredictability. Many experts believe that Novak Djokovic will win the men’s title, whilst Ajla Tomljanovic will take the women’s title. However, some think this could be Emma Radacanu’s year. Andy Murray also has a chance of getting far – as long as he isn’t unlucky enough to draw Djokovic in the first round. In addition, the Australians have some faith that Nick Kyrgios could pose a threat this year. He is very much a legitimate chance and has the skills and desire to go deep into the tournament. But, as always, it all depends on the draw,

Here are the men’s favourites:

  • Novak Djokovic
  • Rafael Nadal
  • Matteo Berrettini
  • Carlos Alcaraz
  • Felix Auger Aliassime
  • Marin Cilic
  • Nick Kyrgios

Top-Seeded Women’s PLayers:

  • Iga Swiatek
  • Cori Gauff
  • Simona Halep
  • Naomi Osaka
  • Serena Williams
  • Ons Jabeur
  • Karolina Pliskova
  • Belinda Bencic
  • Emma Raducanu

So, who will it be? Who knows, but there will certainly be plenty of people tennis players, tennis bettors and tennis fans that are counting down the days!