While the eyes of the planet are on the 2026 World Cup, tennis fans will be turning away from action in the United States and onto London, as Wimbledon 2026 is set to get underway.
The Wimbledon Championships, commonly known as Wimbledon, is the third major of the tennis season. Held since 1877, it’s played on outdoor grass courts at the All England Lawn Tennis Club.
The 2026 tournament will undoubtedly bring some surprises. World No.1 Jannik Sinner of Italy aims to defend his title, and he’ll be without his biggest rival, Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz. The World No. 2 officially confirmed his withdrawal from the London tournament due to an ongoing injury to his right wrist.
Alcaraz’s absence opens the door for other contenders, such as 2026 Roland Garros winner Alexander Zverev, 3rd in the Association of Tennis Professionals’ (ATP) ranking, or Serbian legend Novak Djokovic (8).
In the midst of it all will be the Argentine stars, with ten confirmed for the men’s and women’s singles draws, and a further two in the doubles.
Francisco Cerúndolo, the beacon of Argentine hopes again
Leading the charge at the AELTC will undoubtedly be Francisco Cerúndolo. The World No. 21 regained his status as the top-ranked Argentine men’s player in May, wresting it away from Tomás Etcheverry right after the start of Roland Garros.
Cerúndolo reaches Wimbledon on a high after winning a tense ATP final at Queen’s against U.S. player Tommy Paul (24th), 6-7, 6-4, 6-3. In doing so, he claimed an ATP 500 title, the first for himself and Argentine tennis on grass.
It’s the biggest title of Cerúndolo’s career, having previously won the Buenos Aires ATP in February, as well as another three tournaments.
“I can’t believe it, “ said the top-ranked Argentine after the win. “It’s been a tough week. Winning Queens as an Argentine is incredible, and I’m happy. The match was really tough because he was ahead several times, but I kept fighting.”
The win left Cerúndolo right outside the top-20, ensuring he’ll be a seeded player for Wimbledon, and potentially getting a smoother ride in the first couple of rounds.
As the only Argentine active tennis player who’s won a title on a grass court, he’s the country’s biggest hope in Wimbledon.
Etcheverry, Navone and Juan Manuel Cerúndolo close behind
Behind the top-ranked Argentine will be Tomás Etcheverry (32), Mariano Navone (38) and Juan Manuel Cerúndolo (45).
Etcheverry was on a high after reaching the round of 16 in the Rome Masters, but he was ousted in the first round in Madrid and Roland Garros, and is yet to win a match on grass this season, having been ousted in the first round of Halle last week. He’ll aim to improve on his best-ever Wimbledon result, a second round in 2023 and 2024.
It’s a similar story for Navone, who reached the final at the Geneva Open right before losing in the Roland Garros second round in a grueling battle with Czech Jakub Mensik (17).
He lost in his grass debut against Italy’s Lorenzo Sonego (72) at the Mallorca Open by 7-6, 2-6, 6-4, and will look to improve on his 2025 second-round result at Wimbledon.
Juan Manuel, the younger of the Cerúndolo brothers, is undoubtedly the biggest wildcard for the tournament. He shocked World No.1 Sinner at Roland Garros — albeit helped a bit by the high temperatures in Paris — before reaching the round of 16 at the tournament.
He’s also won in his grass debut this season, beating Belgium’s Raphael Collignon (43) at Eastbourne on Monday.
Thiago Tirante (54), Sebastián Báez (56), Camilo Ugo Carabelli (57), Román Burruchaga (66), and Marco Trungelliti (94) complete the Argentine lineup for the men’s singles draw.
Solana Sierra, again the sole representative in the women’s
The women’s singles draw is a much shorter list, with just Solana Sierra (56) already qualified for the singles draw.
The Mar del Plata player had a solid outing at Roland Garros, beating Grand Slam winner Brit Emma Raducanu (32) in the first round and securing another big win against Italian World No. 14 Jasmine Paolini in the second. She eventually fell 6-0, 6-0 to Romania’s Sorana Cirstea (18) in the third round.
Transition to grass has been a bit hit and miss for Sierra, losing in the second round at ‘s-Hertogenbosch before reaching the Bad Homburg Open main draw via the qualy and losing to China’s Zheng Qinwen (153) in the first round.
Sierra will face some pressure to perform at Wimbledon, as she’s defending 235 ranking points from her historic run in 2025, when she reached the round of 16 as a lucky loser.
She could still be joined by some of her countrywomen. Julia Riera (182) is on to the second qualifying round after beating Brit Daniella Britton and will face U.S. player Fiona Crawley (232). Maria Lourdes Carlé is set to play on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Luisina Giovanini (166) and Jazmín Ortenzi (158) are already out of the qualifying round.
Zeballos is carrying the torch in doubles
Argentina will also have representatives in the men’s doubles draw, with World No.3 Horacio Zeballos set to play.
The Mar del Plata player will be aiming to secure his fourth Grand Slam title after winning his second Roland Garros crown earlier in June, alongside partner Marcel Granollers. The 41-year-old has already played the Wimbledon final in 2021 and 2023.
Guido Andreozzi, ranked 16th, will also feature with his usual partner, Manuel Guinard from France.
Cover image: Wimbledon Twitter
