Day 2 at the All England Club is the day Wimbledon shows you its women's draw. The top half of the WTA bracket plays its full first round, the bottom half of the men's draw goes alongside, and the show courts get the names that did not play Monday. Aryna Sabalenka opens Centre Court. Mirra Andreeva — the youngest French Open champion since the tournament went open — makes her grass debut on No. 1 Court. Alexander Zverev, the new French Open men's champion and Wimbledon No. 3 seed, gets the No. 1 Court evening assignment. Here is what Tuesday looks like.
Centre Court order of play
Tradition holds. The defending men's champion played Monday; the No. 1 women's seed opens Tuesday. Aryna Sabalenka walks out at 1:30 p.m. local against Polina Kudermetova. The younger Kudermetova sister has a serve that travels on grass and is the kind of unseeded player who can take a set off a top seed in the opening round — but Sabalenka has dropped exactly one first-round set in eighteen Slams. The match should be over inside ninety minutes.
Centre Court's middle slot belongs to Andreeva. The 18-year-old has not played a competitive grass match in two years and her first-round draw — American Hailey Baptiste — is significantly trickier than the seeding suggests. Baptiste serves at 115 mph regularly, slices her backhand low, and plays a forward game that translates well to the surface. Andreeva's coming Paris run is the kind of confidence boost that wins matches; her grass record is the kind of empty page that makes them close.
The day closes on Centre with Holger Rune against Frenchman Ugo Humbert. Humbert is the smarter pick on grass — his serve and forward instincts are tailor-made for the surface — and the seeding (Rune at 8, Humbert at 14) flatters the Dane. This is the upset alert match of the day on a show court.
No. 1 Court: Zverev opens his title bid
The French Open champion gets the No. 1 Court opening slot against American qualifier Brandon Holt. Zverev's grass record before Roland-Garros was middling — a Halle semi here, a third-round exit there — but the form he showed on clay in May suggests the variant that wins the French is going to be a problem on every surface this summer. Holt has earned his spot through three qualifying wins but is not a credible threat over five sets.
The second No. 1 Court match is Coco Gauff against Czech veteran Markéta Vondroušová. Vondroušová won this title in 2023 and her flat, low-bouncing left-handed strikes are the single hardest matchup for Gauff's high-bouncing forehand. On paper a fourth-round draw, in reality a first-round fixture that could end with the 2023 champion through and the world No. 2 out. Gauff's grass results have been the weak point of her résumé; this match could rewrite or confirm that read.
The five matches worth setting an alarm for
- Gauff vs Vondroušová (No. 1 Court, 2nd up): the most live first-round women's match on paper. A 2023 champion against the world No. 2, on a grass court Gauff has never solved.
- Andreeva vs Baptiste (Centre Court, 2nd up): the French Open champion's first competitive grass match in two years. Baptiste has the game to push it long.
- Rune vs Humbert (Centre Court, 3rd up): Humbert's grass game vs a seeded Dane who has not won a tour-level grass title.
- Paolini vs Bouzková (Court 2): the diminutive Italian No. 7 seed meets a Czech grinder with one of the best returns on tour. Should go three.
- De Minaur vs Bautista Agut (Court 12): the Australian's grass game has improved every year. RBA at 38 is still a problem on a fast surface.
The Andreeva storyline in full
Mirra Andreeva has not stopped winning since February. She took Indian Wells, was the surprise quarter-finalist at Roland-Garros' WTA event a year ago, and the leap from that to French Open champion three weeks ago has rewritten the women's tour pecking order. The 18-year-old is now ranked third, sits inside the WTA Finals qualification picture after one major, and arrives at Wimbledon as the most interesting first-week story by a clear distance. The question is how the grass plays for her. The Andreeva forehand — the heaviest topspin shot in the women's game beneath Iga's — depends on the bounce her shots get from clay. The All England Club surface gives her less of that help.
The Andreeva camp's plan has been an extended grass adjustment period — two practice weeks in Eastbourne with her sister Erika, lower-bouncing balls, more time at the net. Whether two weeks is enough is the question that Tuesday's first round and a possible week-two collision with Sabalenka or Krejčíková will answer.
The men's bottom half
With Alcaraz, Sinner and Draper through their openers Monday, Tuesday's men's slate features Zverev, Rune, Daniil Medvedev (against an unsung Italian on Court 18), Lorenzo Musetti (against a Japanese qualifier on Court 12), and the two American hopes — Ben Shelton on Court 2 and Tommy Paul on Court 3. Both Americans have winnable openers and credible third-round projections.
The weather and the seeding
The Met Office has Tuesday at 21°C, partly cloudy, a low chance of late afternoon showers. The grass came through Monday's play in good shape — no slippage incidents, no significant complaints. The seeding quirk worth noting: the women's draw has produced the rare event of a top-half where the No. 1 seed (Sabalenka), No. 4 (Andreeva) and No. 5 (Pegula) could all be eliminated by the third round. The draw is that unbalanced.
FAQ
When does Centre Court play start? 1:30 p.m. local (8:30 a.m. ET). No. 1 Court starts simultaneously. Outside courts begin at 11:00 a.m. local.
Who is the top women's seed? Aryna Sabalenka. Andreeva is seeded No. 4 despite arriving as the French Open champion — the Wimbledon committee weighed her minimal grass record.
What's the men's draw look like through Tuesday? Alcaraz, Sinner and Draper through from Monday; Zverev, Rune, Medvedev and Musetti enter Tuesday. All four are expected to advance in straight sets.
Where can I follow Tuesday live? Live scores from every court are on Scorelisto's live scores hub, and our Wimbledon coverage continues on the blog through the men's final on July 12.