Wimbledon 2024 Preview: Will Novak Djokovic Win Trophy 8 on His Back Knee? Can Iga Swiatek Break Out on Grass?

Wimbledon 2024 is just around the corner. Over the next two weeks, the All England Club will be buzzing with action as players compete against each other (and sometimes the unpredictable English weather) to win the third Grand Slam tournament of the year.

If you want to prepare for the next two weeks of tennis, you’ve come to the right place. Let’s take a look at the biggest storylines, the most important absences and the players you should keep an eye on to get the most out of your SW19 viewing experience.

Notable absences

Rafael Nadal is saving themselves for the Olympics. Nadal knows he is nearing the end of his career and wants to end things on his terms and his way. His first-round loss at the French Open was absolutely heartbreaking, but it probably reinforced his plans for the summer: to skip Wimbledon and be at full strength for the Olympics. With the Games in Paris later this month, Olympic tennis will be played on the red clay of Roland Garros, where Nadal has won no fewer than fourteen trophies. It’s unknown whether he plans to take his final bow as a professional tennis player at Roland Garros during the Olympics, but if he does, there couldn’t be a more perfect place for it.

Andy Murray tries to make one last big effort. Murray is injured again during a Grand Slam tournament. But this time it’s different. He underwent surgery for a cyst in his spine only ten days ago, but is still trying to achieve the Grand Slam that means more to him than any other. The Scot won the trophy in 2013, becoming the first man representing Great Britain to win on home soil in more than 70 years.

Murray, 37, is in the draw despite his surgery, and that is almost certainly because he plans to finally hang up his racket in the coming months. He recently said he doesn’t see himself playing much after the summer, and this is his last chance to say goodbye to a place that means so much to him.

Aryna Sabalenka withdraws on Day 1. The six-foot tall Sabalenka and her powerful play will not compete at Wimbledon as she withdrew on Monday due to a shoulder injury. Sabalenka is a tennis wrecking ball who can beat lesser opponents on strength alone, and her absence opens up the field in her area of ​​the bracket. Although Sabalenka will not be replaced as a No. 3 seed, she withdrew with enough time for organizers to call up Lucky Loser Erika Andreeva to face Emina Bektas, Sabalenka’s original opponent.

Main storylines

• Novak Djokovic plays and doesn’t hold back. Despite a torn meniscus that forced him to withdraw from the French Open and undergo surgery, Djokovic is playing at the All England Club. And he has no plans to slow down, even with the Paris Olympics just around the corner. “I didn’t come here to play a few rounds,” Djokovic said recently. “I really want to go for the title. I don’t see myself holding back.”

• Carlos Alcaraz tries to regain his title. Alcaraz’s first major victory came at Wimbledon last year, which was a bit of a surprise as he is known to excel on clay and hard courts. But he defeated Djokovic in five sets and hasn’t looked back since. He won his first French Open trophy in June, and in two weeks he could lift his second Grand Slam trophy in a row. Despite all that, Alcaraz ended up as the third seed, behind No. 1 Jannik Sinner (who won the 2024 Australian Open) and No. 2 Djokovic.

• Can Iga Swiatek break through on grass? Swiatek is a magician on clay, but she is not known for her grass skills. However, she has been working on her serve, which is a key to success on grass (and a key to beating other experienced grass players). She is the favorite to win, mainly because of her overall success (since June 2023, Iga has won three Grand Slam trophies), but if she hasn’t improved her grass game properly, the field is wide open.

• Anyone can win this tournament. If Swiatek can’t improve on her grass results from Wimbledon last year, then anyone can win. In the past seven years, Wimbledon has been won by six debutants. (Last year’s winner was unseeded Czech Marketa Vondrousova, who defeated Ons Jabeur. Jabeur would also have been a debutant.)

Men’s top 10 seeds

1. Jannik Sinner (Italy)
2. Novak Djokovic (Serbia)
3. Carlos Alcaraz (Spain)
4. Alexander Zverev (Germany)
5. Daniil Medvedev (Russia)
6. Andrei Rublev (Russia)
7. Hubert Hurkacz (Poland)
8. Casper Ruud (Norway)
9. Alex De Minaur (Australia)
10. Grigor Dimitrov (Bulgaria)

There are no men from the United States in the top 10, but three fall just outside. Tommy Paul, Taylor Fritz and Ben Shelton are ranked 12, 13 and 14 respectively.

Who should you keep an eye on in the men’s division?

Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner. You could watch anyone, but why wait to see if an unseeded player can break out when you can watch tennis played at the intersection of the past and the future? Watching Alcaraz or Sinner (separately or against each other) is like watching a video game. They lean, they jump, they run, all the while taking incredible and sometimes impossible-looking photos.

Even just looking at Alcaraz and Sinner, you’d never guess they were playing the same sport. Alcaraz is muscular and a bit stocky, while Sinner is a tall, lanky stick. And yet, when they play, you don’t just see the platonic ideal of a men’s tennis match; you see everything tennis is becoming and could become in the future. It’s death-defying tennis that deserves to be watched.

Women’s Top 10 Seeds

1. Iga Swiatek (Poland)
2. Coco Gauff (USA)
3. Aryna Sabalenka (Belarus)
4. Elena Rybakina (Kazakhstan)
5. Jessica Pegula (USA)
6. Marketa Vondrousova (Czech Republic)
7. Jasmine Paolini (Italy)
8. Qinwen Zheng (China)
9. Maria Sakkari (Greece)
10. Our Jabeur (Tunisia)

Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula represent the United States in the top five, but just outside the top 10 are Danielle Collins at number 11 and Madison Keys at number 12.

Who should you keep an eye on in the women’s draw?

Coco Gauff. After reaching her first Grand Slam final at the 2023 French Open, Gauff has been a consistent top player, improving with every match. She won her first Grand Slam trophy at last year’s US Open and is now ranked No. 2 in the world. She is currently the most exciting woman in American tennis, making the leap from teenage phenom to full-fledged superstar. There’s no better time to watch her.

Oh, and Gauff is also great at doubles. After years of moderate success but no trophies with longtime doubles partner Jess Pegula, she teamed up with Katerina Siniaková earlier this year. Together they lifted their first doubles trophy at the French Open last month.